Bike size question – 51 cm feels fine, but LBS thinks 54 cm would be a better fit

[DismalScientist]

A bigger frame implies a longer top tube, which would stretch you out more.
Since you are used to a hybrid, you may not know what is a comfortable stance for you on a road bike. The top of your bars should be even or lower than your seat. Was it set that way on the test ride?

Personally, I am in the Grant Petersen camp, where you pick a one frame size bigger than what the bike shop would recommend.

Frame size probably matters more for road bikes than for hybrids, but fit can easily be adjusted by changing the height of the seat post, height of the stem (before cutting the steerer tube), and the length of the stem.

[dasgeh]

@DismalScientist 123295 wrote:

Frame size probably matters more for road bikes than for hybrids.

This. I can tolerate a lot of not-the-perfect-fit on an upright bike. On a road bike, ill-fit wears on me, making me more and more uncomfortable on longer and repeated rides. If you love the bike after riding it for a couple hours, it’s probably a good fit for you. I’m the kind of shopper that likes to try one too big and one too small to be sure just right is just right.

[dbb]

@dasgeh 123298 wrote:

I’m the kind of shopper that likes to try one too big and one too small to be sure just right is just right.

Goldilocks speaks

[GovernorSilver]

Thanks, everyone! The bike in question is a 51 cm Felt V85.

I do believe the seat was set at roughly the same height as the handlebars, though the seat was slightly adjusted after the LBS guy checked out my height and amount of leg extension with one pedal all the way down.

I also rode a Space Horse, which was presumably closer to my “recommended size”. I had to lean forward quite a bit more on this bike in order to get my hands on the hoods and thus be able to reach the brake/shifter levers. I didn’t find this lean comfortable since I’m used to the more upright seated posture of my hybrid, even though the Space Horse has a relaxed geometry by road bike standards. I didn’t have to lean as far forward to grasp the hoods on the V85. That’s why I’m suspecting the LBS guy was recommending 54 cm for the V85. The Felt website itself doesn’t show the geometry (a bug?) but this web page shows a 20mm difference in (virtual) top tube length between the two sizes:

http://futurestorex.com/index.php?id_product=214&controller=product

I’ll see if I can sneak out of work early tomorrow and squeeze out an 1 hr plus test ride on the 51 cm model, assuming it’s still in stock by then. Just over $1000 for a Felt V85 is a tempting deal for me – but only for in-stock bikes. If I have to have them order a 54 cm, I’d be paying $300 more because it doesn’t qualify for most of the promotional discounts.

[jabberwocky]

How tall are you? 51cm is a pretty small road bike (I’m 5′-6″ and thats around what I ride). A road bike shouldn’t fit like a hybrid, and if it does its probably too small.

[TwoWheelsDC]

While I’m not the GP devotee that Dismal is, I agree it’s probably generally better to buy a bike that’s slightly too big than slightly too small. Reach can be shortened with a shorter stem, but you don’t want your knees crammed up with your head tube. If you have to lock out your elbows to reach the hoods, that’s probably too much reach, but it is normal to feel “stretched out” when moving from a hybrid to a road bike.

[GovernorSilver]

I’m 5′ 8″. I usually get pants with an inseam of 30″ though of course they vary from a bit too long, to a bit short, to just right. I don’t recall my knees getting all that close to the head tube when I test rode that 51 cm.

I’ll try finagling a min. 1 hr test ride tomorrow before making any further decisions, and checking to see where my knees are in relation to the head tube. If the bike is not a fit, my knees should be letting me know by the 1-hr mark, from what I’ve been hearing.

I don’t expect to be as upright on the V85 as I am on my hybrid, but I understand Felt designed this bike to for a closer-to-upright posture than the Z-series, F-series or other Felt roadies.

[dplasters]

Wiggle has the specs to the V85.

Bike inside leg length does not equal your inseam. It is generally a bit longer. Based on that and you’re height the 54cm is likely where most shops would put you. RivBike and Sheldon Brown both have good readings on the bike fitting process. Like others, I would nudge people towards the larger size in most cases.

[KLizotte]

I’m in the other camp. I was sold a bike one size too big and had to sell it a couple of months later because I couldn’t go down hills or signal safely and my feet fell asleep badly after an hour. An inch or so in the top tube makes a big difference!

Make sure you go down some steep hills to see how much control you have. Unfortunately it is difficult to develop a comprehensive feel for a bike before a full fitting but you should feel in control and mostly comfortable on your test rides. If you are constantly thinking of how to shift your hands, feet, butt, etc. to feel more comfortable it is a bad fit, period. You will not “get used to it.” I repeat, you will not get used to it! I learned that the hard way since the “too big” bike was my first modern road bike after coming off an upright hybrid.

It’s easier to make a bike bigger by extending the stem and moving the seat back a little than it is to make a bike smaller. Trust me, I have the shortest stem on the market.

You could always ask Clovis at FreshBikes (Ballston) for a quick fitting so you can get an idea of which geometries would fit you best and whether any of your proportions are oddball. Would probably cost around $75.

I have no opinion on whether a 54 is appropriate for someone your height. I specialize in the teeny-tiny sizes.

[GovernorSilver]

@KLizotte 123352 wrote:

I’m in the other camp. I was sold a bike one size too big and had to sell it a couple of months later because I couldn’t go down hills or signal safely and my feet fell asleep badly after an hour. An inch or so in the top tube makes a big difference!

Make sure you go down some steep hills to see how much control you have. Unfortunately it is difficult to develop a comprehensive feel for a bike before a full fitting but you should feel in control and mostly comfortable on your test rides. If you are constantly thinking of how to shift your hands, feet, butt, etc. to feel more comfortable it is a bad fit, period. You will not “get used to it.” I repeat, you will not get used to it! I learned that the hard way since the “too big” bike was my first modern road bike after coming off an upright hybrid.

That’s why I’m so interested in that 51 cm V85. I didn’t feel like I had to adjust anything – hand position, body lean, butt, etc. The bike just, umm, felt like it fit me, as opposed to that Space Horse.

My 15-min test ride was at the new Bicycle Space near 4th and K St – it happens to be close to where I work. I figure if I get there before 5:30 I’ll have over a good hour to ride on the bike (if they’ll let me get away with it). The steepest climbs in the immediate vicinity might be Louisiana Ave from First St. NW up to Union Station or perhaps N. Capital St heading south towards Louisiana. Not much steepness there. Maybe I could go up 6th St, hang a left on S, and try climbing up 14th or 16th St. – no idea if that might be too far though.

[KLizotte]

@GovernorSilver 123355 wrote:

That’s why I’m so interested in that 51 cm V85. I didn’t feel like I had to adjust anything – hand position, body lean, butt, etc. The bike just, umm, felt like it fit me, as opposed to that Space Horse.

My 15-min test ride was at the new Bicycle Space near 4th and K St – it happens to be close to where I work. I figure if I get there before 5:30 I’ll have over a good hour to ride on the bike (if they’ll let me get away with it). The steepest climbs in the immediate vicinity might be Louisiana Ave from First St. NW up to Union Station or perhaps N. Capital St heading south towards Louisiana. Not much steepness there. Maybe I could go up 6th St, hang a left on S, and try climbing up 14th or 16th St. – no idea if that might be too far though.

It’s tough trying to test a bike out in the city because you have to stop/start so much, look out for peds, drivers, etc. Independence Ave has a steep hill next to the Capitol but I wouldn’t recommend going down it during rush hour and if you are still getting a feel for a road bike. That is a pretty long, steep hill on a very busy street. There is the hill by Meridian Park, I think it is a two way street. You could just ask the folks at the LBS for a suggestion. Be sure to ask if you can take it out that long; you don’t want them thinking you stole it.

A well fitted bike will make you say “ahhhh…..let’s go for a ride….” as opposed to “I’m gonna die!” or “I gotta keep schooching my butt forward/back” or “I feel like I’m gonna fly over the handlebars cause I’m so far forward” (this latter feeling happens when the bike is too small BTW).

Try to signal left and right. If you can’t do that comfortably you have a fit problem because you are not balanced properly. I knew something was wrong with my “too big” bike when I could no longer signal without fearing losing control of the bike. And the awful numbness in my feet finally led me to a professional fitting and my current bike.

Ride the test bikes as long as possible in as many different situations as feasible. Don’t let the price tag sway you at this point. Even if you determine that the best fitting bike is out of your budget you can probably find something cheaper with the same or very similar geometry. Keep notes of all the bikes and rides else they will all start to blend together. Try steel, aluminum, disk brakes, etc. You really need to try more than two bikes. You will have to travel to different LBSs. I called each LBS ahead of time to make sure they had a bike(s) in my size to save time. If you are going on a weekend, you can hit 3-4 shops all in the same area to also save time. Most shops will hold a bike for you for a day or two while you are deciding. I have found that salespeople are really well meaning but terrible fitters which is one of the reasons my first purchase went so badly. The second reason is most manufacturers don’t make bikes small enough for people under 5′ 3″. Grumble, grumble.

Coming from a hybrid you may wish to keep the handlebars at the same level as your saddle, esp if you are riding a lot in the city. You can lower the handlebars later if you want a more aggressive position.

Lastly, I’ve read articles claiming that the geometry/specs provided by manufacturers aren’t 100% accurate or consistent across brands. Use them as a guideline, not gospel.

This guidance is from someone who has a very hard time finding a bike because everyone else is too darn tall!

[kwarkentien]

What klizotte said. There’s only so much you can slam a stem on a bike so one that’s too large can’t be made to fit. And I agree that speaking with a fitter first can really help you narrow down the correct size.

[dasgeh]

I’m 5’9″ and 54cm is too big for me. (I’m a woman, too, but that just makes it more likely for me to be built like I am). If it turns out 51cm is the best size for you, I wouldn’t be shocked. It’s your time and your money, and you’re the one that will be comfortable or not on the bike. That said, the fact that you’re doing separate rides is, imho, a great thing. I’ve ridden bikes where the first time I was totally in love, but just because it was the first bike of that type that I ever rode. Even without riding a second bike, riding the same bike a second time, I started to notice problems.

As far as where to ride, in an hour from 4th & K NW, you can get pretty far. I’d probably head to the Mall and do the hill up to the Capitol a few times (on the Constitution side, there’s a road that’s basically a parking lot that’s more comfortable than Constitution or Independence). You can usually get some speed between 4th and 7th. Then I’d probably head out to East Capitol Street, which after a few blocks (maybe 7th NE?) becomes pretty open IIRC. The MBT is also in that area, though I don’t know much about it.

Good luck. My fast bike is a Felt, and I love it.

[DismalScientist]

54 cm means different things when dealing with compact frames vs. traditional frames.

If the store doesn’t have your size for a particular promotion, I would look at different brands/stores. The website the OP cited was for a 2016 model. I would not think that the LBS would charge much different pricing for different sizes of the same model based on whether it is in stock for a model that new.

[jabberwocky]

51cm might be ok at 5′-8″. It does depend on top tube; At 5′-6″, I’ve ridden anything from 49cm to 53cm depending on the top tube length and exact frame geometry.

[Author]

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