Bike size question – 51 cm feels fine, but LBS thinks 54 cm would be a better fit
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@GovernorSilver 123393 wrote:
most important is how comfortable I feel after a 1-hr test ride, assuming the shop gives me the green light to ride it that long. They’ll take my driver’s license again to ensure I don’t steal it.
Just bear in mind that a road bike is, by definition, designed to put you in a more aggressive & aerodynamic position. You probably won’t find this comfortable until you get used to riding in that position. You could set it up to feel like a hybrid, but in that case I’d just urge you to get a hybrid.
OTOH, if you can’t use comfort as an indicator on a test ride, it’s hard to know what criteria you would use in choosing a bike!
This is probably why I don’t actually put that much stock in test rides and would pay more attention to geometry/measurements. The body is extremely adaptable. Obviously you want to rule out extreme size mismatches, but once your within a certain tolerance, the comfort on the test ride is just telling you that the new bike feels just like your current one.What others are saying about erring on the small side is good logic, though. Bear in mind pros ride small frames. Extending reach with a longer stem, though, does affect bike handling. And extending reach with a setback seatpost is not a good solution, since there is a correct position relative to BB that is independent of reach. Make sure the angles (seat-tube angle, head-tube angle) are the same across the sizes you’re considering — or factor those differences into your sizing considerations.
Edit: I would assume that the typical 51cm frame would be too small for the typical 5’9″ human. (But in full disclosure, the last frame I purchased turned out to have incompatible geometry and as a result I decided to size down to a [new] 58cm road frame — I’m 6’1″.)
@KLizotte 123364 wrote:
I”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).
I certainly have no intention of riding a bike so undersized for me that I end up with my head over the handlebars like this.
Thanks for the suggestion to try Meridian Park. I do recall 14th Street northbound (in the direction of that park) to be a nice climb – on foot at least. Google is suggesting 15th St – I recall that has a bike lane. And yes, I’ll be upfront about how long I intend to test ride the bike.
So far I’ve tested the bike on the gravel/crap surface on the parking lot next to the new Bicycle Space, as well as pavement. Might get to test it in rain too if the 20% chance of showers actually hits.
I went back to the shop and took the V85 up 15th St in the direction of Meridian Park. By the time I reached the top of the climb, I knew the bike was, in fact, too small. I didn’t feel as upright as I did during the first test ride. I don’t know if its because a different guy at the LBS set the seat height, and thus set it a bit higher. I did start to feel a bit more comfortable with the increased forward lean, but I felt a bit more cramped when I raised my knees. I don’t know if its because some of the comments on this thread got into my head
. I completed the test ride by going down 14th, turning left on S St, then riding 7th down to K St. I realized that there were brake levers accessible from the top of the handlebar too. Ooops.I decided not to buy this bike, due to incomplete data. I do need to try more road bikes, and get a feel for how the geometry of each model varies, and get used to the shifting (Shimano, SRAM, etc.) which is quite a bit more complicated than the simple shifting of my Nexus 8. One thing I learned today is to try to find rougher surfaces to ride on, like the sidewalk along northbound 6th St, somewhere north of New York Ave – some nasty bumps there – to better test adventure/gravel road bikes like the V85.
Finally made my first visit to Bikenetic. I told them I wanted to try adventure road bikes. I was told they sold a bunch of bikes the previous week and the only ones left in the store for me to try were the Volagi Viaje and the Jamis Renegade. I admired the Salsa Fargo and Vaya, Bianchi Volpe Disc, etc. but all those were bespoke.
First up was the Viaje. At 57cm it was in theory oversized for me, but Brian, the Bikenetic guy who ended up working with me, suggested I give it a try anyway (not surprising, coming from a Volagi owner!). He adjusted the seat for me and off I went. The only hitch for me was having no previous experience with the SRAM Apex shifters that were on this particular Viaje – I tried the climb up to Mt. Daniel Dr. and mistakenly shifted to the wrong gearing, which stopped my climb cold. After I worked out how the Double Tap shifting functioned, I had a great time climbing, descending, going out a bit of the WO&D, etc. The ongoing street resurfacing in the neighborhood streets was a decent test of the bike’s ride over rougher surfaces. It felt noticeably smoother than my aluminum frame commuter bike would have felt. Brian assured me it’s even better with wider tires, which he showed me on his own Viaje. I was really surprised how comfortable this “oversized” Viaje was to ride. I thought the 57 cm would really leave me stretched out over the top tube, but it wasn’t the case at all. I had no problem reaching the hoods. I’d love to try a 54 cm!
Next was the Renegade. Powerful Pete is apparently well known at Bikenetic.
I don’t think I’m the type of rider who would be a fit for carbon bikes, but when Brian offered a 54 cm for a test ride, I thought “why not?”. The comfort and ride over rough surfaces was similar to that of the Viaje. It did however have wider tires. I turned on Cyclemeter GPS just for fun and sprinted a bit on the street. The acceleration was exhilarating.Next was a drive down to Performance Bicycles in Springfield. I told the lady over there that I wanted to try adventure road bikes. First bike she offered was the Fuji Tread 1.0. Unfortunately, the environment around that part of Springfield was nowhere near as nice as around Bikenetic – no MUPs, one joke of a bike lane, no hills, no bike-friendly streets. Still they did have a big parking lot. The Tread is a nice deal – $1099 for Shimano 105, disc brakes, and carbon fork. I then tried the Charge Plug – good commuter road bike on a budget. As expected of a cheaper bike, the ride was quite a bit bumpier. Neither of those bikes though are on the level of the Viaje and Renegade as far as quality of ride and construction. The hoods on those bikes feel solidly attached to the bars – there’s no loose feel like on the cheaper bikes.
I’d have to say the Viaje spoiled me. Brian said the advantage of buying it through Bikenetic instead of direct is free lifetime service or something like that. OTOH, the purchase won’t include the weekend trip to Ogden, UT and the red carpet treatment (hotel stay, brewpub dinner, etc.).
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