peterw_diy

First, fit = comfort. What you like might not be what any of us like. I think the bike looks small (handlebars too low and too close to the saddle), but that's based on what I like now. When I was a teenager, I liked a smaller, more compact fit. My old racing bike had its handlebars about 4" lower (relative to saddle height) than my current drop-bar all-rounder, and about 1" closer to the saddle. I'm the same size now as then, and that fit was right for me then, but it's wrong for me now. Nobody here can judge your fit based on the pictures; we need to hear things like what part of your body aches after a two hour ride.

How does the crank length compare to what you're used to (on the bullhorn SS bike)? I bought a CC complete two years ago. 56cm, and Surly put 175mm cranks on it (as they do for their 54cm CC). I had the same basic reaction. Since I've been riding 170mm cranks for many years, I bought new 170mm cranks, and it's fine now. Typically, SS/fixie builds use 165-170, so I think you might be facing the same problem.

rms13

The other bike does have 170mm cranks and yes I have felt like the CC seemed very long compared to what I'm used to. When I ride extended on the bike my shoulders/upper back hurts and the back of my knee

RubeRad

Hmm, that's strange, I could have sworn that the rule of thumb is, back-of-knee pain = saddle is too high, front-of-knee pain = saddle too low. Maybe longer cranks or other fit issues are complicating the picture.

ThermionicScott 

I'm suspecting that the saddle is too high and the arms are too locked.

rms13

I'm going to take it back to REI tonight. If they can get me a 56, I will try that if they can't I'm taking my money to the LBS and working with them to get something that fits right and fits all of my requirements even if it's not a Surly

rms13

took it back to REI. They were able to find one 56 in TX and they are having it shipped here for me. The guy that was helping me was about 5'11" and he said he has a LHT that is a 58 and fits great. And he said from his experience that every Surly complete needs a lot of tinkering to dial in the fit and he said to expect to spend another $150 at least on stem, cranks, saddle etc to dial it in and upgrade cheaper components they put on their completes. Well, hopefully I have a better experience with the 56 because I want to love the bike.

a1penguin

I also think that frame is not the right size. When I went bike shopping a year ago I tried a women's size Trek frame and I immediately noticed that my head felt too far forward over the front wheel. The next size up will probably be a better fit.

Investing in a professional fit is good advice.

urbanescapee

Your office has nice chairs...

RubeRad

Interested to hear back your upgrade process; FYI here's the complete cost breakdown of my handbuilt CrossCheck. I'd be glad to give you input to your upgrades if you want.

rms13

That's not even my regular desk, I switched to a standing work station a while back. I don't have time for chairs.

fietsbob

All complete out of the box bikes come with just one stem.. BUT .. now that the threadless fork ,
open face stems are so common on road and MTBs they are easy to change.

at point of sale those parts swaps should be a cost wash , if stem part is of same value as the OEM pick.

meanwhile

The idiots have sold you then wrong size bike. Use Leonard Zinn's bicycle fit calculator online and take the results to the store to berate them with.

NOS88

Glad you're getting the 56 to try out. I'm skeptical of the $150 to dial it in. In my experience very few people can discern crank arm length differences. And in terms of stems, I just don't see spending that much. BTW, my first thought in looking at your photos was that you've too much weight on your arms, primarily the result of being too far forward. Good luck with the 56.

Banded Krait

I am glad you are going to try a 56 cm frame. From your photographs your existing frame appears to be too small. I am 5'9", and I ride a 56 cm Trek Pilot 5.9 bike. I am an older rider, and I wanted the taller head tube on the 56 cm frame. However, I did have to make a few adjustments. For instance, I had to get a zero-setback seat tube so that I could move the seat forward a couple of cm to get the fore-aft position of the seat to the head tube right. Good luck in your quest to get the right fit.

kenji666

Your cubicle is a mess. Get rid of that cardboard box.

DX-MAN

I agree with the idea of needing less than $150 for dialing in; if you're spending THAT much for fit issues, you're getting boutique parts.

But, NOS...gotta tell ya...it's EASY to feel the difference between a 170 and a 175 crankarm. I'll just qualify that for the OP by saying he can do just fine with the 170's, if that's what he has.

jyl

Post a pic on the 56 cm. Glad you are trying it.

Kotts

Everyone is commenting on frame size and saddle/bar position, so I won't add to that discussion. I will say that, even on a larger frame, you may want shorter cranks. Your knee is quite bent at the top of the stroke, and looks like it would be pretty stretched out at the bottom.

zandoval 

Cant really see it and it is such a nice bike but something just doesn't look right...

rms13

Update: Picked up my 56cm Cross Check. It is the best fitting bike I've ever road right out of the box. I'm sure there is some fine tuning that I can still do but it's 150% better then the other frame.

But now that I am actually able to get into the drops comfortably I am getting annoyed by the cable routing from the bar end shifters because they get in the way. First mod may have to be sti shifters or even put cross brakes and shifters on the top bar.

chaadster

Lose the bar end shifters. They're silly pieces of equipment.

RubeRad

The cheapest, lightest, strongest and most bike-uniquifying solution to your bar-end shifter problem is Retroshifts. Since you can reuse your shifters, $129 for a pair, minus whatever you can sell your take-off brake levers for.

rms13

Thanks. That's an interesting solution that I didn't even know was available

RubeRad

They've only been around about a year, not many people know about them yet. They're not for everybody, but I think they'll find a strong userbase beyond just CX racers.

jyl

I have been using Retroshifts for about 1 year, daily commute bike. They are great, especially if you ride on the hoods. I don't like bar end shifters because I hit them with my knee (sprinting, climbing hard out of saddle, clumsy mounting/dismounting). The Retroshift cables are exposed, not aero, if it matters.