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Not what the book says.

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Fitting Your Bike Are you confused about how you should fit a bike to your particular body dimensions? Have you been reading, found the terms Merxx or French Fit, and don’t know what you need? Every style of riding is different- in how you fit the bike to you, and the sizing of the bike itself. It’s more than just measuring your height, reach and inseam. With the help of Bike Fitting, you’ll be able to find the right fit for your frame size, style of riding, and your particular dimensions. Here ya’ go…..the location for everything fit related.

Not what the book says.

Old 12-29-18, 07:50 PM
  #1  
Helderberg
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Not what the book says.

I have read through some of the descriptions here and on the internet about what is the proper size bike is for my height, reach, inseam and so forth and on paper I should have a medium sized frame on a Cannondale Quick. Standover is fair as I have short legs but the reach is crowded as I am long in the troso. The second bike, another Quick, I decided to try the large frame as I can still stand flatfooted on the standover, with no real clearance, but the reach and body angle are much more comfortable for me. I have and am keeping both as there are days when the three chainring bike is just easier to ride than the two and the more compact, upright bike is what I want to ride. I guess I am between the two sizes and could probably be a candidate for a custom made frame but the large frame is so good right now that I am not in the market for another bike at the moment. Not trying to say anything profound, just that the tables don't always tell the perfect story and the common refrain I here on the forum that the best advise is to take it for a test ride. Truth be told I could put a longer stem on the medium and have a similar feel as I have on the large but the other dimensions are just different enough that I can not replicate the entire sizing. I am sure I will be told that I am mistaken but the rides I have taken on the large have been very enjoyable.
Be safe all, Frank.
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Old 12-29-18, 10:18 PM
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On the smaller bike, you might consider a longer stem and moving the saddle back a bit
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Old 12-30-18, 07:30 AM
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I was thinking that might be a good thing to try. I will start with the seat in relation to the center line to the pedal. I will make that change first today and try it out when the rain stops.
Thanks for your response, Frank.
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Old 12-30-18, 09:43 AM
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I have a plastic bin of spare parts off bikes that are now gone. Usually from changes made when they were family loaners, etc. So no big deal for me to swap stuff until I get the fit I want. But making notes as you ride the Big Bike will help. Moving bars forward changes seat position some, so go slow and incrementally forward ...
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Old 12-30-18, 12:15 PM
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Originally Posted by BrocLuno
I have a plastic bin of spare parts off bikes that are now gone. Usually from changes made when they were family loaners, etc. So no big deal for me to swap stuff until I get the fit I want. But making notes as you ride the Big Bike will help. Moving bars forward changes seat position some, so go slow and incrementally forward ...
Thank you for this advice. I am trying to not make more than one change at a time and then give it a decent ride. Interestingly enough I have found that the large bike settings are causing change in the medium bike. Rode the medium to day after moving the seat to a similar relationship to the bike as the seat on the large. Might have to change the stem next as the seat change, small as it was, has changed my weight distribution to my hands and shoulders as expected.
Thanks for the insight, Frank.
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Old 01-02-19, 11:10 PM
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Originally Posted by Helderberg
I have read through some of the descriptions here and on the internet about what is the proper size bike is for my height, reach, inseam and so forth and on paper I should have a medium sized frame on a Cannondale Quick. Standover is fair as I have short legs but the reach is crowded as I am long in the troso. The second bike, another Quick, I decided to try the large frame as I can still stand flatfooted on the standover, with no real clearance, but the reach and body angle are much more comfortable for me. I have and am keeping both as there are days when the three chainring bike is just easier to ride than the two and the more compact, upright bike is what I want to ride. I guess I am between the two sizes and could probably be a candidate for a custom made frame but the large frame is so good right now that I am not in the market for another bike at the moment. Not trying to say anything profound, just that the tables don't always tell the perfect story and the common refrain I here on the forum that the best advise is to take it for a test ride. Truth be told I could put a longer stem on the medium and have a similar feel as I have on the large but the other dimensions are just different enough that I can not replicate the entire sizing. I am sure I will be told that I am mistaken but the rides I have taken on the large have been very enjoyable.
Be safe all, Frank.
I'm in exactly the same situation with my Trek FXS4. The lack of standover clearance on the large frame makes me nervous that I will get a surprise on a careless dismount, but it hasn't been a problem so far. OTOH, I think the shorter reach of the medium frame would make me feel crowded all the time.

Update: If I were buying a new one, I think I would make the same decision.
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Old 01-02-19, 11:40 PM
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I look at bike fit as being the single most important feature of any bike; far and away more important than, say, frame material, weight or equipment. I bring a tape measure to any bike purchase and take those measurements home on put them on a CAD drawing. From there I can see the required stem and seatpost to get a good fit. (I even wrote a program years ago where I could enter the numbers from brochures to get that info.)

Now, I got a lucky break 40 years ago. The mechanic at the shop I worked in convinced me to buy last year's Fuji Pro as my racing bike, I did. It fit like a dream and I saw radical improvement from the very first ride. That has been the basis of all my rides since. But what I quickly learned when i started addressing good fit was that nearly all production bikes require (for me) enormously long stems and often have poor weight balance between the wheels. (I wrote that program to whittle down the titanium bikes to ones that might be worth a test ride. It opened my eyes. I found no production ti bikes that wouldn't require custom stems. $4000 for a "class B" fit? No thinks. The ti bike went on hold until I landed "the job". Ordered a custom as soon as I knew it was going to pan out.

To your plight - I"d consider the Cannondales both "class B" fits. I'd look at another bike. (The smaller one with new stem and maybe seatpost might be a keeper. And since you are relatively new to this fit game, a smaller bike has the advantage that there are fewer restraints to the key parts of the fit - saddle and handlebar location - since larger stems and posts can always be obtained. Even custom posts and stems are far cheaper than new bikes.)

Don't settle for less. A bike to get it figured out is OK, but don't stop until you have the bike that really fits.

Ben
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Old 01-03-19, 01:53 AM
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Originally Posted by 79pmooney
I look at bike fit as being the single most important feature of any bike; far and away more important than, say, frame material, weight or equipment. I bring a tape measure to any bike purchase and take those measurements home on put them on a CAD drawing. From there I can see the required stem and seatpost to get a good fit. (I even wrote a program years ago where I could enter the numbers from brochures to get that info.)

Now, I got a lucky break 40 years ago. The mechanic at the shop I worked in convinced me to buy last year's Fuji Pro as my racing bike, I did. It fit like a dream and I saw radical improvement from the very first ride. That has been the basis of all my rides since. But what I quickly learned when i started addressing good fit was that nearly all production bikes require (for me) enormously long stems and often have poor weight balance between the wheels. (I wrote that program to whittle down the titanium bikes to ones that might be worth a test ride. It opened my eyes. I found no production ti bikes that wouldn't require custom stems. $4000 for a "class B" fit? No thinks. The ti bike went on hold until I landed "the job". Ordered a custom as soon as I knew it was going to pan out.

To your plight - I"d consider the Cannondales both "class B" fits. I'd look at another bike. (The smaller one with new stem and maybe seatpost might be a keeper. And since you are relatively new to this fit game, a smaller bike has the advantage that there are fewer restraints to the key parts of the fit - saddle and handlebar location - since larger stems and posts can always be obtained. Even custom posts and stems are far cheaper than new bikes.)

Don't settle for less. A bike to get it figured out is OK, but don't stop until you have the bike that really fits.

Ben
Thank you for your reply. As it has worked out I have changed the setup on the smaller bike to match the dimensions of the larger and for the first time in a long time have a two very comfortable bikes. I hope you find your "A" fit as it seems I have found mine.
Be safe, Frank.
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