weeniecyclist

Hi there,

I am new to road bikes, have been ridden a cross bike / fitness bike with aggressive setup so far. Ordered a road bike with all tools saying I should get the 56 cm size.
It translate to 56 cm seat tube, 56 cm effective horizontal top tube, 393 mm reach and 563 mm stack.
I feel like in this position the reach is too far out. Have taken this sloppy picture, hope it's good enough. The stem is 10 cm long, I feel like shortening it by 1 cm is not enough, and going shorter will affect the bike handling too much ( so I read).

Problem is that the 54 cm size version doesn't look that different, when put into the bikegeocalc visualizer besides the lower stack with 546 mm. Effective reach (front saddle to the handle bar) will be shortened by 8 mm. The 383 mm reach , thus 1 cm shorter reach, is a bit negated by the bigger drop.

Cannot post photo yet, because new here on the forum.

GlennR

You can always buy a cheap stem and see it it rides.

$18
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Aluminium-C...sAAOSw7pldQYno

weeniecyclist

I haven't taken that bike out for ride, just static mounting onto it and trying out positions and getting a feel for it.
The return policy wouldn't allow it for me to do a test ride I think, and I am not eager to ask for it.

But generally speaking, does getting a smaller frame (and adding a smaller stem) solve the issue or is that bike no matter the size simply not for me?

Chi_Z

what size was your cross bike?

weeniecyclist

53 cm top tube, effective horizontal tt is ~56 cm
53 cm seat tube
10 cm stem
It has a mountain bike handlebar though with some bar ends installed.
On a road bike you add another extra 12 cm to that to reach the hoods.

I should have known that the reach is not too much telling, I got mislead by myself thinking that around 39 cm reach is fine, which it is on my bike and any bike with handlebars that are sloped backwards.
Of course I expected, and intended, to ride a lower position, with my torso tilted forwards, but I think looking at my photo on the bike, I think my arms are too stretched out plus my shoulders are rolled forwards.

Marylander

I don't ascribe poor handling or overly quick handling to a really short stem. I've got long legs/short torso and have put really short stems on bikes (as short as 35mm). I've got road bikes with 45mm, 60mm, and 80mm. As GlennR said it's cheap to try a shorter stem.

Bigbus

I'm just going to assume you have already adjust your saddle fore and aft. With that said, I'm just going to add that the human body is also very adaptable. My old Giant is much too large for me at 60 cm, but i now find it to be my most comfortable bike after many miles in the saddle. It took me a while to get the saddle adjusted just right, but when I did that made all the difference in the world. Good luck,

Moisture

Bike stems will absolutely not affect handling negatively in any way. With 393mm reach you have plenty of room to play with in terms of finding a comfortably close reach. Don't hesitate to go for as short of a stem as you need. You can also try one of those 0-60 degree adjustable stems and play around by adjusting it to bring it closer to you.

A long stem such as around 100mm would definitely assist with handling at high speed, but thats not to say that a shorter stem wouldn't be unstable while offering faster handling.

Carbonfiberboy 

Set up a camera or get some help. Get on the bike, grab the hoods, straighten your back and lean forward until your forearms are horizontal. Take photo from the side. Your upper arms should make an approximate right angle with your torso if reach is correct. This does depend to some extent on your saddle fore-and-aft position. Ideally your saddle should be set so that when pedaling you can briefly take your hands off the bars without sliding forward on a level saddle. If you can't, move your saddle back.

Dean V

If you are happy with the fit on your cross bike you should of got a road frame that enabled you to duplicate it.
If you are unsure of the fit get one done on your cross bike and then see if you can achieve it on your road frame.

colnago62

Is this a compact style frame? I am a little confused about the frame size. I ride Treks and even though the seat tube is around 58cm, they consider the frame a 60cm in terms of fit. If you have an effective frame size equal to the top tube, that is a long reach for a road bike.

jaxgtr

I recently got a Domane and found that with the difference in geometry, I had to go down a size from my standard 54cm to a 52cm. Just looking at the number, while they were in the general ballpark, it really exposed itself once I took it for a ride. One of the Mechanics had his 52 Checkpoint (similiar to the Domane) in the shop and I ultimately found that way more comfortable in a 52 than the 54. Really need to get on one and test drive first to see how it fits.

weeniecyclist

I would post the photo here, but need a few more posts before being able to post links and images.

I think it's a bit more than 90°, when drawing an rectangle laying it over my back and the upper arms.

weeniecyclist

6 more post. Anyways, I am going to return this bike for a 54 sized bike and try my luck with that one.
Effective reach is only 8 mm shorter, but going from there it should be easier to make it fit right, instead of a bike too big.

Carbonfiberboy 

Then your guess about reach is correct. You could try moving your hands back in that same position and seeing how far you had to move them back to get 90°. which would tell you how much shorter a different stem would need to be.

It's weird that the 54 will fit almost the same except for more drop. Is that desirable for you? If you get on the bike in that horizontal forearms position and pedal, is there a decent gap between your legs and torso? Would you like to be lower or not?

alcjphil

Why not tell us what bike model you are talking about? The more information you provide the better the answers even without pictures

Bigbus

Hey Weenie, if you don't mind me asking, just how tall are you?

Dancing Skeleton

What size is your Trek ALR?

I had a 52 cm Domane (frame is now damaged, needs to be replaced), have a 2011 Madone in 52 cm (H2 fit), and have an Emonda on the way (52 cm H2).
I was comfortable on the Domane & I am on the Madone.
I want to replace the Domane, and have debated on going down a size to the 50.

Do you have different sizes on your ALR & Domane?

Thanks

jaxgtr

My Domane is a 52, the ALR is a 54. I also have a CrossRip that is a 52. I have generally ridden 54s for most of the bikes I have owned. The CrossRip was the first 52, but the fit is more relaxed, similar to the Domane. I had a cannondale supersix that fit me like a glove, it was a 54, Allez, 54. I picked up a Synapse in a 54, and hated it, could not get comfortable on it, and I so wanted to like it. I dumped it for the ALR.