thms

Hi,

on the pictures you see me sitting on my bike. I feel comfortable while riding it but from three people I got different opinions about its fitting for me. One says it is too small, the other two say it fits well.

So I'm interested in your opinions.


TIA
Thomas

berner

If the bike is comfortable for you it does not matter what anyone else thinks. Then again, is it comfortable on longer rides. Often, a bike that is comfortable for a 20 mile ride will cause considerable discomfort on rides of, say 60 miles. The one thing I'd point out is that your arms seem locked out straight. Some bend in the elbows will isolate road shock and contribute to comfort.

IK_biker

Frame size is too small for you.
This does not mean that bikes too small for their riders can not be set up comfortably.

Now, what are you going to do with this feedback?

thms

Thank you. To be honest I usually don't ride more than 20 miles ;b
Yes, the arms are straight. Should I just bend them by myself or is there some adjustment at necessary (e.g. at the stem)?

thms

Thanks. What are the points that let you come to your verdict? What would you change to set the bike up comfortably?

What I'm wondering is that this is the largest frame size that was available for this bike back in 1995. When I'm looking through older catalogues from e.g. Marin the frames where at max. 20,5".

Brian25

As a bicycle store owner for over 12 years and Marin dealer, I do not believe that the frame is too small as much as that the seat could use raising. If it turns out that after the seat is raised, that the handlebars feel too low for you, you can always get a higher rise stem.

berner

THMS, I'm a card carrying old guy, going on 80 y.o. The older one gets, the stiffer the body. Consequently, I do some strengthening and stretching exercises daily,mostly in the morning. To maintain a strong back, which has been troublesome over the years, I work on those back muscles. There are plenty of videos on You Tube showing many core exercises. But it is not altogether a matter of strong back muscles. It my case anyway, it has been a matter of making good habits that promote nicely bent elbows. Having found myself with rigid arms in my early years of cycling, I began bobbing while pedaling. It is not possible to bob with rigid arms. I soon found myself riding with bent arms and being able to maintain that position because the back muscles were strong enough and I no longer think about it.