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Advice needed: Should I buy this bike for my wife?
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Hi all,

I'm looking to buy a Tri bike for my Tri-loving wife. She's upgrading from an old road bike. Money is a little tight so we can't really afford what we want -- a Felt B16 or Cervelo P2C. My wife is 5'4, short legs, broad shoulders, muscular. She's already completed a full Ironman so is pretty serious about the sport. I can buy the bike described below for $1,000. Does this make sense? Any advice appreciated.

Bike description:

"This is a 2006 Orbea Aletta triathlon/timetrial bike.
It is a Small with a 53cm toptube. The seat tube angle is 76 degrees. This setup would retail for over $2500. The frame is made from aero shaped aluminum tubing with carbon fiber seat and chain stays for stiffness and comfort. It is hand made in Spain. The frame is super light (only 1400 grams) and very comfortable. The Orbea AC Aero fork has aero carbon fiber legs with an aluminum steerer for strength. It is held in place with an integrated sealed bearing headset with carbon fiber headset spacers. The wheels are Shimano RS10s. They are very stiff, strong, and fast (they only have 200 miles on them)! The tires are Specialized All Condition Armadillo Elites. The drivetrain is all Shimano Ultegra 10 speed with Dura Ace bar-end shifters (the chain is a SRAM PC-1050 and the cassette is a Shimano CS-5600). The cranks are FSA SLK carbon fiber units with an external bottom bracket. The brake are Orbea’s being pulled by Tektro aero levers. The cockpit consists of a Profile Razor aero carbon fiber seatpost, Selle Italia Nova saddle, a Profile Alumin-X aero bar with carbon extensions, and a Pro PLT stem. The Profile water bottle cages are included.
"
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Re: Advice needed: Should I buy this bike for my wife? [abirnbau] [ In reply to ]
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i think that bike is too big for her.
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Re: Advice needed: Should I buy this bike for my wife? [slink] [ In reply to ]
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I would tend to agree that the bike is too big. If she's 5'4", a 53 will likely make her too stretched out. I know not everyone fits the same on bikes, but by way of example I am 5'6" and I ride a 51.
Last edited by: SadieSaysRun: Jul 3, 09 8:33
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Re: Advice needed: Should I buy this bike for my wife? [abirnbau] [ In reply to ]
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I too think think that the bike would be too bike for her. I'm 5'6'' and ride a 51 and know of someone who was 5'9'' and rode a 51. But, it all really depends upon her build. My friend that was 5'9'' was all legs; whereas, I'm pretty evenly distributed.
Last edited by: roxiegirl: Jul 3, 09 10:19
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Re: Advice needed: Should I buy this bike for my wife? [abirnbau] [ In reply to ]
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Sounds like a great deal! But it does seem like the bike may be too big for her- but in addition to height, what is her seat height, and flexibility like? It is possible she may fit on the bike with a short stem. Can you try it out? Can you find the same bike/size in a bike shop and get advice from a fitter? It sounds like the only way to make a conclusive decision!

(I've owned two orbeas, and I am 5'4'' as well, with a seat height (center of bb to top of saddle =69cm) One of these was a 2006 mitis dama women's road bike 51cm, and the other was a 2006 lobocross unisiex size 49cm. This doesn't necessarily mean that the bike is too big for her, just provided for comparison.)
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Re: Advice needed: Should I buy this bike for my wife? [mellorite] [ In reply to ]
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ALSO, ask this seller what size the cranks are.
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Re: Advice needed: Should I buy this bike for my wife? [abirnbau] [ In reply to ]
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I am 5'5 and ride a 2007 Orbea Ora 49cm. The 53cm seems like it may be too big. And I think those may be the cranks I have on my bike. If so, I am not a fan, I want to replace them.
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Re: Advice needed: Should I buy this bike for my wife? [njtrigirl] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks for all your help everyone. It definitely sounds like this bike is too big. If anyone would like to sell a 48 - 51 sized bike please let me know. Thanks again!
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Re: Advice needed: Should I buy this bike for my wife? [abirnbau] [ In reply to ]
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It is a Small with a 53cm toptube.

Frame size is typically described by the SEAT TUBE length, not the top tube length. You might want to go back to the seller and confirm the 53 cm length is top tube vs seat tube length.

If the seller isn't sure, possibly an e-mail to Orbea would confirm the frame size. All of those dimensions are usually available in a table (at least during the current sales year).

HTH.


Behold the turtle! He makes progess only when he sticks his neck out. (James Bryant Conant)
GET OFF THE F*%KING WALL!!!!!!! (Doug Stern)
Brevity is the soul of wit. (William Shakespeare)
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Re: Advice needed: Should I buy this bike for my wife? [parkito] [ In reply to ]
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Bike Sizing is by the top tube. Just check out any bicycle site.
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Re: Advice needed: Should I buy this bike for my wife? [AZtri] [ In reply to ]
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Hmmm, maybe I'm just showing my age. In the "old days" for classical bikes, size was determined by the seat tube length. For example, Bianchi (my first love) still goes by this dimension for classifying frame size:

http://www.bianchiusa.com/...-class-doiomiti.html

Have the rules changed for tri styled bikes?

My alu P3 is a 48 cm, which is the seat tube length. The top tube dimension is more of a virtual number based on the design. Cervelo still seems to use the seat tube length to designate frame size, though:

http://www.cervelo.com/bikes.aspx?bike=P32009

So, what am I missing here?

Edit: I think I found it. From the Cervelo site (below the dim chart):

Note 2: All our TT/tri bikes have a dropped toptube and shortened headtube to enable the rider to position the aerobars low enough for a proper aero position. This means that the frame size is no longer equivalent to the seattube length, so don't determine the size that way. Simply go by the size sticker, or measure the headtube and look it up in the above chart.

I'm guessing that this might have become standard procedure for most/all tt-tri bike manufacturers in recent years, yes? In which case, that 53 cm top tube in the OP may be closer to a "51 cm" size (seat tube equivalent) than a "48 cm" size.

Could some one resend me a copy of the original memo on that? Thanks.


Behold the turtle! He makes progess only when he sticks his neck out. (James Bryant Conant)
GET OFF THE F*%KING WALL!!!!!!! (Doug Stern)
Brevity is the soul of wit. (William Shakespeare)
Last edited by: parkito: Jul 5, 09 20:04
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Re: Advice needed: Should I buy this bike for my wife? [abirnbau] [ In reply to ]
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I am a 5'8" tall guy and I used to ride the same size bike. I had the seatpost pretty low and an 90mm stem. I think it's too big for someone 5'4" tall. I bouth the whole bike, full dura ace, in 2006 for $1100.00. It's not a screaming deal. Talk them down to $700, buy the bike and then strip it and sell the frame/fork/headset for $300. Then you have $400 sunk into some nice components and be patient for a 46-48CM frame that will fit her on ebay.

Dave


Dave Stark
dreamcatcher@astound.net
USAC & USAT level 2 certified coach
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Re: Advice needed: Should I buy this bike for my wife? [karma] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks everyone for your great advice. This definitely looks like a bike that won't fit my wife.
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