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road bike frame size
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I'm trying to help my girlfriend get a road bike but I don't exactly know which size to be looking for. She is a little under 5'9 with a ~33 inch inseam. Any recommended sizes? She tried riding a size 54 Trek 5900 but didn't really feel great on it. Thanks.


Dan Meehan
Coach / Athlete
Last edited by: Granpa Chook: Jul 6, 11 22:31
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Re: road bike frame size [Granpa Chook] [ In reply to ]
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I ride a 49, am 5'6" with a ~31 inseam. I am slightly more legs than torso tho. I used to ride a 51 (Soloist) and it was too big for me - not in the stack but in the reach - again due to legs vs. arms. Smaller will always be safer bet. Road frames are usually designed to fit a rider's reach with a 100-110mm stem. On the Soloist, I had a 60mm stem and the poor bike just looked ridiculous. It was unfair to the frame to run it like that, so I traded it for some super sweet Reynolds wheels ;-)

AP

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"How bad could it be?" - SimpleS
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Re: road bike frame size [Granpa Chook] [ In reply to ]
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Hi there!

It is really going to depend on what manf you guys look at as far as sizing goes. I was a really hard fit because I am 5' 6.5" mostly legs (31" inseam) with a long torso and very short waisted (and oddly as we found out a rather longer than normal femur bone). I was originally on a 50 cm Felt ZW-95 and it was a horrible fit and it was a women's specific!!

So here is what I did, I work for a bike shop with a lot of different manf. representation so this made it a lot easier. We went to: https://www.wrenchscience.com/...%2fFit%2fHeight.aspx and did all the measurements. It takes two people to do all these but if you do them right it cuts out a lot of gray matter on this process.

After all the measurements were logged and the type of fit I wanted was chosen it made going out and actually riding bikes in that ball park of my measurements a lot easier. If they didn't have one in stock then I found someplace that did... I finally ended up going with one of my own suppliers and couldn't be happier with my bike.

So now I ride a 46 cm Pinarello FP3 full carbon women's specific. I ride a neutral amount of seat post, but what has made the biggest difference was the reach. Even with a way smaller stem I was still stretched out too far on the Felt and it aggravated my shoulders and pissed off my traps big time.

Now that is a HUGE difference in bike fit.

So use the bike wrench fit program *its free* and once you have all that then go shopping, but keep in mind you will always have to make minor adjustments to whatever you buy, whether it be a shorter/longer flat/angled stem, an offset seat post, different saddle etc.... but as long as the bones of the bike are right all that other stuff is made a lot more easier to deal with.

I am an avid cyclist who is also the co-owner and buyer for Low Country Multisport a performance specific F.I.S.T. certified fit studio and repair shop in the beautiful Lowcountry of South Carolina. And, I just happen to be married to a retired Marine who is completely addicted to the iron distance. "lord help my wallet!!"
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Re: road bike frame size [lilbluebirds] [ In reply to ]
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It is funny, I would have thought I wrote that post lilbluebirds. I am 5'6 with a 32 cm inseam. I was originally on a 52 cm Trek that I was fitted on by a very reputable dealer. The reach on the bike was way too long for me, making the handling qualities extremely poor. A friend who is experienced in fitting people did the wrench science method with me. We measured both sides of my body and did each measurement three times, to make sure things were input correctly. I also ended up on the Pinarello FP3 women's specific bike in size 46 and I couldn't be happier with the fit.
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Re: road bike frame size [chicklamino] [ In reply to ]
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Now I gotta go try one of these 46 Pinarellos! Do they run 650s I assume? (which would be bad i.e.: $$ for me)

Ap

------------------------
"How bad could it be?" - SimpleS
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Re: road bike frame size [AndyPants] [ In reply to ]
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No, they run 700s.
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Re: road bike frame size [chicklamino] [ In reply to ]
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OH.

MY.

GOD.


You just absolutely made my day, no my year! ;-)

AP

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"How bad could it be?" - SimpleS
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Re: road bike frame size [AndyPants] [ In reply to ]
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yes, they are that good... and darn sexy too....

I am an avid cyclist who is also the co-owner and buyer for Low Country Multisport a performance specific F.I.S.T. certified fit studio and repair shop in the beautiful Lowcountry of South Carolina. And, I just happen to be married to a retired Marine who is completely addicted to the iron distance. "lord help my wallet!!"
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Re: road bike frame size [lilbluebirds] [ In reply to ]
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Stop giving away our secret! I like that my bike is different, you don't see many women's pinarello around :-)
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Re: road bike frame size [chicklamino] [ In reply to ]
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chicklamino wrote:
Stop giving away our secret! I like that my bike is different, you don't see many women's pinarello around :-)

Yeah yeah, I'll stop spreading the love ....

~LBB

I am an avid cyclist who is also the co-owner and buyer for Low Country Multisport a performance specific F.I.S.T. certified fit studio and repair shop in the beautiful Lowcountry of South Carolina. And, I just happen to be married to a retired Marine who is completely addicted to the iron distance. "lord help my wallet!!"
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Re: road bike frame size [lilbluebirds] [ In reply to ]
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That size sounds about right, of course just guessing. However I would bet that:
1. Stem lenth may not be right
2. Handlebars too deep/wide

Some simple changes to the current setup may be all that she needs.
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Re: road bike frame size [lilbluebirds] [ In reply to ]
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thanks for that link!


Dan Meehan
Coach / Athlete
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