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I'm in the market for a triathlon bike, and would prefer to buy used... I figure there are plenty of guys out there with perfectly good bikes that are collecting dust, and would do me perfectly fine. On the poseur scale my ability would probably justify a Cervelo Duel level of a bike.
It seems that there are a lot of road bike fit calculators out there, however I'm not sure how that all translates to Tri bike geometry. I don't have a LBS that does tri specific fitting, however fit is the most important factor if I'm to purchase a bike. I'm currently riding a 59cm Bianchi road bike that doesn't really fit me properly (top tube is long, seat tube is short). Perhaps I've got odd proportions, and have to save my pennies for a custom bike.
Height: 74"
Sternum notch: 60"
Inseam: 36"
Arm length: 28"
Shoulder width 15"
Most fit calulators put me at a 61cm frame (road bike). If anybody has suggestions it'd be greatly appreciated. thanks.
That's a great article Tom.
Thanks for the article Tom. You make your point well. My road bike was "fit" by my LBS, and was very uncomfortable... I ride with a cycling club, and our coach was able to make some adjustments to make things better (longer seat post, shorter stem) but still not great.
So, I guess the question becomes, is it possible to fit a bike without physically being on it? i.e. Would it be possible to get a bike fit done, have measurements, then go out and buy a bike? Or realistically, is getting fit and buying a bike all at once the only way to do it with confidence?
Great article and I agree. .. but what are people suppose to do with their old bikes then? Or let's say I come across some cash and want a new bike and don't want to keep my old bike that I bought just two years ago but has plenty of miles left on it?
Just looking at it from the person (although I am not one) that is trying to sell their old bike.
Well dang Tom, you're a freakin' new bike seller (as you clearly state in your posts)!
I agree, used bike (or bike parts) purchases primarily benefit experienced cyclists/triathletes. I agree that a novice, unless well advised by an experienced bike mechanic/fitter/racer, would be better off with the services of a shop like yours.
My point is that folks should always evaluate the used bike option as part of being a responsible consumer of durable goods. This country disproportionately consumes the worlds resources because we can, not because it's the responsible thing to do.
Ebay and it's reputable resellers provide a valuable service to keep those goods in circulation. The best of these resellers would provide fit advice because they want to be competitive and secure repeat business. It's all good.
Your editorial is but one illustration of a used purchase that became complicated. Fair to say there are many, many purchasers of used bikes that went smoothly and resulted in happy customers.
I'm just advocating that folks should evaluate all their purchasing options and then decide if a used bike could fit their needs. I'm glad Paul is looking into it. He is looking for some free advice like many on this board.
Pesonally, as an ex-bike retailer AND supporter of responsible consumption, I help all my friends in the market for a bike go through the options and decide if a used bike would work for them, or not.
I hate to see a nice ride gathering dust in someone's garage; bikes are meant to be ridden, new and old.
Mr. Uncaptured External Costs
Fossil carbon is planetary poison.
Tom has a very interesting take on buying a used bike. I grew up 150 miles from any decent bike shop, so I have never paid someone to work on my bike. I have spent more than a little time on ebay searching for bikes. I bought two different bikes that way and played with them over the years, trying to make them work.
After a three-year journey, I realized bike companies just didn’t make the bike I needed. I ordered a Yaqui from Ves Mandaric via the internet and after I put it together, it was sweet the first time I rode it. I raced it in a duathlon three days later and had a great bike split. Now that I know what I needed to be comfortable I could probably buy my next bike on eBay and find a steal of a deal—except for two points 1) my body type is really hard to fit, so maybe I wouldn’t be successful and 2) Once you ride a Yaqui Ves builds for you, why would you want any other bike?
If someone offered me a P-3Carbon in exchange for my Mariola I would laugh in their face. Cervelos don’t fit me. They might work for others, but the one I owned was a bust.
It is better to buy a less expensive bike fitted to you by someone who knows what they are doing, than to get a sweet deal on a different bike that won’t be comfortable. Unless you are only interested in how cool it looks on top of your car.
You can believe the people who say this or learn the hard way, but learn it you will unless you have a very normal body-type and get lucky. It could happen …
Good luck
Chad
Hey Paul,
Taking your current ride you can deduce some of the frame measurements for an optimal (or least in the ballpark) fit.
You want to roughly end up with an 11 cm stem. You want to be within about 2 cm of your max seatpost extension. Amount of drop to the bars depends on your flexibility and need for aggressive aero position (or not), therefore, give yourself a fork with some steerer to play with.
After that, you'll tweak here and there, as you ride more or less you'll want to change some of the easy stuff like saddle set back or bar drop.
You have lots of resources and opinions if you ride in a club but ultimately, you, are going to decide what is the perfect blend of comfort and performance.
The history of bicycles and riding is littered with fit philosophies. Pick a guru (or blend a couple) and see if their advice works for you. Personally, I like Keith Bontrager's article located here.
http://sheldonbrown.com/frames/index.html
Makes sense to me from a road perspective. I go with our own Slowman for tri fit advice. Read Dan's fit advice thoroughly.
Mr. Uncaptured External Costs
Fossil carbon is planetary poison.
Thanks for the links and advice Tim, looks like I'll have to get my tape measure and calculator out tonight and see what I can come up with. Guess all those algebra classes are going to get good use after all.