Hi Everybody,
I sized up a brand-new cyclist last night for a new bike purchase. Sizing for a new bike is something I honestly haven’t done a lot of yet, as I’ve only been pro for less than two years. I get as nervous as a whore in church on stuff like this - just want to do it right. I followed Dan’s protocol for sizing, as he describes here, and I’m scratching my head at the results.
Some background:
- 54-year-old female
- Looking for a road bike
- Has not ridden a bike since they came with banana seats in the 70s
- 30.5" inseam
- 53.5" to sternal notch
- 23.5" arm length
- 5’ 4" overall height
- 35cm wide shoulders
- Has a $1000 budget for the bike, not including pedals, helmet, and saddle
- Will start out with flat pedals because she’s mainly worried about learning to shift and brake first, and will get a trainer this winter, which will allow her to get practice clipping in and out before doing it outside. I suggested she go for mountain bike shoes and Shimano SPD for their two-sided entry, generous float, and ease of walking in mountain bike shoes when she gets to that point.
I currently use an old LeMond Revmaster spin bike with a SwitchIt, adjustable cranks from High Sierra Cycling Center, and an adapter that my neighbor buddy machined for me to attach regular road bars to it. Call it a poor man’s fit bike. It works pretty well.
After measuring her, I put all her numbers into a spreadsheet I use for predicting coordinates, using 5 different saddle height measurements (Lemond, Cobb, 109%, etc.) to get in the window. Got everything in place and got her on the bike. Saddle was way too high for her, brought it down, and continued to make adjustments to get her comfortable. Swapped saddles a couple of times, but she wasn’t too offended by anything. A relatively flat Selle Royal Seta tilted down just a hair seemed good. After all was said and done, here were her measurements:
Saddle
Selle Royal Seta
Saddle Angle (degrees)
-1.10 deg
Saddle Height (mm)
653 mm
Saddle Setback (mm)
15 mm
Saddle Tip to Bar Center (mm)
390 mm
Saddle Center to Bar Center (mm)
530 mm
Handlebar Reach (X) (mm)
375 mm
Handlebar Stack (Y) (mm)
610 mm
Crank Arm Length (mm)
165 mm
Handlebar
EIS S5
Handlebar Width (cm)
38 cm
Handlebar Depth (mm)
70 mm
Handlebar Reach (mm)
120 mm
She was comfortable with this, so I said I would gather a list of bikes for her. It didn’t take long to realize the options seem limited - she’s wanting/needing a pretty sort reach (even after moving the saddle forward a bit - started using Dan’s 10% back rule, but ended up moving her forward without having the knee extend past the pedal spindle), with quite a bit of stack. I’m going to double-check my measurements when I get back to the studio, but I’m pretty sure I didn’t mess something up here as I was recording. I just realized I have not recorded the handlebar elevation or distance from the saddle to the hoods. I’ll record those tonight.
The local bike shop had put her on a Felt ZW-85 for a test spin. She said it was a 54, although Felt’s website uses “Petite (43)”, “Small (45)”, “Medium (47)” and “Tall (50)”. Her comment, “it didn’t feel very good, but I figured that was just because I don’t know what I’m doing.” She likes that particular bike, as it is close to her budget, but she’s open to anything.
The small ZW-85 using the stock 70mm +17 deg stem, 10 mm of spacers, and 20 mm head set cap would put her at a stack of 613 and reach of 410. That’s pretty stretched out.
The petite ZW-85 using the stock 60mm +17 deg stem, 20mm of spacers and 20 mm headset cap would put her at a stack of 598 and reach of 391. Still stretched out and a little low. - The ZW-85, specifically, is a little too long and low. There appear to be other options where the stack is more achievable (BMC Gran Fondo 48, Diamondback Airen 48).
This just doesn’t seem right. I’d like to welcome a new member to the cycling community by getting her comfortable, but part of me thinks I have her closer to riding a beach cruiser than a road bike… The shortest bikes in the stack and reach database are still too long. This is what raises red flags for me. I feel like I’ve done something wrong here, or is this just a case of a very short torso with long legs making things difficult?
Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.