I currently ride a 54cm 2012 Felt B16 which I generally love. However, I’ve always felt it’s a little too big for me (I’m just under 5’8".) My saddle is pushed as far forward as I can get it, and my aerobar pads are pretty far back towards the stem as well.
I’ve seen a pretty good deal on a 2014 B16 frame size 52cm, and I’m considering picking that up and swapping my components over. Looking at the geometry stats, the stack measurement for 52cm vs 54cm is 502 compared with 513, and reach is 406 compared with 414.
They don’t seem radically different to the (i.e. my) untrained eye, so I was hoping someone could provide some assistance. I could probably use dropping a little lower at the front, as I’ve already gone as low as I can on the 54cm frame. If anyone has made a similar move to a smaller but otherwise same frame, I’d love to get your input.
By the way, I do have access to a fitter, but he adopts a somewhat old-school approach designed more for comfort than performance!
Something is amiss with your fit from what I’m reading.
The 52 buys you 1 cm of stack and 1 cm of reach. You can get that with a stem change.
When you say you’ve dropped the front end as low as you can, is that as low as you can with the default equipment? Or have you tried a -17 stem? Are you using the default top cap or have you tried a lower profile top cap to drop the front end?
What saddle are you on? That can affect your relative fore-aft position as much as 3-4 cm when comparing an anatomical saddle such as an ISM or Cobb JOF versus aft seating position on a Fizik Arione Tri2 or Selle Italia SLR or similar saddle.
Thanks for your reply. I’m riding an Adamo Attack saddle. I replaced the stock bars with Pro Missile basebars and Zipp Alumina Clip mounting hardware. I’m using the smaller top cap that’s hidden under the regular-sized one on B16s. I’m also using an 80cm -10 stem.
I’m not particularly uncomfortable with this setup, and my race times have shown it’s not a bad position for me. It’s more that the bike has always felt a little ‘big’, and I’m wondering whether a smaller frame will make it feel more natural.
Good saddle choice. It forces a forward seating position to get you nice and steep.
I despise those bars. They do have a lower profile, so you may be bottomed out. I’d have to see pictures of the front end and stem setup to be sure. Lower profile top cap is probably an option.
I don’t think you’re going to get much bang for your buck with a smaller bike, and I don’t really buy the thought of whether the bike feels too big or too small. We can recreate fit coordinates for all five contact points on a triathlon bike on bikes of 4 different sizes. Does that mean 4 different size bikes fit? Hardly. You can only really feel where you touch the bike. People that talk about how a bike frames handle or feel are, in most cases, imaging things or are outright charlatans. It’s simply very, very, very difficult to really discern the differences in frames when most of what you feel has more to do with the wheels, the bars, the pedals, and gearing.
I apologize if that sounded snarky, I’m just trying to make sure you are getting value in return for your expenditure and I’m not sure whether you’re analyzing the right things. I’d hate for you to drop some cash on something that doesn’t scratch the right itch.
With respect, your race times tell me zero about the quality of your fit. World Championships have been won in both triathlon and TT on fits with room for significant improvement. I’d want to look at fit first simply because I think it’s low hanging fruit.
For what it’s worth I’m your height, I’m 5’8", and I still can’t get as low as I want on the 52 frame. You’re probably riding a bike that’s at least one size too big.
I’m 5.84" and riding the B10 (same frame as yours) in 54, fits really good but not even have half an inch I could move my ism road more forward.
I’m not sure if you would get lower with the original basebar/extensions than your setup now.