Reviving this thread because I am thinking of buying a second hand road bike at a good price and need some help.
Road racing is not my main thing, I do tri’s on my SHIV but also race TT’s, I don’t do serious road bike races, but use it in organized rides and “friendly” races.
I enjoy riding my road bike when I’m not on the TT and train on it in hills or in groups. I am looking for a better road bike frame, upgrading from my aluminium one, and found one.
I ride a 56cm Specialized Allez at the moment, and got a very good deal on a Trek Madone 4.7, carbon frame/fork, full 105.
But…the Madone is 60cm. My height is 178cm (5’84) tall and my leg lenght is approx 84-85cm (33-33.5")
Reading online, some sites say I can ride bikes from 56 to 62, other simply state that I should ride 58.
I borrowed the bike to test and I really like it, the top tube is a little long, but not so much that I can’t mount a shorter stem (which I have at home) and move the seat a bit forward.
I lowered the seat tube and can pedal comfortably, I can stand over the bike without the top tube touching my you know whats.
I want to buy it because I like it, its a good bike at a great price, but should I? or am I possibly making a mistake by buying a frame that is too big?
How big is too big when things like stem, seat tube, saddle position can be altered easily?
don’t move the seat forward to fix a reach problem, set the saddle position to make the legs happy, use the stem to fix the reach
If you can’t find a way to get the bars as low as you want, the frame is too big
If you have to use shorter than a 70mm stem or so, the frame may be too big. Depends on frame size though. At some point the stem gets too short and the bike handles pretty twitchy
I can try the string-with-weight-hanging-from-the-knee thing to check on the saddle position.
I will also check if the bars are low enough. That is a good one. If they can’t go lower and I need them to be, there is nothing to be done indeed.
For the reach, what is allot or is there a standard or general “rule” people follow that I can use as guidance?
PS:
I bought my current road bike without knowing anything about frame size or fit when I started out riding. I never actually did a proper fit on it like on my TT.
Because of this I don’t know if I should compare my old road bike fit to this new one, because the old one might as well be poorly fit.
In addition to the points above, consider whether you’ll enjoy riding a bike that size or whether it’ll feel like the bike is cumbersome at that size.
FWIW, I’ve owned and ridden road bikes in the 54cm to 57cm range. They could all be adjusted to fit my needs but I’ve never liked the way the bigger frames felt while riding. Seemed the bike was riding me instead of the other way around. In the last couple of decades I’ve stuck with 54 and 55 cm frames from various brands and am much happier with a bike that feels nimble and responsive for things like out of the saddle efforts and fast twisty descending. Maybe it’s the stem length thing and I agree it’s best to stay above 80cm or so if you can, maybe it’s all in my head but I definitely like a bike with a lot of standover clearance and one that feels nimble and responsive and for me that means a smaller frame.
I would not suggest a 60cm frame for someone 5’10" tall even if you can somehow make it work. And as mentioned above it’s a really bad idea to use seat fore/aft adjustment to compensate for handlebar reach issues. Set the saddle based on pedaling, power generation and fore/aft balance, weight distribution needs and then adjust the front end to get your reach/drop to work.
If the 56mm fits well, I don’t see a 60mm working. The seat would be all the way down and pretty far forwar and the stem so short it would be super twitchy. Plus it will have a longer wheelbase and heaver and won’t feel nearly as light and nimble as a 56 or 58 woudl in comparison.
Thanks, I will definitely consider all these points. I will be going for a ride later and I’ll take the allen set along.
I already have a big CX frame at home which I ride offroad and I really notice the size being too big on that one.
I wouldn’t want to have a huge bike, it could come back to haunt me as in I may not like riding it after a while or something.
Even though it is now difficult to choose between a bigger lighter bike, and a smaller heavier bike, I don’t think I’ll buy it if its too big.
Bikes are only fun if you can enjoy riding them.
I’m 6’2" and rode a 60 Madone for 6years. First 4 with a 110 stem then went to an 80 trying to get comfortable in the drops but bike was just too long. Just bought a 56 VENGE with 110 stem and love it. Like above, bike is very nimble and responsive and much more comfortable. By the way, I have a 2006 60cm Madone 5.5 for sale
I agree that it’s a good bike, but it’s not a great price… It would be if it fits, but I can’t see that happening.
Think about a bike fit, the first parameter you fix is the riders position in relationship with the bottom bracket. A proper seat height and set back are important. Then you start to adjust all the other parameters… to even make the bike rideable, I bet you need to move the seat forward a lot… then go with a short stem. Basically, you’re making a good bike bad.
This is not a good idea… save them money and buy a bike that fits… you’ll be much faster and comfortable.
