Hey there, I’m in a bit of a pickle… I’m looking at buying a Kalibur, but am confused by the sizing…
Their medium says size 52-55
Their large says size 55-58
My current bike has a top tube of 55… I’m 6 feet, but have a longer torso relative to the length of my legs…
Can any Kalibur owners let me know your experiences with the bike and what size works for you?
Thanks,
B
I’d say focus predominantly on top tube length. Figure out what your ideal top tube length is and select the size that matches that.
Remember that the Kalibur is a 76 degree seat tube bike. If you want to ride it steep you can but you’ll need a 30 cm. long saddle such as the Profile Tri Stryke. I use a Tri Stryke on mine and am sitting at 81 degrees.
If you have a baseline knowledge of what top tube length you need- and the seat tube angle of the bike you are coming off of (presuming you’re happy with the fit of it) then you can just select best top tube length for you from the Kuota geometry chart.
I hope that helps.
Eagerly anticipating your review of that bike!!! It’s a slow, short week at the office, tomorrow is just a half day and no one will be in, please do a guy a favor and provide me with some reading material to pass the time!!!
when i got fitted on my medium the fitter mentioned that the top tube length is measured oddly. They apparently dont measure to the middle of the seat tube and instead measure to the begining of it, or something like that. This effectively makes the tube longer than the measurement. I suggest you go and measure top tubes or try and ride either size or both. The downshot of all of this is that i have a really short stem on my medium and i probably should be on a small.
dont flame me if im off base on this, i am relying on info from a fitter at sbr i met once. it did seem to make sense in light of my stem though.
What are your measurements? I have a Kalibur on the way and was torn between M and L - I am 6’ w/32" inseam. 55cm Cervelo P3.
5’8" 30" inseam.
We have the exact same measurements and I would be on a 55cm P3. So did you go with the Medium or Large Kalibur?
By the way, what swayed you towards the Kuota? I know you previously mentioned the Blade, the E-TTX and even another Softride?
L is on the way, but I need to get on it…
Why Kuota? Great price for the performance, not so much fake marketing mish mash in the Kuota add dept. Well made, and LIGHTER than any of the other bikes I have been looking at. I am a fan of the cables NOT being in the frame as the aero benifit of internal cables will be off set by my helmet chin strap flapping in the wind.
Plus, the Kuota has a great history of performing with Campagnolo mounted up!
I am 6’3’’ (192 cm) w/35" (89 cm) inseam. So I suppose I have to choose the XL???
I rode a kalibur for two years with good success. My only complaint was that the seat angle seemed to be slacker than they advertised. I ran it with an arione tri slid all the way forward on the 76 degree post and the effective seat angle was only 76.2 (measured BB to center of the rails). My saddle height is about 76.5 cm and the nose was about 1cm behind the BB. I’m 5’9, long legged and was on a medium with a 90mm stem. I measured the actual seat angle at about 74-74.5 degrees with a smart tool calibrated to the flat surface of the tt.
Where on the saddle did you measure?
I could check Slowman’s chart, but coupled with an Arione (which the butt bones sit closer the the handlebars), my guess is that’s around a 78ish ESPA.
along the line from the BB to the center of the saddle’s rails, which is about 2 or 3 cm in front of the center of the clamping hardware.
Funny you mentioned that seat angle thing. I was picking up a wheel at my LBS (after breaking a spoked) for repair, and was going over the Kuota pretty well. It was parked right next to a Scott Plasma and a Cervelo P2C. I immediately could tell the STA was pretty shallow, so we measured it - 74.5 degrees (large frame) as best we could tell. The Cervelo was definitely at 78 degrees.
Also, I didn’t realize how fat the head tube was! Huge - primarly because of the 1.25 inch race in the bottom (for stiffness I presume), but certainly not very “aero” compared with the skinny cervelo headtube or a Quintana Roo bikes. I mean, how much “honking” do you do on the front of a tri bike while aero compared with a road bike?
Other than that, pretty nice! Not as light as the Plasma though, although that bike just has way too many issues (seat “mast”, rear derailler, warranty, etc.)
Lessee…Kalibur next to a Plasma…comparing to a P2C…I’ll bet you were at Wheelie Fun!! Hey, give me a call next time…I’m just a few miles up the road, come on by and have a brewski.
Spot
Other than that, pretty nice! Not as light as the Plasma though, although that bike just has way too many issues (seat “mast”, rear derailler, warranty, etc.)
I am considering a new Plasma, you think this is a bad choice?
Remember that there are 2 different seatposts for the Kalibur, one with set back and one with the clamp in the middle. Just make sure you look at the seatpost to see which type it is before measuring since it will make a difference. We’ve seen 2 people come into our store with Kaliburs purchased from online retailers with the slack seat post. The customers were both surprised when I told them that they had the slack one.
I’ll stay out of the seat tube angle debate since we sell them in my store, just look at the seatpost before measuring.
54mm for the Kalibur HT vs the 35mm Cervelo. Oversize lower race is probably just because that’s what they have on the road bikes
Also, I didn’t realize how fat the head tube was! Huge - primarly because of the 1.25 inch race in the bottom (for stiffness I presume), but certainly not very “aero” compared with the skinny cervelo headtube or a Quintana Roo bikes. I mean, how much “honking” do you do on the front of a tri bike while aero compared with a road bike?
Sure looks a lot “fatter” than just 12mm, but even that is a lot.
Spot - yeah, of course I was at Wheelie Fun! Where else can you just pull all those cool toys down, talk shop, measure, etc.
I know about the different seat posts in the Kuota, just like the Cervelo. Measured to the middle of the seatpost with a bubble level as best we could. Of couse you can (and likely would) slide the seat as fast forward as possible on many fits.
Eric - nothing at all wrong with the Plasma (assuming the geometry is right for you). There is no 1 perfect bike. A couple of things I didn’t like were the short warranty, non-replaceable rear derailleurs, and difficulty in travel with the bike with the seat “mast”. Geometry is closest to perfect for me with Cervelo and QR bikes with their steep seat tube angles, short head tubes and shortish top tubes. Actually, the Saber is spot on except for the head tube (and you have to add an external head set now as well - good there, but makes it taller still).
Spot - yeah, of course I was at Wheelie Fun! Where else can you just pull all those cool toys down, talk shop, measure, etc.
Mission Bay in Elgin - of course you would have to add Trek, Cannondale, Felt, Litespeed, QR and a few others to the mix!
yeah, WF also has Felt et. al, just not on my “radar screen.” The owner also builds his own custom frames (AL and Ti) called “Veritas”. Pretty cool. I like this shop because the guy who fit me on my bike is also a decent Pro triathlete and bike wrench - unusual to say the least. Owner Bob is seriously into all things about bikes (and tris) down to the minutia (hence his own bike line - he even designed an aerobar and sold the patent to Profile (the Airstryke)) and likes to pour over numbers with customers on his computer. They will even let you in the back of the shop with the wrenches to help build your bike up yourself/teach you some, etc.
So why did you decide on the Kalibur? Great bike fore sure, just curious. Also, knowing you and the geometry of this bike, you would need a pretty short stem on a L sized frame, right?