Bike size dilemma - which to get?
Discussion
Please bear with a relative noob here and advise if you can...
I'm looking to get a new bike on my employer cycle to work scheme. Of the options available to me I've narrowed the choice down to one of two hybrids - the Cannondale Quick 1 Disc, and the Giant Rapid 0. This is my first bike purchase in over 17 years - I've been trundling around on an old commuter-ised Gary Fisher MTB in that time.
I'm 6', 33-34" inside leg as best I can measure.
I test rode both of these bike options today, both in size Large. The Giant felt about right in size, in that I fell into a natural position on it, but I didn't love the way it rode. The bars seemed too wide, the grips weren't nice, and the whole thing seemed a bit harsh. Tyre pressure perhaps a factor? Dunno. Anyway, the Cannondale felt a lot better, was a much smoother ride and seemed more a part of me rather than something I was just riding, if that makes sense. But... I did seem to be rather upright on it and square into the wind, and kind of right over the bars if you see what I mean. There also seemed to be a bit of a temptation to shuffle backwards a bit off the back of the saddle to get in a better position.
I'm guessing this means the Cannondale frame was actually a bit smaller than ideal, and if I went up to XL I'd be about right. But the shop didn't have an XL to try and truth be told they aren't part of my C2W scheme so I can't buy through them anyway and don't want tpo put them to any more trouble (the Giant dealer is on my scheme, and I would buy through them if that's the bike I go for). If I buy Cannondale I'll be going mail order so buying slightly blind.
So question is - do I need the XL Cannondale, or would that be a risk of too big a frame?
Here's the geometry charts for comparison
I'm looking to get a new bike on my employer cycle to work scheme. Of the options available to me I've narrowed the choice down to one of two hybrids - the Cannondale Quick 1 Disc, and the Giant Rapid 0. This is my first bike purchase in over 17 years - I've been trundling around on an old commuter-ised Gary Fisher MTB in that time.
I'm 6', 33-34" inside leg as best I can measure.
I test rode both of these bike options today, both in size Large. The Giant felt about right in size, in that I fell into a natural position on it, but I didn't love the way it rode. The bars seemed too wide, the grips weren't nice, and the whole thing seemed a bit harsh. Tyre pressure perhaps a factor? Dunno. Anyway, the Cannondale felt a lot better, was a much smoother ride and seemed more a part of me rather than something I was just riding, if that makes sense. But... I did seem to be rather upright on it and square into the wind, and kind of right over the bars if you see what I mean. There also seemed to be a bit of a temptation to shuffle backwards a bit off the back of the saddle to get in a better position.
I'm guessing this means the Cannondale frame was actually a bit smaller than ideal, and if I went up to XL I'd be about right. But the shop didn't have an XL to try and truth be told they aren't part of my C2W scheme so I can't buy through them anyway and don't want tpo put them to any more trouble (the Giant dealer is on my scheme, and I would buy through them if that's the bike I go for). If I buy Cannondale I'll be going mail order so buying slightly blind.
So question is - do I need the XL Cannondale, or would that be a risk of too big a frame?
Here's the geometry charts for comparison
lufbramatt said:
Why a hybrid rather than a road bike with drop bars? No issues with feeling too upright then.
Fair question. I'm used to straight bars is one reason. I don't feel too upright on my MTB and as I said the Giant seemed ok too. I did have a sit on a drop bar bike yesterday (a rather lovely looking Genesis Croix de Fer) but I couldn't see myself living with drops all the time. They seem more 'purposeful' than I feel I need.HardtopManual said:
The rule of thumb is that it's easier to make a slightly small bike fit you with good results than a slightly large one.
That said, I'd just pay for a bike fit. Way cheaper than buying the wrong size bike.
Sorry if daft question, but is the purpose of a bike fit see to what bike will fit a person, or to see how to make a particular bike (or small selection of bikes) fit someone?That said, I'd just pay for a bike fit. Way cheaper than buying the wrong size bike.
minimoog said:
I did have a sit on a drop bar bike yesterday (a rather lovely looking Genesis Croix de Fer) but I couldn't see myself living with drops all the time. They seem more 'purposeful' than I feel I need.
The thing with drop bars is that it gives you more positions to play with, you don't have to ride down below all the time. I have a Croix de Fer in my collection, I use it mainly to commute on, personally I think it's a great thing.bigdom said:
The thing with drop bars is that it gives you more positions to play with, you don't have to ride down below all the time. I have a Croix de Fer in my collection, I use it mainly to commute on, personally I think it's a great thing.
I've owned a couple of 'racers', as we used to call them when I was a kid. Like I say, I've just got used to straight bars, and the easy to grab brakes and shifters. I suppose I could test a drop bar bike out though, just to make sure.TwistingMyMelon said:
What size do the shop recommend?
They didn't push me either way. Young lad, polite and helpful but didn't get technical on me at all. Just let me take it out for 15 mins and asked what I thought when I got back and said they could order in an XL if I wanted. Like I said I can't actually buy from them so I'm not going to push them further.I'll see if there's another Cannondale dealer within striking distance that might have an XL in.
minimoog said:
lufbramatt said:
Why a hybrid rather than a road bike with drop bars? No issues with feeling too upright then.
Fair question. I'm used to straight bars is one reason. I don't feel too upright on my MTB and as I said the Giant seemed ok too. I did have a sit on a drop bar bike yesterday (a rather lovely looking Genesis Croix de Fer) but I couldn't see myself living with drops all the time. They seem more 'purposeful' than I feel I need.My experience with Cannondale is that they tend to fit lots of spacers under the stem and "out of the box" the stem is in the highest position, so it may be possible to get where you feel comfortable just by swapping a few spacers around. On my CAAD8 I had to drop the stem about 20mm to make the bike feel right as I have quite long arms.
lufbramatt said:
I get where you're coming from. When I was commuting by bike I used a 26" rigid mountain bike with flat bars and slick tyres on which did all I needed of it. I added bar ends to get a more stretched out alternative position. At the time I felt it was better for dealing with traffic but now I'm more experienced on a road bike I think I'd be happy on either.
My experience with Cannondale is that they tend to fit lots of spacers under the stem and "out of the box" the stem is in the highest position, so it may be possible to get where you feel comfortable just by swapping a few spacers around. On my CAAD8 I had to drop the stem about 20mm to make the bike feel right as I have quite long arms.
Cheers for that - something to look into.My experience with Cannondale is that they tend to fit lots of spacers under the stem and "out of the box" the stem is in the highest position, so it may be possible to get where you feel comfortable just by swapping a few spacers around. On my CAAD8 I had to drop the stem about 20mm to make the bike feel right as I have quite long arms.
minimoog said:
Sorry if daft question, but is the purpose of a bike fit see to what bike will fit a person, or to see how to make a particular bike (or small selection of bikes) fit someone?
Two kinds of fit.Sensible: See a good independent fitter BEFORE you go shopping for a bike. Get a handle on the riding position in which you are most comfortable (or efficient). Get a list of bikes knocked up with the geometry that will allow you to best replicate the best position you found during the fit.
Less sensible: Go out and buy a bicycle. Ride the bicycle. Find the bicycle difficult to live with because it's uncomfortable, or even causing injuries. Frantically Google "decent local bike fitter" and wait for an appointment. Get the fitter to tell you that you bought entirely the wrong size bike, and subsequently spend a good deal of extra money on different stem, bars, pedal cranks, seat-post, saddle, etc to get the bike to fit you better than it initially did.
There is a third way. Get lucky with the person who sells you the bike, and find that they spend time and effort adjusting their shop floor stock to suit you prior to test riding it, that they then order in and build up a different size when their shop stock doesn't work for you, without asking for a deposit, and then you walk out of the door with your new bike fitting like a glove and not having paid a penny extra for the service. This is the best way, but relies heavily on the element of luck!
minimoog said:
Sorry if daft question, but is the purpose of a bike fit see to what bike will fit a person, or to see how to make a particular bike (or small selection of bikes) fit someone?
The main purpose is to determine what position you should be in on any bike. You'll then get a set of measurements that you can use to determine not only which frame size you should buy for a given model, but also stem length, saddle height, bar width etc.For no other reason than it looked pretty cool in the shop, I tried one of these so-called gravel bikes today. I was surprised to find I quite enjoyed the drop bars.
Lowish-spec hardware for the money though I thought (Tiagra, mech discs).
For much the same price this GT has 105 drivetrain, hydraulic discs, and is well reviewed. Gonna see if I can find one to try.
Mission creep
Lowish-spec hardware for the money though I thought (Tiagra, mech discs).
For much the same price this GT has 105 drivetrain, hydraulic discs, and is well reviewed. Gonna see if I can find one to try.
Mission creep
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