Shimano or SRAM

My opinion is don't compromise on the fit. If the dealer trys to jam you onto a 58cm by sticking on an extended or set-back seatpost, I'd say he's more interested in selling you something that actually getting you fitted properly. I'm 6', and ride a 58cm. My old 56cm bike required me to run the seatpost all the way up, with a 6" drop to the bars. It looked like a cool race setup, but resulted in me not using the drops very much, particularly on century rides. Plus, I like the added space for out of the saddle climbing.

Getting the right gearing is important too. Don't let a saleman talk you out of the low gears you want; if the bike doesn't come with them, they should be willing to make the changes at minimal cost. Shimano vs SRAM really doesn't matter, although I'm a bit of a Shimano loyalist cause my DA 9sp stuff just keeps on working so well. Actually, for a guy of your size, frame stiffnes and wheel selection is probably critical....I'd pass on bikes with flexy-feeling frames or wimpy low-spoke wheelsets.

HEY MAN ! I ain't no bike fitter but 58 is too small for you , being 6' 4" . Unless you are all torso . my son is a hair under 6' 2" and he is on a 60 . the specialized 61 sounds more like it , and it better have a super duty, ultra strong, extra reinforced , mega strength seat post included ( ya - right ) . Is a 62 out of the question ? Well, different bikes - different geometries . Just glad to hear that you are nailing it down between a couple of different bikes .DON'T SETTLE ! Make sure it's rite - good luck .

dhk2 - brings up some good points - your a big guy so don't get stuck with a frame that's not stiff enough for you . As for the wheels , you might have to settle a little bit on those , but at least you can upgrade the wheels later .

No, my height is all in my legs...36" inseam. Even with the 66cm on the Schwinn I have the seatpost pulled out 4" Unfortunately the 61cm Specialized is the largest frame size I've been able to find. I'll be sure to ask about the stiffness. I know the Secteur is based on the Roubaix, which I understand was designed to be a little cushier for cobblestones, so stiffness may be something to consider.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by maddogbubba [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

HEY MAN ! I ain't no bike fitter but 58 is too small for you , being 6' 4" . Unless you are all torso . my son is a hair under 6' 2" and he is on a 60 . the specialized 61 sounds more like it , and it better have a super duty, ultra strong, extra reinforced , mega strength seat post included ( ya - right ) . Is a 62 out of the question ? Well, different bikes - different geometries . Just glad to hear that you are nailing it down between a couple of different bikes .DON'T SETTLE ! Make sure it's rite - good luck .

dhk2 - brings up some good points - your a big guy so don't get stuck with a frame that's not stiff enough for you . As for the wheels , you might have to settle a little bit on those , but at least you can upgrade the wheels later .

So, went by the Specialized shp again to check get a better look at Apex. Long story short I'm pretty sold on it. Certainly not to knock 105, but I liked the feel of it, the salesman I talked to switched recently from Ultegra to Rival and loves it.

Rode a Secteur Sport (Tiagra/Sora) on a trainer, just for basic sizing. For me at least, even the Sora stuff shifted beautifully. Of course the only thing I have to compare it to are the friction shifters on my Schwinn but if the lower level components shift that well I can only imagine better stuff.

After the trainer session he turned me more towards the Allez Comp. A straight up racing bike, same basic geometry, and stiffness, as the Tarmac, couple pounds lighter than the Secteur, available up to a 64. He and the other wrench were impressed with my spinning on the trainer (in pants and dress shoes, with old-school pedal clips) and guessed (correctly) that I'd probably be interested in doing some racing down the road. They can get me into the '11 Allez for the same $$ as the '10 Secteur I looked at the other day.

At this point I don't think I'm even going to ride the Giant. I will probably ride something comparable with 105 just to be sure but the Allez really looks like the one.

6'4" - 58cm - that doesn't sound right! It's ok to show a lot of seatpost and to put on a stem up to 130mm length tops,
but this doesn't sound like "your" bike. I'm 6'0" and ride a 56cm tri setup - which is really quite different - and a 58cm
road bike with pretty generous seatpost and a 100mm stem. Keep looking I think! Take a look here -
http://www.qbike.com/cgi-bin/road-bikes.cgi?pr1=0&pr2=78&sz1=138&sz2=200

I suggest that you go to a different bicycle shop. Don't ever compromise on fit, and don't believe someone who says that they can make a too small frame fit unless they are a master frame builder and happen to be holding a welding torch.

As far as drive trains go, Shimano and SRAM are comparable in performance and price. The main deciding factor is if you prefer the double tap shifting of SRAM or the dual levers of Shimano. There is one advantage that Shimano has over SRAM, Shimano's customer service is vastly superior to SRAM's customer service.

Giant and Specialized both use compact geometries. According to Giant's geometry chart, the XL (extra large) defy has a 58.5 cm seat tube. It also has a 59.5 cm virtual top tube and a 22.5 cm head tube. According to Specialized's geometry chart, he 61 cm Secteur has a 56.5 cm seat tube (two cm shorter than the Giant's), a 60.0 cm virtual top tube, and a 24.5 cm head tube. Except for the Sectuer's extended head tube, these bikes are essentially the same size.

So unless you have a jones for an extra tall head tube or you really need a XXL frame (say, a Secteur in 64 cm, with a 60.0 cm seat tube), the XL Defy will fit just fine and even show 2 cm less seat post.

In general, the newer frame geometries have everyone sizing down, especially the tall guys. For example, in the '70s and '80s I did most of my racing on 60-61 cm steel frames--tried a 58.5 for a while, but it was too small. Nowadays most bikes that tall are too long in the top tube, so I'm on a ML (medium-large) Giant, which is somewhere between 57 and 58. The new flat-topped handlebars make sizing down easier, too.

When comparing frame sizes in the 21st century, the most relevant dimensions are the virtual (horizontal) top tube length, which tells you how much reach your upper body and arms get, and the head tube length, which tells you how low (or in the Secteur's case, how high) you need to stretch to reach the handlebar.

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Originally Posted by Fly1296 [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

So I've decided against going the BD route. I know enough to know what I don't know.

I've done some more looking at local dealers and really like the Giant Defy 1 and a 2010 Specialized Secteur Comp I saw at one of them. Price is the same on both with full 105, carbon fork and seatpost, etc. The Specialized is available in a 61cm while the Defy only goes up to 58cm. I'm 6'4", currently riding an old 66cm Schwinn, so size is something of a concern. Naturally, the Giant dealer said he could fit me onto it no problem but seatposts are only so long. I'd like some opinions on that.