Compact Aluminum Frames CONTINUED!!!

"abrown360" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Anyone out there buy a bike a bit smaller than their ideal size? Does
it work out OK with the adjustments? Whaddya think? What have you
experienced?

My experience is that it's better to buy too big, as long as you can still
stand over it. As you become acclimated, you tend to expand a bike: raise
the saddle, extend the reach, move the saddle back. A too-small frame may
not give you any room to do that.

I have heard that newbies buying too-small bikes is a common mistake, and I
believe it.

RichC

Quoted message said:

Rich Clark said:

I have heard that newbies buying too-small bikes is a common mistake, and I
believe it.

It's very common, but don't blame the newbies, blame the shops that are
selling them too-small bikes.

Quoted message said:

Anyone out there buy a bike a bit smaller than their ideal size? Does
it work out OK with the adjustments? Whaddya think? What have you
experienced?

Buy a bike the right size. Period. There's nothing more important to your
comfort and enjoyment than getting a bike that fits well. In many cases,
that might mean selecting the shop more than it does the bike itself. Find a
shop that takes fit seriously and will work with you on it... not just when
you buy it, but even afterward (in terms of changing out the stem, making
seat adjustments, etc).

A shop that will willingly sell you the wrong size bike (assuming that
someone other than yourself has determined that the bike you're looking at
is too small) is probably not a shop to buy a bike from.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

"abrown360" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I am the original poster of the Aluminum Composite vs Steel Standard
message today, and I am in Seattle (someone was wondering).

So the Fuji League that I am looking it at is a compact frame, Med
50cm. The size below is Sm 44cm, and the size above is Lg 56cm. I have
been sized at 52cm. Will the compact frame 50cm Fuji League be able to
accomodate me? I have ridden the bike, and it feels all right. Is it ok
to get the bike below your size a bit, and have it adjusted to fit? Is
that the point of compact frames? To be adjusted? What exactly do they
adjust?

I like the downtube shifters, and the cheaper component set (mainly due
to the CHEAP replacement cost, I am very bike accident prone). I really
wish there was a 2004 or 2003 Fuji League out there, it would make all
this much easier.

Eeek! What do I do? I will be making a lot more money in about a year,
so I can get a better bike then. For the time being I am thinking I
should just buy the cheapo Fuji League and roll with it?

Anyone out there buy a bike a bit smaller than their ideal size? Does
it work out OK with the adjustments? Whaddya think? What have you
experienced?

Mike Jacoubowsky said:

Quoted message said:

Anyone out there buy a bike a bit smaller than their ideal size? Does
it work out OK with the adjustments? Whaddya think? What have you
experienced?

Buy a bike the right size. Period.

Good advice, but with compact frames, each size fits a wider range of
riders than was the case with traditional geometry frames. The bicycle
that the original poster is considering is a prime example, since from
2004 to 2005 they went from a traditional frame, offered in seven sizes,
to a compact frame offered in small, medium, and large. So if he was
sized at 52 cm for a traditional geometry frame, he probably would fit
the medium size in a compact frame, with appropriate adjustments to the
seat height and handlebar position.

It's similar to the cheap shirts that come in S,M,L & XL, as opposed to
twenty or so combination of neck sizes and arm lengths of the more
expensive shirts. The former kind of fits okay, but aren't optimal; the
neck may be a bit too tight or too loose, and the arms may bunch up or
not extend to the wrist. The latter is more expensive for the
manufacturer to produce and distribute, and more trouble for the
retailer to stock, but better for the consumer.