Customising you bike

Your options are longer cranks, longer seat pole and longer stem to try and get your position right ......

But longer seat pole runs the risk of snapping it ........

Longer stem puts you more over the front wheel which can screw up steering geometry ........

Longer cranks aren't that big a deal .........

I've done that before. Got so enamored about getting a bike immediately that I bought a 54 cm .......... I ride a 60cm. Biggest mistake I ever made in a bike purchase. Highly recommend just selling the frame and getting something that fits so you don't f--k up your back/neck/legs/knees trying to fit something that is too small for you.

well, assuming your knee-pedal spindle position is correct, I suspect you will need a long, up-
angled stem. The problem here is you'll have alot of weight on the front wheel due to a short top
tube. If your torso is short vs. your leg length, you might be ok. When you look at how horribly the
ONCE guys were positioned on their too-small giants, you would be tempted to think you could get
away with it...

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Andre Charlebois BPE, MCSE4.0, CNA, A+ webmaster for Triathlon New Brunswick www.TriNB.com "The
Murray Midget" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Just need some advice about customising my new racing bike.

The problem is that it is a 54cm/21.5 inch frame and I should really have a 58cm frame for my
height. It was such a good deal second-hand that I went for it.

What can I do to make sure I get this bike as close as possible to fitting me?

What are the main issues with a too small bike?

Should I just cut my losses and get a bigger one?

I love the bike so am hoping no.3 isn't applicable.

Dan

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Just need some advice about customising my new racing bike.

The problem is that it is a 54cm/21.5 inch frame and I should really have a 58cm frame for my
height. It was such a good deal second-hand that I went for it.

Bad idea.

Quoted message said:

What can I do to make sure I get this bike as close as possible to fitting me?

Have all the short tubes replaced with longer tubes that fit you.

Quoted message said:

What are the main issues with a too small bike?

Fit, fit, and fit.

Quoted message said:

Should I just cut my losses and get a bigger one?

Yes.

Quoted message said:

I love the bike so am hoping no.3 isn't applicable.

Think how much more you would love it if it fit you properly.
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Alex

The Murray Midget said:

Just need some advice about customising my new racing bike.

The problem is that it is a 54cm/21.5 inch frame and I should really have a 58cm frame for my
height. It was such a good deal second-hand that I went for it.

What can I do to make sure I get this bike as close as possible to fitting me?

Geez ya can't call yourself "Murray Midget" and then tell us that a 54cm frame is too small
for you ;-)

Let's turn this around a bit, if I may: (starting long play mode)

How do you know that 58 cm is the ideal size for your body? It's no longer a question of saying that
the tallest frame that does not squish your cojones when you straddle it is the right one - there
are many other factors that decide ideal frame size - one of the more important ones being top tube
length. If you have very long legs in relation to your upper body, then having a short top tube
(which most often comes in connection with a much smaller frame) will be an advantage. For years I
rode a 60 cm frame "because I could straddle it". The perfect frame for me is actually a 56 or a
57cm. But my current frame is a Colnago 54 cm because I got it dirt cheap and I have a short upper
body so it fits me well. The only concession I've had to make is having 4 cm of spacers between top
of headset and handlebar stem - but then the stem is virtually horizontal (with a rising stem I
could get rid of 1-2 cm of those spacers). Stem length in my case is 120 mm, and perfect. Just to
complete the picture, distance from top of top tube to bottom of seat rail (measured along centre of
seat post) is 19 cm (N.B. this is with horizontal top tube, i.e. not a "compact" frame). But this
setup fits me like a glove.

In your case, it's hard to know just what your experience is of riding road bikes, what frames
you've ridden before, and your limb/trunk dimensions, to give you the right advice.

It's possible that a few respondents have been too quick to say that you should ditch the frame.
Could well be (who's to know), but I think you should get a qualified opinion first - someone who
can advise you in terms of fit. Do you have a club nearby that you can join, who has really
experienced riders who can check your riding position, or even an LBS who can give you an honest
appraisal without just trying to sell you is a new frame?

Here's a link, if you want to play with a configurator, while waiting for a live expert to help you:

competitivecyclist.comCCYOpen ↗

Not even this is guaranteed to give you the perfect sizing, but it will give some indication as to
whether the frame you have has a chance of matching your requirements or not.

Good luck to you. I hope that you find that you can find the right combination of seat post, stem,
etc so that you will get a good fit on the bike you bought. But if the frame really doesn't work
then do sell it and buy something that fits better. Otherwise, your body will be reminding you every
second of your rides, that you have the wrong frame.

/Robert