New Frame Advice?

Sam123 said:

OK. I'm looking to buy a new frame. I was told Planet X is good and cheap. I would like it Carbon fibre, i heard there £360? I can put all my the other bits onto the frame. Handlebars, seat, cranks all that.

What do i look for before buying the frame, Obviously the right fit but what else do i look out for? You may of seen me post an topic earlier about lower back pain. But maybe my frame at the moment is causing me the pain.. I'm 6"3 Instream is about 32-34 i think. With 59cm Claud Butler Roubaix Frame What frame should i get? Would it be good to order it online if i know what size i need? I looked on this website and they say 'Large' they don't tell you the size in cm. Heres the link Planet X Pro Carbon Road Frame £360.00 | Planet X Pro Carbon Road Frame | Road Frames | Frames - Planet X Bikes The black frame caught my eye.

Also if im getting saddle sore would that mean the saddle or my bike shorts are to small/big?

At your height, I think you want the XL frame which has a 59cm virtual top tube ... you will probably want a 120mm stem.

I'm not keen on the 73.5º head tube angle which the XL frame has, but I guess it's typical on XL frames.

As far as your saddle 'problem' ... consider a wider saddle AND sit as far back on the saddle as you can rather than straddling any part of the nose OR middle of the saddle.

Selle Italia FLITE saddles seemed wide when I looked at them a long time ago ... look-alikes aren't necessarily as wide.

A BROOKS B17 (standard) saddle is wide ... if you get one, initially set the rails parallel to the ground.

What size Seatpost will i need and what size of handlebars so they fit into the frame?

I need to know exact what to buy with the frame so they fit.

Sam123 said:

What size Seatpost will i need and what size of handlebars so they fit into the frame?

I need to know exact what to buy with the frame so they fit.

I think that most 31.6mm seatposts are 400mm long, now ... some may be a longer. You don't want a shorter seatpost!

Most handlebars currently have a 31.8mm ('OS'😉 center section ... you want the widest bars you can find (generally, 44cm ... TruVativ has a 46cm wide handlebar) + a stem with the appropriate clamp size ...

BTW. I recommend that you consider an ALPHA Q fork if you can afford it.

I have 44cm on my Claud butler there to wide.

Sam123 said:

I have 44cm on my Claud butler there to wide.

If you think that a 44cm handlebar is too wide for you, then you may want to select a 42cm for your next bike ...

FYI. Handlebars are not consistent where the brakes are attached for a given width as measured at the ends.

BTW. It's probably a good idea to get your bike fit sorted out before you get another frame. Presuming you like the way your Claude Butler fits, you need to measure it to ensure that ANY 'new' frame you choose fits, accordingly.

Mm but if i get the frame then put on other handlebars, seat again i wont be fitted to it. I'd have to pay for another fit?

Sam123 said:

Mm but if i get the frame then put on other handlebars, seat again i wont be fitted to it. I'd have to pay for another fit?

No.

And, you (generic ... as in, 99.9% of the people who populate & read this Forum) can sort out the fit by yourself ... if your Claude Butler is comfortable, then you need to observe the relationship of the saddle to the crank ... and then, the handlebars to the saddle.

If your Claude Butler is not comfortable, then the various on-line bike fit guides will serve you well if you need a starting point to get you within a few millimeters of a suitable fit.

So-called professional fits are based on some (disputable*!?!) conventional wisdom + application of the biases of the fitter.
[INDENT]* KOPS is disputable, but it appears to be commonly used as an underlying basis for fitting the rider to a bike.
[/INDENT]IMO, professional fits are only beneficial if the current fit is so grossly off that it falls well out of the norm OR a person has an orthopedic issue which needs to be addressed which the rider cannot sort out ... OR, if the rider is a high performance rider who is trying to extract the last iota from each pedal stroke.

FYI. A superficial consideration in fitting a frame is PURELY COSMETIC ...

I have numerous frames of different sizes which have different length top tubes AND I have assembled them with different length cranks & width handlebars as suited my fancy at the moment, but I have them set up so that the difference from the rear of the saddle (an arbitrary point to measure from) to the back of the hoods (another arbitrary point) is within a half-inch regardless of the top tube length & handlebar width.

Will this all fit together?

So will the seatpost fit in the Frame, will the stem fit on the frame and fit to the handlebars? Need to know this before i go buying.

Also what Seatclamp size do i need? I'm not sure on the size of my Claud Butler one.

Frame

Planet X Pro Carbon Road Frame £360.00 | Planet X Pro Carbon Road Frame | Road Frames | Frames - Planet X Bikes

Stem

Bontrager Race Lite Handlebar Stem, 17 deg, OS - AW Cycles

Steatpost

2010 Ritchey Carbon Pro Seatpost 31.6 x 400mm RRP £95 on eBay (end time 13-Jul-10 10:32:34 BST)

HandleBars

ITM Triango Wing Carbon Road Bike Handlebars - 42cm on eBay (end time 12-Jul-10 14:46:48 BST)

This is an old picture i have but, will these Claud Butler Forks fit the Planet X Frame?

A closer look..

Also i'm not sure on the size seatclamp size i need? Does anyone know what seatclamp size that is on the CB? It needs to fit that Seatpost i posted in the other post from ebay.

I wouldn't carry the fork over, especially as the fork steerer's already been cut and you've got an issue with lower back pain. I'd get your back pain sorted and fit corrected before putting money down on a new frame, else you just might end up spending money only to end up with continuing pain.

Why not carry the forks over?

Sam123 said:

Why not carry the forks over?

What if you're back issue is the result of your handlebars being too low? If the new bike's head tube is the same length as the one on the Claude Butler, then you're going to have the exact same problem with no real solution other than to get a stem with more rise and to hope that helps. If the Planet X frame has a shorter head tube than the Claude Butler, you're in a worse spot.

Given your back issue, you really need to get a fit to see if the issue can be resolved. Buying a new frame without knowing in which direction the solution lies could be a waste of your money.

Pro Bike Fit : Bike Fitting Servicing : Cycle Fitting : Tandem Fitting Canterbury Kent UK : DownlandCycles.co.uk

Thats the bike fit about 15 miles away from me. The £120 one.

OK, got my bike fit booked for 15th July.

Once, done ill know what Size Handlebars, Stem, Seat post, Saddle to buy. Ill get them in Carbon.

Then if i still get pain in my back, ill get it checked out?

All good?

Sam123 said:

Why not carry the forks over?

You can use the one fork on the other frame ... it will be cosmetically 'off' ... if the steerer does turn out to be too short, then that is another issue; but, it looks as though you should have enough to work with.

Regardless, I'm beginning to question your current inclination to changing your frame from one which is aluminum to one which is carbon fibre ...

FWIW. Consequently, since you have your shopping list in hand, I recommend that buy the handlebars and/or stem (if necessary), first ... and, see if that changes the ride the way you are hoping CF will enhance the way your bike rides.

If you can fit 700x28 tyres (inflate to ~95 PSI) in your frame & fork then you will probably improve the ride quality more than changing to a CF frame ... particularly since the trend in the past half-dozen years seems to have been to make CF frames stiffer than in the past.

What, exactly, are you hoping to accomplish with the new frame?

Sam123 said:

OK, got my bike fit booked for 15th July.

Once, done ill know what Size Handlebars, Stem, Seat post, Saddle to buy. Ill get them in Carbon.

Then if i still get pain in my back, ill get it checked out?

All good?

Okay, I'm one of the few people who will recommend AGAINST a so-called professiional fitting ...

While a professional fit may have some advantages for some people, I think that if it is done in less than one hour's time then it cannot simulate being in the saddle for two-to-four (six+ in some cases!) hours ...

Ask "How long will the fitting take?"

alfeng said:

Okay, I'm one of the few people who will recommend AGAINST a so-called professiional fitting ...

While a professional fit may have some advantages for some people, I think that if it is done in less than one hour's time then it cannot simulate being in the saddle for two-to-four (six+ in some cases!) hours ...

Ask "How long will the fitting take?"

Its 2 hours. Were have to see.

BTW. I think you will be marginally happier, in the long run, if you can find an equivalent stem made by RITCHEY vs. the Bontrager stem you are currently considering.

Why?

There about £100+ lol

RITCHEY Carbon Stem - Google Product Search