Bicycling - Road and Mountain

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If I ride a medium mountain bike what range of

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BusyRaeNOTBusty
BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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CX/road bikes sizes should I be considering? I do plan on trying them on and stuff I'm just looking at Craigslist and want to have a general idea.

I'm also 5'9", 31.25" inseam.

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  • allaboutthecake
    allaboutthecake Posts: 1,533 Member
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    I don't know. But am bumping it up on the thread. :wink:
  • Archon2
    Archon2 Posts: 462 Member
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    This might be helpful!

    http://www.ebicycles.com/bicycle-tools/frame-sizer/road-bike
  • dolcezza72
    dolcezza72 Posts: 171 Member
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    how tall are you. I am 5-10 and my road bike is a 54 cm, I am at the top of the range for a 54 cm and the bottom of the range for the 56 cm. I would rather have the smaller one than the bigger one.

    Hugs,
    Heather
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    Yeah, I'm thinking I look at the 54s but there are way more 56s on Craigslist.
  • cloggsy71
    cloggsy71 Posts: 2,208 Member
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    56 will be too big! It'd be worth going to an LBS and getting 'first-hand advice' or a basic bike fit even?
  • TheBigYin
    TheBigYin Posts: 5,683 Member
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    Yeah, I'm thinking I look at the 54s but there are way more 56s on Craigslist.

    considering I ride a CaadX 56, and I'm 1m85 with a very "toe down" pedalling style, a 56 is very, very likely to be way too long in the top tube for you. Road and Cross bike fit is more defined by the length of the top tube than the actual frame size - you can always ride a size smaller and raise the seatpost...

    As Clive said above, go to your nearby decent LBS and get a proper bike fit. Failing that, go there and at least throw a leg over a few bikes - as a guideline, i'd be looking at something 54cm as a maximum, but with a (virtual - if its a radically sloping frame) top tube that's also between 53 and 55cm.
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
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    These are not standard - an Specialized 56 is not really a Colnago 56... Nor is there a single number that is perfect. It depends on the riding style that you have and flexibilty. The intended use is very important. If you plan to use this as a first road experience, probably a more relaxed fit makes sense.

    Use this site - http://www.competitivecyclist.com/Store/catalog/fitCalculatorBike.jsp#cc-fitCalStylesRoad

    It has a more complete fit and will provide you with a close approximation of what you want. Read the link o the bottom of the page on their 3 fit types.

    (Don't use the ebicyles one - it's next to useless.)
  • composite
    composite Posts: 138 Member
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    "Size" in this sense is meaningless. I ride 3 "medium" mountain bikes. 2 are 18" and the other is 19" yet the effective reach is within 5mm on all of them. Geometry is more important than "size".

    Having said that, I'm 5'9" and would probably start looking at around the 54cm mark for a road/cx bike but that would only be a very rough starting point. There is no substitute for throwing your leg over one and seeing how it fits.
  • veloman21
    veloman21 Posts: 418 Member
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    Lots of good advice here. I'm 5' 11" and ride a 56cm Cervelo but not all 56cm bikes are equal. Also as mentioned, many manufacturers simply use S, M, L etc to designate size.

    I agree that a 54cm is probably a good place to start but frame size is only a small part of the equation. Only way to know what fits is to get yer leg over :-)
  • sinker59
    sinker59 Posts: 130
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    I'm 5' 9" and ride Medium mtn bikes and 54cm road bikes (currently Cervelo R3). But that's me! I have relatively long legs/short torso so I generally have my seat tube extended and use a shorter stem.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    As others have said, geometry varies, so you can test a fairly wide range. I'd look at anything around a 55-56, give or take. Depending on how much you are planning to ride it, you can do some things to help with fit if the geometry isn't just right.
  • kcjchang
    kcjchang Posts: 709 Member
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    Just to reinforce what other had said, there is no uniform standard for sizing. Top tub length is what you should consider and it best to get a fit done or just taking a few test rides. If you are going to invest in a fit, not all LBS are the same. Seek out your local bike club, preferably get recommendation from folks that are actively racing, on WHO you should get the fitting from.

    I am 5' 8"/29.5 inseam and ride a 21" Trek 660 with 160 mm stem and a 53 cm Schwinn Prologue with a 140 mm stem. Both with 172.5 mm cranks. Granted my Schwinn is setup with a slightly more upright riding for circuit and criterium races whereas the Trek is for hills. I have also had/ridden a 54 cm Eddy Merckx with a 110 mm stem/170 mm cranks & a 54 cm Trek 2300 with 100 mm stem/170 mm cranks. Both bikes had similar effective reach as my Trek 660.

    just to add, ACTIVELY RACING is because in my experience they tends to change/upgrade bikes/components more often
  • BenVoiles
    BenVoiles Posts: 17
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    I'm 5'9" and my main road bike is a 55. I also have an old Raleigh that is a 58, which is a little too big but was always comfortable for me. I just had to be careful when straddling it!!! For my height I have shout legs and a long torso so what fits me might not fit you. Also, remember not everybody sizes their bikes the same. The standard is center to center but if buying online or on Ebay make sure you read the fine print.

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