Help with new bike please.

mattster12

I Have recently got back into cycling but unlike before, all the routes i am doing are on flat or road. I am currently riding a mountain bike on slicks but think i am going to treat myself to a road bike. How hard are road bikes to get used to?

The bikes i have been looking at are the Focus varaido 08, Giant scr2 or Specialized allez sport. What do you think?

I am leaning towards the Focus but wiggle are too far to travel but are the best on price, so i wouldn't be able to try for size. I am 5ft11 and inside leg is 32". On there site it says a large would be best but how accurate is this measurement?

Thanks for any advice.

allezscotia

Go here http://www.flandriabikes.com/holder.asp ... e_size.htm

Will give you a general idea on how to size yourself for a frame.

Always think you are better sizing the frame in person, so what to do is go along to a local bike shop and at least get a seat on a bike.

It really comes down to personal choice as well i'm 6ft1 and have a 58cm and two 56cm bikes.

ris

wiggle are really an internet order company, but hey do a bike test period so if you don't get on with it you should be able to return it for a different size.

ti think that trying out the frames for size and ride is really important - you might find that they are too twitchy or aggressively set up. i'm sure a local bike shop will let run you out on the giants and spesh's to see how they are for size.

i'm pretty much your height but with an il of 31". i also know that i don't bend well at the back (even after 4 years of joga i can't get near my feet, let alone my toes), so i was a med frame on a giant, although a 56cm spesh frame felt better than the 54.

mattster12

Thanks for your replies. The focus bike in medium (54) is recommended for people 5ft7 to 5ft9 and an inside leg of 28", so i think this would be too small for me. Like you say though, i could do with going to my local shop and sizing up.
I read also that Giant bike were sized different.

fuzzynavel

mattster12 wrote:

Thanks for your replies. The focus bike in medium (54) is recommended for people 5ft7 to 5ft9 and an inside leg of 28cm, so i think this would be too small for me. Like you say though, i could do with going to my local shop and sizing up.
I read also that Giant bike were sized different.

Inside leg of 28cm?...you must have a long upper body to get to 5 ft 9 (170 odd cm)
I guess you maybe meant 28 inches

AceOnTheLine

Sizes really seem to differ from make to make. I tried several this week and found I needed a 58 in the Spesh Allez 09, a 56 in an Orbea Fleche and Cannondale Synapse and actually bought a 54 Scott S40. I'm 6ft with an inside leg of 33ish. Guess I could go with anything from a 54 - 58 depending on the geometry of the bike, the Spesh is very relaxed while the Scott is more racey. Man in bike shop suggested go slightly smaller as opposed to larger - does this correspond with what anybody else has heard?

mattster12

I thought i was set on the focus, but the spesh allez sport is looking good also.

Juju_uk_68

Body shape is vital to frame sizing.

Most people believe its the height of top tube standover thats important. Wrong. The most critical length is from seat postto head tube, IMHO.

By any conventional standard, as a person with an inside leg of say 30-31 measured purely by my trousers, andwith a height of 5'7, I should be on a bike somewhere between 52 and 54.

I appear to have a short top obdy, or at least not long arms. And as such, I am actually comfortable on a 50 cm. Whist in theory on a bike measurement I should be 54, I'd be fine on stand over, but I'd be at an uncomfortable full stretch to even hold the gear shifters, let alone actually use them whilst cycling.

Thats why I am so weary of internet purchasing. No substitute for sitting on them.

okasha

Hi
I'm also 5' 11', with an inside leg of 32.
I recently bought a Focus cayo expert, and agonised for ages between the L and the XL. In the end, I went for the L, on the advice of the wiggle people.
On balance, I think the XL would probably have suited me better, as some of the Focus bikes, mine included, seem to be sized a little on the small side, with a v. short wheelbase. I'm fairly happy with mine, though it is slightly twitchy and more aggressively set up than I would like. Also, I have very long arms for someone my height.

However, I think the variado has a longer wheelbase and a different set up from the cayo, so don't rely too much on what I say above.

I found wiggle to be fair and very helpful - they let you return the bike within a week if you don't like it or have bought the wrong size.
My guess is you'd be fine on the variado size L.
good luck with it
Samir

CheeseyJoe

Road bikes aren't hard to get used to, or they weren't for me. You just need to get used to the shifting up and down.

trickeyja

I think they look a good selection of bikes. Out of the three I would probably go for the variado. I was thinking of the Allez sport as well but the bike shop advised me it would be better to fork out a bit extra for the better frame of the elite version. They offered me a reduction of £100 because it was the end of '08 model, so I went for that.

I have had the bike for less than three weeks now but I found I was pretty much used to it after my first ride. I wouldn't have thought getting used to it would be much of a problem if you get the right size for you.

It is certainly a great boost getting a new bike, and has rekindled my enthusiasm so much! I have done about 350 miles so far. My old mountain bike now feels like a tractor...