New bike, looks like childs bike?

Brava210

Silly title..... After a massive load of hassle I have now in my possession a new Felt Z95
I am only 5-5 and 29 inside leg so Wiggle suggested 51cm frame.
It seems to feel not too bad, very quick. The frame just looks very small although I am short :oops:
Does this sound like the right size?
When riding with hands on the hoods,looking down the bars are almost parallel with the front axle
I know its the relaxed geometry type frame.



Gary

Mikey41

Sounds about right to me, I'm 5-8 / 5-9 and would be looking at 53cm / 54cm.

Basically if you don't feel cramped or stretched out, then it's right.

woodywmb

I'm 5' 7" with 29 IL. Both my bikes are 51cm - and both a perfect fit. I sat on a lot of bikes before buying.

Brava210

Cheers thanks for the reassurance.

Gary

baldwin471

Mikey41 wrote:

Sounds about right to me, I'm 5-8 / 5-9 and would be looking at 53cm / 54cm.

Basically if you don't feel cramped or stretched out, then it's right.

See that's odd. I'm 5,9" and my new Canyon is a 56cm and fits perfectly, maybe even slightly small!

Mikey41

Hmm, checking the charts again, I could have been wrong. When I'm ready to buy I'll have to go sit on some bikes and see for sure.

Brava210

I have a very short everything, I had a carrera TDF 54 cm, which to me felt too big so I took it back
Although when looking at it in the shop it looks small.
The felt size chart does say 51 or 54

shane r

I'm 5'9" with 29 inseam.

I have a Ribble 52cm.

I have just ordered a Dolan and supplied them with my pro bike fit stats and they are building me a 48cm.

Geometry makes masses of difference from frame to frame.

One thing to also note, if you have a 'short' inseam like me you should be on 170 cranks-but very few prebuilt bikes come with short cranks like that.

jecooper

can't comment on whether the size is correct, but i have a 61cm Z85 and the compact geometry means i still have a pretty long seatpost and for the untrained eye (like mine) it looks too small. Stand it up next to my housemates horizontal top tube though and despite the frame shape, you can easily see all the contact points are where they should be

Brava210

I may take a look at a boardman 53cm

keef66

I'm 5'6" but with longer legs / shorter body have a 31" inside leg. I'm a 51 or 52 in most road bike sizes, so I'd say you're on the right size frame.

NITR8s

Im 5,4 with a 28 inside leg. I ride a 44cm Pinarello. I know the sizing is different to other bikes have been advised it is about a 48/49cm normal frame. It looks tiny compared to everyone elses frame, but I was measured up and fitted by LBS.

Brava210

I have manually measured from top of seat post to centre of bottom bracket and it's 48cm. Ugh?

lef

baldwin471 wrote:

Mikey41 wrote:

Sounds about right to me, I'm 5-8 / 5-9 and would be looking at 53cm / 54cm.

Basically if you don't feel cramped or stretched out, then it's right.

See that's odd. I'm 5,9" and my new Canyon is a 56cm and fits perfectly, maybe even slightly small!

Maybe you have a longer than average torso (or maybe I have shorter than average torso!). I am 5' 9"(and a half...all important!) and have the 54 and reach is perfect with a 100mm stem, not the pokey 90mm standard stem that comes on a 54. The Canyon fit calculator isn't that great in my opinion. It said 56 for me but I can assure you it would have been too large, for me at least. I'm sure I could have gone down to a 52 with a 120mm stem if I wanted to follow the 'pro look' but that doesn't really interest me.

The felt probably looks small because it is the same reason a 60 frame looks huge, it's because it is. As long as it doesn't look like a bmx (planet X!) I wouldn't worry about it.

keef66

http://www.feltbicycles.com/USA/2013/Ro ... s/Z95.aspx

You can see from their geometry chart that for a size 51 none of the dimensions is exactly 51cm. Top tube length is closest. Seat tube, as you've discovered, is a lot shorter.

I'd still say you have the right size

rubyrider

I am just under 5'4" with a 30" inseam and I'm on a 48cm Specialized bike - though I'm female and it's women specific!

If I measure from the top of the seat tube to the centre of the crank it comes to far less - cant remember exactly now but I think I was about 43cm.

Brava210

Ooh that is small
So I assume a 53 boardman would be too big

Gary

baldwin471

Brava210 wrote:

Ooh that is small
So I assume a 53 boardman would be too big

Gary

My 53cm Boardman fits me fine (Apart from the stem was too long) and my 56cm Canyon fits me perfectly. Weird innit?

Brava210

baldwin471 wrote:

Brava210 wrote:

Ooh that is small
So I assume a 53 boardman would be too big

Gary

My 53cm Boardman fits me fine (Apart from the stem was too long) and my 56cm Canyon fits me perfectly. Weird innit?

How tall are you etc

baldwin471

Brava210 wrote:

baldwin471 wrote:

Brava210 wrote:

Ooh that is small
So I assume a 53 boardman would be too big

Gary

My 53cm Boardman fits me fine (Apart from the stem was too long) and my 56cm Canyon fits me perfectly. Weird innit?

How tall are you etc

175cm 85cm inseam. Different frame geometry remember.

woodywmb

Brava - I have a 51cm Boardman Road Team (my inside leg is 29"). I tried both the 51 and 53. Both fitted me, as much as I could see in a Halfords 'busy store' environment. I chose the 51 and I believe I chose correctly. But that was a gamble. I think you have to go out on the bike to know. Given your own measurements, I would suggest the 51 is ideal. There are a few tweaks you can make to the sizing that will help. (Reverse stem, seatpost up and down, saddle rail movement).

Brava210

I have flipped the stem, I went out on the felt tonight and it feels good and controllable.
I just want to make sure while I still can return the Felt that it is right.
I was looking at the road boardman today at £669, the frame is lovely but the components are not as good as the felts
I can get a 20% discount at Halfords so I am still thinking it over

Brava210

Surely seeing as the seat tube is actually 47.5cm rather than the 51cm I was expecting.
This means I need the saddle up higher making the riding position with more weight on the hands?
This is the reason I went for the z series felt, for the relaxed geometry.
Would it be better with a longer seat tube and shorter seat post?

Gary

bails87

I'm 6 foot and ride a 53cm, because the frame is long for a given size.

Comparing different seat tube lengths between manufacturers means near enough nothing because the rest of the geometry can vary so much. A bike from Brand A can have a longer top tube than a bike from Brand B that's nominally 'bigger'.

Paul E

I always look at top tube length to see how well a frame will fit me, I'm on a 54cm trek which fits fine with a 100mm stem, I might even need to go to 110mm but I did have a 56cm Sectuer and that never really felt right even with a 90mm stem

Brava210

The top tube on the felt is 47cm which I feel is short, online calculator says I should need a 55 cm top tube ?

Gary

Brava210

Well the Felt went back, and I now have a Boardman Road 53cm which was a bargain at £495
It feels better with a slightly shorter stem and it has a beautifully crafted frame too


Gary