Canyon Ultimate CF sizing 52 or 54 (174cm, 81cm inseam)

duckson

Has anyone got similar measurements to me and has an Ultimate CF?

height 174cm
inseam 81cm (maybe 80cm, borderline)
torso 59cm
arm 58cm
shoulder 46cm

The Canyon PPS measurement system seems to just rely on inseam only and i'm borderline 80/81cm depending on how hard i pull the spirit level into the crotch area! 80cm is a 52 and 81cm is a 54 according to the PPS.

I currently have a medium Boardman Team Carbon (2010ish) with Rival, think its the same geometry as the now 105 equipped model :- http://www.boardmanbikes.com/road/road_team_carbon.html

My current bike is so-so size wise though, the clampable part of the seat post is only showing about 70mm (100mm to the bottom of the seat clamp) and i've always felt it maybe a little too long top tube wise so wondered what a 90 or 100mm stem would feel like compared to the stock 110mm.

The Canyon 54 has the same seat tube length as the Boardman but its TT is shorter (as well as stem but thats changeable).
The 52 seems better seat tube wise being 20mm shorter but obviously the TT is quite a bit shorter, thinking i'd want a 110mm stem or 120mm stem to bring it to similar to what i think the Boardman should be for me (~650mm TT and with a slightly shorter stem).

Note i have the seat on the Boardman quite alot forward (about 10mm left on the rail at the back of the seat, space for the saddle bag clamp!) and i notice the Canyon seat tube angle is greater than the Boardman so maybe with the seat central on rails on the Canyon it would replicate the position of the Boardman....

itsnotarace

You could make both fit, the 54 is much closer to your current bike. You would need an extra 1cm spacer under the stem to make up for the shorter headtube on the 52

displacedaussie

I'm 173/~79/~63. After a recent bike fit (and some fun trig calculations), I'll be getting the 52cm with a 100mm stem. If I were you I'd probably go for the 52cm as well. You can always get a longer stem and fiddle with the spacers a bit.

A bike fit is probably worthwhile before spending +- £1800 in a bike though!

londoncommuter

Have you tried comparing the stack and reach of the Boardman with the Canyon? Canyon list these but Boardman don't so you'll need to get the tape measure out. After agonising for ages I'm swapping a small 2009 Boardman Team Carbon for a 54cm Cervelo based on this.

letap73

Have you put your stats into the competitive cyclist fit computer? For me it worked very well, it will give you a good starting point.

bernithebiker

I am very similar dimensions to you, and I ride an SL4 Sworks in 54.

I think it depends very much on your preferred position - if you want a racey, aero position, then you want seat high, bars low - I have a 130mm stem with 20' drop, no spacers, and plenty of seatpost showing - at a push I could ride a 56, but no way a 52.

If you don't need so much reach and have a slightly more upright position I could see how a 52 could work.

duckson

Thanks guys, some thinking to do i think although i'm leaning towards a 54 if i end up buying.
I'd lean towards a more comfy setup than aero (75% comfy, 25% aero i'd say).

This is my current setup, as you can see the seat isnt mega high but its still a couple of inches above the top of the bars which are at the top of the spacer so they could go lower:- https://www.dropbox.com/s/n7lkjpak0lvy9kx/bikebm.jpg

My wife has a 52cm Allez (2010) but it has a 80cm stem, will have to see how that compares.

Or i jsut go for a CF SLX as the 53 seems a bit smaller than the 54 but bigger than the 52 overall (as you'd expect). The seat tube and head tube angles are also pretty much the same as the Boardman but the head tube is smaller. PPS comes out at 53 for the SLX.

displacedaussie

duckson wrote:

Or i jsut go for a CF SLX as the 53 seems a bit smaller than the 54 but bigger than the 52 overall (as you'd expect). The seat tube and head tube angles are also pretty much the same as the Boardman but the head tube is smaller. PPS comes out at 53 for the SLX.

I think you've just talked yourself into an upgrade.

duckson

lol we'll see, the outlet seems to offer good discounts as well, maybe an Aeroad as well (not sure how different these are to the SLX).