Can this frame fit me?

glasgowbhoy

I've got a chance of a Colnago C59 at a good price. It's a traditional 54cm size. Geometry here

http://www.cbike.com/images/colnago_c59 ... _chart.jpg

I generally ride between a 54 and a 56 on my other bikes. I'm 5"10 with my centre bb to top of saddle 77cm

One of my other bikes is a M/L Giant Defy which I think is a compact geoemtry and a big head tube. I use a 110 stem on this:

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bik ... /#geometry

With the Colnago would I have too much seatpost showing or need a massive stem to get the position right?

Jon_1976

i'll try to help but our saddle heights are vastly different. I'm 5'10" and have a saddle height of 900mm pedal spindle centre to top of saddle. So with 172.5mm cranks, 727.5mm centre BB to saddle top. I have a Specialized Allez 54cm with a 100cm stem and it fits me fine. The Allez top tube measure is about 8mm (horizontal measurement) longer, headtube is the same.

carrock

Its fair to say someone of your height racing would probably ride a 54.

But they would have the seat right back as far as it would go, a 140mm stem and about 8 inches of saddle to bar drop.

Be awfully aerodynamic but I wouldn't want to pay your chiropractors bill.

I would say a 56 would be a better bet.

Jon_1976

carrock wrote:

Its fair to say someone of your height racing would probably ride a 54.

But they would have the seat right back as far as it would go, a 140mm stem and about 8 inches of saddle to bar drop.

Be awfully aerodynamic but I wouldn't want to pay your chiropractors bill.

I would say a 56 would be a better bet.

Really? I thought he wouldn't need a massive stem. It sounds he is longer leg/shorter torso compared to me and I find a 548mm top tube and 100mm stem pretty much ideal.

glasgowbhoy

Yes, I'm a bit longer in the legs than torso. I do race but that sounds a bit extreme Carrock.

nochekmate

Maybe

Jim C

simple answer, yes.
a 56 isn't a million miles different anyway.
For racing, it ll be fine.
Nice frame

Jim C

Ps im same height, but shorter legged, longer body (890mm pedal centre to seat top). Id ride a 130 stem on that, so I suspect U ll need a 100 ish. Which is pretty normal. Whatever normal is. U ll have a bit of seatpost showing :-) but not over much

dnwhite88

I'm your height and 54 fits me perfectly, you could always find a lbs that stocks colnagos and go and try their frames (kinda harsh but would put your mind at ease!)

giant_man

carrock wrote:

Its fair to say someone of your height racing would probably ride a 54.

But they would have the seat right back as far as it would go, a 140mm stem and about 8 inches of saddle to bar drop.

Be awfully aerodynamic but I wouldn't want to pay your chiropractors bill.

I would say a 56 would be a better bet.

+1 - spot on if you ask me, 5'10" - 56cm. Where are you getting it from, Glasgowbhoy?

glasgowbhoy

giant man wrote:

carrock wrote:

Its fair to say someone of your height racing would probably ride a 54.

But they would have the seat right back as far as it would go, a 140mm stem and about 8 inches of saddle to bar drop.

Be awfully aerodynamic but I wouldn't want to pay your chiropractors bill.

I would say a 56 would be a better bet.

+1 - spot on if you ask me, 5'10" - 56cm. Where are you getting it from, Glasgowbhoy?

55 or 56 traditionals would be my first choice, then 52 sloping but it's a 2nd hand frame at a potentially v good price, however. it doesn't matter how good a deal it is, if it's not going to be a good fit then it's not worth it.

joeweston3

IMHO a 54 will probably fit you fine, i'm 5'11 and my bikes are both 54's. The differences between a 56 and a 54 can be made up by changing seatpost height, saddle set back and stem. The main difference will be that you'll have less frame, so less weight overall.

glasgowbhoy

Thanks for the replies.

I've done a fair bit of measuring and even sat on a mates 54cm Caad 10 that has similar TT measurements to the C59. It didn't feel too small a frame with the seat at 77cm centre BB to top of seat

My only concern now is as was mentioned previously the Head Tube height. its on 143 only the 54 Colnago against 163 on my other 56cm frames with one 1cm spacer under the stem. There is a conical spacer on top of the headset on both but the total height of head tube to top of the stem is 220cm on my current set up. I'm a bit worried I'll have too much seat to bar height drop or end up with quite a few spacers (3cm worth) udeneath the stem to get it to fit?

Wirral_paul

giant man wrote:

carrock wrote:

Its fair to say someone of your height racing would probably ride a 54.

But they would have the seat right back as far as it would go, a 140mm stem and about 8 inches of saddle to bar drop.

Be awfully aerodynamic but I wouldn't want to pay your chiropractors bill.

I would say a 56 would be a better bet.

+1 - spot on if you ask me, 5'10" - 56cm. Where are you getting it from, Glasgowbhoy?

Dont agree at all. The OP is riding with 770mm centre BB to top of saddle so is certainly long legged (i'm 5ft 10 and at 728mm). He must have a shorter torso therefore, and so will need a comparatively shorter effective top tube length. This suggests the smaller frame. I ride a 54cm with a 12cm stem. I think the 56cm will be too long.

davidwilcock

Not technical advice but if its a good price you shoudn't have much trouble selling it on without a loss if it doesn't feel right. Less of a gable, more of an educated bet?

carrock

Wirral_Paul wrote:

giant man wrote:

carrock wrote:

Its fair to say someone of your height racing would probably ride a 54.

But they would have the seat right back as far as it would go, a 140mm stem and about 8 inches of saddle to bar drop.

Be awfully aerodynamic but I wouldn't want to pay your chiropractors bill.

I would say a 56 would be a better bet.

+1 - spot on if you ask me, 5'10" - 56cm. Where are you getting it from, Glasgowbhoy?

Dont agree at all. The OP is riding with 770mm centre BB to top of saddle so is certainly long legged (i'm 5ft 10 and at 728mm). He must have a shorter torso therefore, and so will need a comparatively shorter effective top tube length. This suggests the smaller frame. I ride a 54cm with a 12cm stem. I think the 56cm will be too long.

Yes but as he has said, being long legged creates a high saddle which creates an excessive saddle to bar drop on a small frame with a short head tube.

People tend to focus on top tube length to the exclusion of all else, without necessarily realising that small frames tend to come with short head tubes, and short head tubes coupled with high saddles tend to produce large saddle to bar drops, which is great if you are racing, but not so great otherwise.


But yes, a 54 frame will work, with a yard of seatpost showing, and a stem jacked up with spacers pointing to the heavens, it just won't look very good.

A 56 frame, on the other hand, with a downward sloping / slammed stem and proper amount of seatpost showing would be better........

Evil Laugh

What drop are you used to riding?

With a 77 saddle height you will be looking at around a 10cm drop with 30mm spacer under a -6 stem. Maybe more. The cups on a Colnago will add another 4mm or so to the headtube length.

At 5 11 I ride a 56 c59 but would happily ride a 55 or 54. My saddle height is 76 with a 120 stem. Drop on that bike is 8cm with the stem on the cone spacer. I've also owned 57 and 58 colnagos. They can all fit in terms of saddle height/setback and reach but handle differently.

I would say you could make it fit but it would be very much at the aggressive end of the frames that suit you. Stick with Colnago, the higher headtubes will suit. A 55 or 56/52s would probably be better bet, the 56/52s only having a 55 top tube and a headtube that realistically is 165mm. Good for those with longer legs.

I also have a 54 Tarmac with a 14.5 headtube and the drop on this bike for me is 9.5 cm with 30mm spacers. It looks on the limit but handles fantastically. For you the 54 c59 would likely fit quite similar.

glasgowbhoy

Evil Laugh wrote:

What drop are you used to riding?

With a 77 saddle height you will be looking at around a 10cm drop with 30mm spacer under a -6 stem. Maybe more. The cups on a Colnago will add another 4mm or so to the headtube length.

At 5 11 I ride a 56 c59 but would happily ride a 55 or 54. My saddle height is 76 with a 120 stem. Drop on that bike is 8cm with the stem on the cone spacer. I've also owned 57 and 58 colnagos. They can all fit in terms of saddle height/setback and reach but handle differently.

I would say you could make it fit but it would be very much at the aggressive end of the frames that suit you. Stick with Colnago, the higher headtubes will suit. A 55 or 56/52s would probably be better bet, the 56/52s only having a 55 top tube and a headtube that realistically is 165mm. Good for those with longer legs.

I also have a 54 Tarmac with a 14.5 headtube and the drop on this bike for me is 9.5 cm with 30mm spacers. It looks on the limit but handles fantastically. For you the 54 c59 would likely fit quite similar.

Thanks really appreciate the your advice here. It seems that the 52s is probably the ideal size for me given the head tube height and the top tube size.
The drop on my race bike from top of saddle to top of bars is 14.5cm. I think the C59 in a 54 would as you say 'just' fit but not look great with 4cm of spacers under the stem.
Back to the drawing board then and keep looking for a 52s in the colour I like.

Evil Laugh

If you want the c59 set up similarly then I doubt you'd have anything like 40mm of spacers. It would probably be -17 stem sat on the larger cone spacer.

Ill have a play with my bikes and see what your saddle and drop looks like.

glasgowbhoy

Evil Laugh wrote:

If you want the c59 set up similarly then I doubt you'd have anything like 40mm of spacers. It would probably be -17 stem sat on the larger cone spacer.

Ill have a play with my bikes and see what your saddle and drop looks like.

PM'd you