New build, but bike too small? Advice please!

will_85

I recently picked up a Boardman Team frame for a great price, its a medium (53) which i know is not ideal for me, as im 6ft tall, but for the money i couldnt let it pass... I cant resist a bargain.

I think its a great foundation for a project, something to sink my teeth into & learn about building a road bike from scratch, but is it just going to be too small for me? Looking at the gemotry specs, and comparing them to a large frame... Am i right in thinking by making some adjustments such as a lay-back seat post, longer stem, say 130mm and cranks with 175mm arms i should / could make this bike fit?

Geometry: http://www.boardmanbikes.com/road/road_team.html

Just want to get some opinions before shelling out my hard earned cash on it. I already have a 130mm carbon stem on my current bike (2012 Virtuoso) that can be swapped & i have just taken delivery of some Shimano R500 wheels that were intended for the virtuoso, but they also can be held & put onto this to keep costs down. Im in no rush to finish the Boardman....

Thanks for any input.

smidsy

If it is not the right size it is not a bargain.

will_85

smidsy wrote:

If it is not the right size it is not a bargain.

Hardly a helpful response.

smidsy

I give up!

Waste your money then.

rolf_f

will_85 wrote:

smidsy wrote:

If it is not the right size it is not a bargain.

Hardly a helpful response.

I'd say it is pretty helpful. Would you buy clothes that were too small for you because they were a bargain?

Anyway, the issue is likely going to be down to the head tube height. You could always check fit on competitive cyclist which will give you an idea but the crunch will be head tube. You can use a layback seatpost with lots of it visible and you can use a long stem (cranks won't make a difference - if you need 175mm cranks it is because you need 175mm cranks - not because you bought the wrong sized frame) but how high off the ground are the bars going to be? Even with a stack of spacers under them?

TBH, you'll probably be better off sticking with the Carrera frame - afaik they are perfectly decent frames.

will_85

Heres the geometry chart:



So the headtube is 20mm shorter on the Med than the Lrg, and the top tube is 14.5mm shorter....

Maybe i was'nt entirely clear in my first post, but my logic (and please bear in mind i've been into road bikes for about 3 months at the mo, so am still learning pretty much from scratch) is that surely the bike could be 'made to fit' with adjustments to seat height / position, stem length and in this case some spacers on the stem? Or am i missing the point somewhere? What difference do these 'few' milimetres make to the overall size of the bike?

I paid literally next to nothing for the frame, which is why im keen to use it as a project to build from scratch. Obviously if i cant make necesarry adjustments to make it fit then it's not worth while.... Im just trying to think outside the box here!!

drlodge

Yes you can make adjustments...to an extent. The stem can be raised to a mxmium of 25mm. The stem can be made longer max 130mm I guess. The seat, well just needs to be the right height. Lay back won't be an issue as the seat tube angle is the same on both medium and large and therefore you want the exact same lay back amount.

The question is - within the constraints of the adjustment that are possible, will it fit adequately?

alan_sherman

Is it cheap enough to buy to strip the components, sell the frame on, and buy a frame that is the right size?

If not then it sounds like it would be a pain and not ideal to get it to fit unless you like big drop from saddle to bars. As as someone new to road biking I doubt you do. The pros ride child bikes with long stems and seatposts but to me it seems a bit too far off size wise and will look odd too.

will_85

alan sherman wrote:

Is it cheap enough to buy to strip the components, sell the frame on, and buy a frame that is the right size?

If not then it sounds like it would be a pain and not ideal to get it to fit unless you like big drop from saddle to bars. As as someone new to road biking I doubt you do. The pros ride child bikes with long stems and seatposts but to me it seems a bit too far off size wise and will look odd too.

I have just the frame. I paid £50 for it & it's the 2013 model. Buying a complete bike such as this would be unrealistic financially for me at £1k, which is why I'm trying to see if I could make it fit, building it myself, to my own spec & keep the costs down.

clickrumble

I'd sell the frame on and look around for one that's your size. From personal experience if you want good new components then there's a fair amount of effort and expensive involved in building up a bike that is just right. Having gone though all of that you want a bike that is good to ride and fits properly.

smidsy

will_85 wrote:

(and please bear in mind i've been into road bikes for about 3 months at the mo, so am still learning pretty much from scratch)

Well that says it all. I'm out.

will_85

smidsy wrote:

Well that says it all. I'm out.

Which is why I posted in the beginners section you bell-end. If u don't want to help then don't waste either of our time in replying :roll:

NickintheLakes

will_85 wrote:

smidsy wrote:

Well that says it all. I'm out.

Which is why I posted in the beginners section you bell-end. If u don't want to help then don't waste either of our time in replying :roll:

Presumably the heat has gotten to you.

smidsy

will_85 wrote:

Which is why I posted in the beginners section you bell-end. If u don't want to help then don't waste either of our time in replying :roll:

Well it did not take you long to result to direct insults - I do not think you are going to like it round here.

And if you do not want to listen to sound advice from more experienced people do not waste all our time asking. :twisted:

BobScarle

You certainly know how to make friends!

The frame can probably be "made to fit" you but, as Smidsy says, it will always be the wrong size. There are many questions on here about sore this and painful that, and most of them are down to the fit of the bike. Some can be adjusted out but I suspect in your case it will always be a compromise. If it were me, I would not waste my time building the bike, but get a bigger frame. Either that or cut two inches off your legs

smoggysteve

will_85 wrote:

smidsy wrote:

Well that says it all. I'm out.

Which is why I posted in the beginners section you bell-end. If u don't want to help then don't waste either of our time in replying :roll:

Help can only go so far. You bought a frame too small and the experience on here tells you that you didn't get the bargain you thought as it will not suite you. If you don't like the answers then why ask the question? If it were slightly smaller than you need we could recommend things like stems length or seat position to get it to fit. But if its going to be like a childs bike beneath you then you are wasting your time. Best just sell it on and hope you can break even and put it down to experience.

will_85

Smidsy, for what its worth, yes i do like it around here, i certainly have'nt joined just to fall out with people after just a few posts...

It sounded to me like you were taking the p!ss in the way you responded, hence my reaction. If that was a mis-judgement on behalf, i appologise. As mentioned, yes i'm a beginner to all this, which is why i ask what some people will consider to be daft / stupid questions... But if i dont ask i wont know!

Anyway, politics aside, thank you all for your advice :P

IShaggy

Why is everyone assuming that the frame is too small? You say you are 6' tall. What is your leg length and what is the saddle/handlebar drop on your current bike?

kleinstroker

IShaggy wrote:

Why is everyone assuming that the frame is too small? You say you are 6' tall. What is your leg length and what is the saddle/handlebar drop on your current bike?

^Exactly!

Never heard such crap from people. Without knowing his measurements you can't say anything helpful.

FWIW I'm 6ft and always prefer a frame with a 55.5cm top tube as that is what suits me best. Lots and lots of pro riders use frames which are smaller than would normally be the case, something to do with stability. Just look at all the pros using 120, 130, 140mm stems etc.

I would say you'd be fine with the frame until such point as you are uncomfortable riding the distances you choose to ride. Go for a longer stem rather than sliding the seat back too much though as that could cause problems. Bar profile, stem length, height, hoods position can all be adjusted to suit your reach. Get the seat position right first, then experiment.

smidsy

kleinstroker wrote:

IShaggy wrote:

Why is everyone assuming that the frame is too small? You say you are 6' tall. What is your leg length and what is the saddle/handlebar drop on your current bike?

^Exactly! Never heard such crap from people.

Errr...it was the OP who said it was too small. If he does not know then who does?

People seem to be getting worse and worse on here, just sat ready to pounce on anything THEY think is wrong.

kleinstroker

smidsy wrote:

If it is not the right size it is not a bargain.

I think you created this whole vibe by being less than helpful I'm afraid. The OP is in the beginners section ergo not very experienced and unsure of what his size actually is. Maybe you could be a little more constructive. AS most of us should know there is no "right size" we all fit a range of sizes depending on frame geometry and our specific measurements. I think that's what the OP was hoping to hear more about.

drlodge

To the OP: try and work out what your ideal frame size/geometry would look like, and compare to the frame you have.

You may find that seat height and stem length will fix most of the sizing issues and perhaps you're just left with a saddle to handlbar drop that is greater than your ideal. You can then take a view whether you are prepared to accept this compromise e.g. a bigger saddle-bar drop than ideal may be fine for shorter rides, but will bite you on longer rides as it'll be uncomfortable. I think your problem is that you think the frame is too small, but havent worked out exactly if or where it is too small. And no one here actually knows just what we're dealing with.

t4tomo

will_85 wrote:

So the headtube is 20mm shorter on the Med than the Lrg, and the top tube is 14.5mm shorter....

yes but the top of the headtube is going to be a lot lower than 20mm below the top of the headtube on the large frame as the whole frame triangle is smaller.

You can only put 25mm of spacers under that handlebars (which you might have wanted on the large frame anyway for comfort, particualry as you are new to road biking.

hence the drop from seat to top of handlebars will be very large - fine if you are a seasoned pro, but pretty uncomfortable if you are a new amateur.

Sell the frame and buy another secondhand frame that is the right size - you'll still benefit from your bargain £50 frame

IShaggy

t4tomo wrote:

yes but the top of the headtube is going to be a lot lower than 20mm below the top of the headtube on the large frame as the whole frame triangle is smaller.

Que?

Wheelsize + fork offset + head angle + head tube length = stack

Wheelsize, fork offset, and head angle are the same on both the medium and large. So the top of the headtube will be less than 20mm below that of the large, given the 73 degree head angle - 19.1261 mm to be pedantic.

And the advice from fork manufacturers with regards to the maximum spacers tends to be somewhere between 30 and 40mm in my experience.

IShaggy

A rough estimate based on 6' tall with 33" legs is that the OP will be looking at approximately 9/10cm drop between saddle and bars - with 30mm of spacers, and a 11cm 6 degree stem.

smoggysteve

IShaggy wrote:

A rough estimate based on 6' tall with 33" legs is that the OP will be looking at approximately 9/10cm drop between saddle and bars - with 30mm of spacers, and a 11cm 6 degree stem.

Which would make him look close to a circus bear riding a toy tricycle.

IShaggy

I built this bike up recently -



55cm top-tube and 17cm head-tube. So 2 cm higher stack than the Boardman.

I'm 6'1" but with short 32" legs and long body. 13cm 6 degree stem with no spacers, equating to just over 8cm saddle to handlebar drop. I'm thinking of getting a 17 degree stem to drop the bars a little more.

9/10cm drop may be too much for the OP, but equally may be fine. I know riders who ride with 15cm drops. And know of pros who even exceed that.

luv2ride

not sure this helps but I'm 5'9 and had a medium Boardman as my my first bike and ended up selling it on as it was a bit too big for me. I'm not convinced the frame would be too big for you at 6'. Maybe try one in Halfords first (sorry if that's already been suggested)...

TOM14S

Usual initial nonsense from the same regular people who's advice is as usual counter productive.
A quick assumption is the frame is a bit small but the boardman geom has quite a long top tube. As The latter better info said stem, and seatpost position etc. will get you close. If u have proportionally long legs you'll struggle more. You'll just be Tucked down in more of aero position. Which you may find you can ride comfortably in, so no issue. What evers comfy.
If your worried sell the frame by another for same price, your frame has still cost u £50. .. but hurry up or you'll miss the sunshine

Jim C

Long legs won't be a problem. Buy a loooooonnnnng seatpin

The real issue will be the top tube, which is likely to be on the short side for a 6 footer. Long stem is possible. Maybe a 140 or 150. will handle fine one.
U definitely won't want a layback Seatpin with that much exposed.

U can raise the bars if the drop is too great- angled stem, spacers, etc

Please no abuse from the o.p. Some of the stuff above is uncalled for when people have tried to help. I suspect it might take more than an internet forum to make this fit, but I reckon it could be done. Short headtubes are a fine start point if U want to get aero and are flexible :-)

smoggysteve

TOM14S wrote:

Usual initial nonsense from the same regular people who's advice is as usual counter productive.
A quick assumption is the frame is a bit small but the boardman geom has quite a long top tube.

Would that be the assumption made by the OP himself? To tell him that it could be too small and to not waste good money building it up only for it to be unsuitable I think is sound advice. Or would you rather someone just blindly went on because some people say it MAY be possible to make it fit. It has been mentioned that he should go find the sme size frame in Halfords and sit on it to get an idea. That seems a good plan. But until he does neither you or anyone else can suggest that it will fit him or not. We are all entitled to our opinions on the open forum. If you disagree put your point forward in a constructive way instead of dismissing it as nonsense with no evidence to counter it at this time.