Croix de Fer sizing

andygo

Hi
Hoping for some advice please....
Had bit of a ding on a my bike on way into work last week....and am now after something with disc brakes which will hopefully stop a bit quicker in the wet and avoid results like this.
I've been eyeing up a Croix de Fer for ages and now seems like a good time to start looking for one (It'll also give me something to do while my jaw fracture heals up.... :roll: )
However I'm a bit unsure about sizing.
I'm 5ft 8 with 30in inside leg....which on the genesis chart puts me on a 52 or 54...
But I like to have the saddle and handlebars at the same height.
I needed to put a handlebar riser on my last bike and that was a 54...I don't want to make the same mistake with the Croix so maybe a 56 with a short stem would be better...
If anyone around the Cardiff area has a Croix or CDF which is either 52, 54 or 56 I'd be grateful if you'd let me swing a leg over it to see how it feels
thanks
Andy

bendertherobot

That's quite a ding!

I ride a 56 at 5 ft 9. Ordered a 54, wrong size came in, impatient, took it.

It's always been fine. I suspect it is a little too big. A 54 would probably be better for me, and for you.

ugo.santalucia

Same as Bendertherobot... got a 56, always found it a bit big, but I kept it for 4 years and it was/is a great bike... I have now replaced it with a Fugio 54 and it feels better.
For your stature 54 should be OK... it probably depends which end of the 5'8" you are... the imperial system is not very accurate with big 2.54 cm steps... same goes with weight... the stones system is OK for cattle but a bit vague for humans

Looking at the steerer on you former bike, I am not sure you can get the same setup with a Croix de Fer, unless you get one of those adjustable stems

andygo

Cheers Bender, I saw you had one (actually saw it on the gwladrugby forum). Your saddle seems pretty high even on a 56 though..I don't really want to have to use the handlebar riser again if I can help it.
BTW...been thinking of buying frame and building one up with used parts to save cash - if you have any old bits lying round from your upgrades that you want to sell off let me know....

thegibdog

The head tube on that bike looks quite short, I guess the head tube on even the smallest version of the Croix de Fer would be longer than that. The tyre clearances look larger on the Genesis too, which would further increase the height of the front end. In any case having a riser stem is a better compromise than having a stem that's too short.

You might want to consider the new Equilibrium Disc model, although I'm not sure when that's going to be available to buy.

bendertherobot

Saddle's not that high.



In fact it's slipped a bit at the moment and I've rounded the seatpost clamp bolt. Need to sort that!

bendertherobot

andygo wrote:

Cheers Bender, I saw you had one (actually saw it on the gwladrugby forum). Your saddle seems pretty high even on a 56 though..I don't really want to have to use the handlebar riser again if I can help it.
BTW...been thinking of buying frame and building one up with used parts to save cash - if you have any old bits lying round from your upgrades that you want to sell off let me know....

Not sure I have anything much around. I do have a Tifosi carbon post. You're welcome to it but it's pretty scratched up. Nice enough though.

Building a Croix up is definitely the best option.

For the £1200 RRP you can spec a much better bike. Personally I reckon it looks best with Campag or SRAM.

You can also build it up with the new HyDr disc brakes. Not much more than BB7 and clearly prefereable.

andygo

Saddle's not that high.

I take your point. What I meant was it's pretty high for me in relation to handlebar height - the difference/drop would be too much for me.

Thanks for replies, given me some food for thought.

Spose the answer is to try a few in a bike shop....but it feels a bit disingenuous as I can't afford a new one anyway and their just over the ride to work limit...so will be looking at used or build ur own.

bendertherobot

Trust me when I say there's little if any drop. They're actually pretty level!

jotko

I am 5ft7 on a 54 - bought the larger size as didn't want too much saddle to bar drop, use a 90mm stem and reach is spot on, I knew what reach was right for me from other bikes.

Having said that, I have had it 3 years now and am a lot more flexible now, would buy a 52 now as could happily run with a bit more drop.

samsbike

I think you should swing your leg over something and another option to try is the Kaffenback.

However, in response to your question a frameset maybe better as they you get the full steerer. Buying off the peg a full bike means that you get a bike with the steerer cut which may or may suit.

good luck and get well soon.

andygo

samsbike wrote:

However, in response to your question a frameset maybe better as they you get the full steerer. Buying off the peg a full bike means that you get a bike with the steerer cut which may or may suit.

Good point, cheers for that

Andy

bendertherobot

And, then you can get a carbon fork for it, which is probably an upgrade worth doing.