New to road bikes need sizing / fitting advice

Bobbicus

Hi,

I've just bought a Felt Z95 from wiggle as my first road bike. Up until now I've been riding mountain bikes and hybrids. Doing a sportive last summer I caught the road bug and when I saw these in the sale I couldn't resist. I know the advice is to got to your LBS and get a proper fitting but my LBS isn't that great to be honest and utterly useless if you don't want a Trek. I'd had a good experience buying from wiggle before with my hybrid so was quite confident in their sizing guides.

My height at 5'10" puts me in between the 54 and 56cm frames for the Z95 according to their size guide, I had a chat with them, and their advice was if my arm span was the same or less than my height to go for the smaller size, otherwise go for the larger. I measured and found my arm span to be a full two inches longer than my height and so ordered the larger bike.

Now I went out on it today for for the first time, and although it felt right at first the bars feel very low down or far away. Looking at me in the mirror my back is at about 45 degrees when on the hoods, so I guess that's about right? After about 40 minutes my lower back was starting to I ache so I cut my ride short and did 11 miles instead of the 15 I planned. The ache doesn't feel like and injury, just that the muscles have been working. I'm new to road bikes and not very fit at all, so I'm wondering is it just a case of keeping riding and I will get used to using different muscles than on than on the hybrid, and when I develop some core strength will it get more comfortable? I don't think the next size down would help as although the bars would be closer I'd need the seatpost higher, so it'd still get the feeling I'm bending over too much.

It really doesn't look like I'm too bent over, just feels like it for someone used to a hybrid. I notice that the stem on the bike I is apparently adjustable, by means of some asymmetric spacers by the look of it'll it's currently set to 8 degrees down. I wonder if setting it flat or a little up might help. Or should I look at a slightly shorter stem? 80mm instead of 100mm would bring the bars closer?

Or do I need more miles and hours behind me, and let me body get used to using different muscles before I go starting to mess about with it. As I said I'm new to road bikes, terribly unfit and lacking in core strength.

diamonddog

More miles required IMO.

sungod

it can take a while to get used to position, especially riding on the drops for extended periods

before looking at bar position...
assuming your using pedals where you clip-in, get cleat position correct
then saddle height and position
then bars/stem

unless things are really far from the best position for you, avoid spending money on new bits until you've been riding a while, as above, you'll need to get some miles in before you can get a good feel

there're umpteen websites on self-fitting your bike, some have formulae to determine 'correct' position, take these with several bags of salt, humans are a wide range of sizes and proportions, feel is more important than numbers

this one gives some basic advice on overall fitting...
http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/insigh ... on-right-0

kajjal

I would give it a couple of weeks of riding before changing the setup of your bike if you are not used to road bikes. I got the same dull ache in my lower back to begin with and it soon went away after a few rides.

After that you will have a better idea of what you want from the bike and can make changes. Have a read of setup guides on the web but just bear in mind they are a guide / starting point and often for a very race orientated setup. You need the right setup for you. Things you can adjust for free are :-

Saddle height
Saddle tilt
Saddle forwards / backwards position (Look up KOPS)
Flip the stem so it is in a more upright position, this also reduces reach a bit while reducing drop from saddle to handlebars.
The position of the handle bars in the stem

To give an example my road bike is set up for long distance comfort rather than speed, the stem is flipped upright and my saddle is slightly further forward than KOPS would advise as it feels better for me.

Bobbicus

Thanks for the replies, as I expected it is too soon to tell. I will wait until I have more miles under my rear wheel before I start fiddling.

I have to say I was impressed by the speed of it. I was riding along on the flat, at a pace that I felt I could keep up all day and surprised to look down and see I was doing 16 mph! Might not sound like much to seasoned roadies but for me coming from infrequent off-road commuting on a hybrid it was amazing how efficiently these machines turn effort into motion.

pandazoo

http://youtu.be/oxNznrlRXGU

Jules Winnfield

For a 5' 10" fella, a 54cm frame seems a bit on the big side IMO, but then again, it depends what your inside leg measurement is. The Wiggle sizing..... in fact any companies sizing guides..... presume you are Mr Average. I am 5' 8.5" and my bike frame is 49cm, you may think thats too small, but it fits me nicely simply because i have got shorter legs than my height normally suggests.

For me i would always err on the side of caution and get a frame that suits your inside leg, not your height. If you feel a bit cramped then there is no hardship in fitting a longer handle bar stem which is what i did. Now my bike is perfect.

giant_man

I think you're right Jules, it does indeed come to your inside leg measurement cos as you say, some bods have shorter legs in relation to their torsos. But ordinarily, I have to say someone of 5'10" would fit a 54cm absolutely fine. BUT it also comes down to the geometry of the frame in question. Quite surprised of your size bike, does it not feel a little cramped? But as you say, to compensate you are running a longer stem.

Bobbicus

According to their size guide the 54cm goes down to a 5'7" rider and 5'10" is at the top of the range, whereas the 56cm which I have goes between 5'9" and 6'1", so I'd have thought at 5'10" with arms longer than my height should be OK. And indeed, the 56cm doesn't feel too big as a frame, standover height is fine, and I can get the saddle at the right heigh for the BB and still get a foot down while in the saddle. I'm sure it's just case of getting accustomed to the new position.

Away this weekend so no riding

giant_man

Well, to me, if it's comfortable and your position has not been compromised in any way, I say go with it. You have to be comfortable whilst riding, it is THE most important thing imo. Everyone is different, of course.

mrrad51

I got the z95 in Aug, 14. I am about 5'9 and got the 56cm . I turned the stem up and turned the handlebars up so the hoods are closer. I still wan't completely comfortable so bought the 90mm stem from Felt in Germany and now feel pretty happy with the bike.. I am 63 years old , when I was younger I was 5'11 so wouldn't have had any problems..Changing the stem is the easiest way . Do the height and seat for and aft adjustment separately. Not sure what the outcome would of been with a 54cm probably less stable but quicker handling and lower handlebars.