first proper road bike

dani88

hey there i'm Daniel from Israel, i'm 26,177 cm, weight around 62kg, inseam 86, trunk 59, f.arm 28, arm 69, thigh 59, lower leg 56, s.notch 143. so i've been looking for a second hand road bike mainly for long weekend rides and what i've managed to find so far on my pretty tight budget (i'm a film student so i don't get much work these days..) is a Colnago CLX 2.0 (2013) it comes with an aerobar (the guy that sales it doesn't really know much about it..) and 105 pedals the components are full Ultegra except the brake levers, the wheels are Fulcrum 5 on the other hand i managed to find another pair Felt Z5 (2013) they both cost the same but the Z5 comes without an aerobar (which i don't really need but might be nice to have that option) and with no pedals. the Z5 are full 105 and have Mavic Aksium wheels.
the z5 are size 56 and the Colnago are size 52 (from my understanding its the same as 56..) i dont really care about weight (i mean i don't really want a 9.5kg bike but as far as the Colnago vs felt the 400gr difference wont matter to me..) anyway after reading for about a month on raod bikes i've managed to tighten my list but still wanted some advice for experienced minds. so what do you think? should i wait a little longer for a more compatible bike for me? should i buy one of the bikes mentioned above? i have checked the competitive cyclist size chart but all the HT angle etc' that it told about my size didn't really mean much to me. so thank you for taking the time and helping (i would not had read such a long post.. hehe).
thanks a bunch.
Daniel.

bobones

At 1.77m (5ft 9) I would think a 56 might be a bit too long, and the Competitive Cyclist Fit Calculator seems to suggest 52-53 for the effective top tube length for you. (The effective top tube is probably the single most important measurement if you can't compare stack and reach). Looking at the geometries of these bikes, the 56 Felt has a 560mm effective top tube, and the Colnago 547: I'd definitely be looking at smaller bikes if I were you.

Regarding Colnago vs Z5: the Colnago brand has lots of cachet, but Felts are very nice bikes too. The Z series is designed towards endurance bike geometry, whereas Colnago looks a more traditional shape. There is not much between them spec-wise, but 5700 105 was released a couple of years after 6700 Ultegra and supposedly shifts better, but Ultegra is definitely more desirable. Not having to buy pedals is a bonus, but I wouldn't put much weight on the presence of aerobars. There's nothing to choose between them based on the wheelsets, but check that the rims aren't showing any signs of concavity.

Regarding the condition of the bikes, check that the chain hasn't overly stretched as this could indicate that the drivetrain is worn. A quick test is to try to pull the chain away from the big chain ring with your fingers: there shouldn't be much slack at all if the chain is not too worn. Also check the headset turns smoothly and has no excess play. You could also check the bottom bracket for smoothness and play. Check that the gears shift up and down the whole cassette without hanging up or jumping. Check for cable fray and the condition of the brake blocks and tyres. Are the wheels true? You don't really want to be spending money on fixing or replacing anything right away, otherwise you should negotiate the price if you find anything wrong.

I would probably go for the bike which looked the nicest to my eyes and was in the best condition, but don't get a bike that's too big for you!

dani88

Thanks a lot i guess ill keep looking and hope to find something nice around the sizes 52-54.
your info has been helpful ill be sure to do as you mentioned when buying a bike.
thanks again,
Daniel.