geometry help

theraggyone

im after some advice if anyone can help me. currently i own a planet x pro carbon in medium

http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/FRPXPCRFF/planet-x-pro-carbon-road-frameset

i have this set up with a 90mm stem and its a good but not a perfect fit giving me many trouble free miles with no pains (ive always felt the bike was very slightly big hense the 90 mm stem , sometimes i think an 80 mm stem would work better for me but no pain so never changed it).

ive just ordered a viner mitus frameset to replace it in there sale as im after something a bit more modern, racy and stiffer .

http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/FRVIMIT/viner-mitus-carbon-road-frameset

ive chosen to order the frameset in small this time round and use a longer stem probably 110mm to counteract the shorter effective top tube . ive had a good look at the the geometry and also concluded that if i brought the medium i would be on the crossbar with no clearance for my jewels when straddling the bike due to the more horisontal geometry of the viner (i only just clear the low part of the top tube on the medium pro carbon the viner even in small is noticably higher).im 5'7 with a 28.5, inseam. i have read its better to size down than up.

i realise i will have quite alot of saddle to bar drop with the small , but i ride alot , weigh 73kgs and ive been lowering my stem on the pro carbon slowly over the last 6 months, so im hoping that wont be an issue .i can always run a few more spacer untill im comfortable.

can anyone with more experiance in this sort of thing take a look at the geometry and give me their opinion on this ? i spoke to planet x and they seemed to agree with me that the small with a longer stem would be better but i would rather have a second unbiased opinion.

this will be the first road bike ive built from frame up ( ive done mountain bikes before so im confident with the build) but i dont want to make a mistake with the sizing.

thanks for any help

chris_bass

Usual advice is that it is easier to make a small bike bigger than a big bike smaller, so think you have done the right thing

dj58

I think the medium Viner Mitus would be too big for you, going by what you say regarding your experience with the medium Pro carbon bike, enjoy building your new bike.

StillGoing

The small would be the biggest size you should go to looking at the top tube length and I'd even consider the XS. I'm similar height and err on the side of the smallest frame in my range than the biggest. As Chris Bass says, it's easier to make a small frame fit than a big frame and looks better too.

When I was looking to buy my Reacto, UK dealers kept pushing me to a 50cm frame (probably because they couldn't get the 47cm one in this country) but I knew the max top tube length I could be comfortable with. Having sourced a 47cm frame from France, it was the right decision.

theraggyone

thanks for all the advice , hopefully the small frame is arriving today:) you have all really helped put my mind at rest. cant wait to get building

theraggyone

frame arrived today and looks amazing. unfortunatly the new front mech, longer stem and seatpost didnt (ribble are slow but price was to good to order elsewere) ,so i cant build the bike this weekend.

i have managed to fit the headset,cut the steerer and knock a bare rolling frame together with my spare parts to get an idea of fit and it certainly looks to be good from my inital impression while standing over it:)

i dont want to dismantle my pro carbon untill i can finish the build as i dont have another bike.i may even source a cheap groupset and put the pro carbon back together as a winter / trainer bike as i have all the other parts i need.

its going to look great once i fit the parts from my pro carbon and its so light the frame weighs 872gms, i think the extra 2cm handlebar drop will take a little while to adjust too( hopefully i can go lower just need to condition myself) but it looks like a weapon i cant wait to ride it..

top_bhoy

I hope you're going to level the saddle.

Nice looking frame though....happy riding

theraggyone

Thats my workstand seatpost \ saddle got a carbon post and prologo naga saddle to put on the finished build. Only parts that are staying in the photo are frame fork and headset. Saddle will be lvl when build is finished

dowtcha

That is a very nice looking frame, a sub 900g frame for under £500 from a uk seller is unbelievable value.