Frame problem

juppa

Hi!

Few years ago when I was starting cycling I went to my LBS and grabbed a Kona Jake 2014 for a do-it-all starting bike. Since then I have fallen in love to the sports and doing races too with road bike and mtb.

However my Jake is still in a hard use and here we get to my problem. The guys in the LBS sold me a 56cm frame :oops: , which is way too big for me as I'm 175cm tall (5'9), cant recall my inseam right now but anyway the bike is too big. For example my roadie is 52cm (has a long top tube) and fits me perfectly.

As I would like to upgrade my CX bike, I'm not sure if its worth to upgrade a frame that is too big. Of course its rideable and as I have gone about 15k km with it, I can manage with it. But far from perfect. Should I get a new frame and do you have recommendations? Selling the bike wouldn't be my first option because the money I would get out of it is not too much. Use-area for the bike is around the year commuting and some small off-season cx races.

cheers

fenix

I'm 5'11" and I ride a 56cm.

I guess it depends on your dimensions but a 52cm road bike sounds possibly too small ? Is that maybe why you feel the 56 is way too big ?

Try going back to the LBS that sold it you. Why sell you a frame thats 4cm bigger than your current frame ? They may offer a part ex that would be better than selling it on.

juppa

Yeah I have ridden a bunch of bikes and depending on the brand and model the best size for me is either 54 or 52. My Specialized roadie has a long top tube so the 52 fits me. And with the cx bike, I have a short stem and still find it somewhat hard to reach the bars so it really is either one or two sizes too big. I can ride it for sure but it gives me concerns when upgrading it

As I've ridden that cx bike for such a long time I don't expect that they would get me a better deal compared to a used frame... So I think a used one would be the best solution.

Thanks for your reply!

fenix

Aah sorry - I thought you'd said you'd done 15km on it - not 15,000..... :-)

trek_dan

Planet X XLS and XLA frame sets both currently on sale at very good prices.

juppa

I ordered the XLA alloy frame, let's see if it's any good 8)

antonyfromoz

I hope the new frame does the trick but just as a general comment I am also 5'9 and my volare 853 is a medium with an effective top tube length of 554mm while the top tube on my Norco Indie drop commuter/go anywhere bike has a horizontal top tube length of 560mm so, depending on how the bike size has been determined, a size 56 frame might not be too large. I tend to use a slightly shorter stem on my bikes than they are generally supplied with but I have also ridden a size 56 Specialized Tarmac and that felt fine in stock form too.

Matthewfalle

trek_dan wrote:

Planet X XLS and XLA frame sets both currently on sale at very good prices.

Just finishing building mine up (just got to set up front mech and it's go-go). Full Rival 10 speed, TRP Spyres, some Shimano wheels, SLR saddle, carbon bars and stem, Belgian blue model.

Really nice frameset for the money (build and looks), only downside is that although Planet X supply the seat post, seat collar, mech band they are all branded differently (P/X, Selcof, Battaglin ......).

We all know they come out of the same factory so at least brand them all up the same ......

Going to be used for light cx and light Mtb trail instruction. Hopefully will fit the bill perfectly.