Weird Sizing results. Complete rubbish?

kerzane

Hi all,

So I'm planning to buy a Focus Mares AL Commuter as a touring/city bike. They're available at a little discount at the moment from German online retailers.

As I'm buying online I won't have a chance to try the bike for size (I know this is ill advised, but I've decided on this plan, no need to try to convince me otherwise).

I've tried two local bike shops that are Focus dealers. None had a suitable similar bike for me to compare size. One of them did do a sizing measurement for me though, and here is the result:

http://imgur.com/LbCVozK

Seems really weird to me, the measurements just seem way too high. Specifically the suggested top tube length seems really long, in particular longer than all of the frames of the bike I'm interested in.

I guess it must be that the bike shop guy just totally screwed up the measurement, I'm not a freakishly tall guy (~190).

I suppose I'll go with the XXL 60 frame, seems likely the 58 would be too small.

Can anyone confirm that these sizing results are total rubbish? Either way, would it suggest either the 58 or the 60 Mares frame?

The Mares geometry details can be found here: https://www.focus-bikes.com/fr_en/28960 ... muter.html

Thanks for your help,
Eoin.

letap73

Those measurements do not look correct - the biggest problem is the reach - I am fairly certain they have the incorrect measurement from the centre of the saddle to the bar - 78.2cm is a lot in comparison to saddle height - unless you are arms and torso with short legs.

Have they put in the saddle height twice by mistake?

kerzane

He did comment that my legs are short relative to my height, which I'm ready to believe could be true, but not to anything like the degree that the results make out.

kerzane

So I'm trying to decide between going for the 58 and the 60, measurements found here: [url=htmlhttps://www.focus-bikes.com/fr_en/28960-mares-al-commuter.html]htmlhttps://www.focus-bikes.com/fr_en/2 ... muter.html[/url]

My road bike is a 60cm 2014 Cube Peloton. I think it fits ok, if anything I would say it feels just slightly long. These seem to be the measurements for the cube: https://www.futurumshop.nl/img/extra/cu ... eloton.jpg

So my road bike has a 56cm seat post! I think this is basically because the top tube angle is steeper however, the flatter top tube angle on the Mares means a longer seat post relative to top tube.

The horizontal top tube measurement on the cube is 570, which would suggest the 60 Mares frame.

However comparing the reach on the two bikes would suggest the 58 Mares.

Probably the reach is the most reliable measurement here, and so the 58 is the one to go for? Seems to me I don't need a reach larger than my road bike, so the 60 would definitely be too large.

Any advice would be really welcome.

Thanks,
Eoin.

letap73

From my understanding Cube generally size small - therefore the 60 is effectively equivalent to a 58 in most brands, as a rough yardstick. Looking at the stack and reach figures - which give the best comparison imo - the 58 Focus has the best fit.
The measurement given to you by the bike shop, imo, definitely has an error in the saddle to bar measurement.

styxd

At 190cm tall, I'd have thought the XXL (60cm) Focus would even be too small. It'd be too small for me anyway, and I'm your height.

letap73

styxd wrote:

At 190cm tall, I'd have thought the XXL (60cm) Focus would even be too small. It'd be too small for me anyway, and I'm your height.

The 60cm Cube the OP rides would also be far too small for you to ride - which he has stated is tending to feel longer in terms of reach.

styxd

letap73 wrote:

styxd wrote:

At 190cm tall, I'd have thought the XXL (60cm) Focus would even be too small. It'd be too small for me anyway, and I'm your height.

The 60cm Cube the OP rides would also be far too small for you to ride - which he has stated is tending to feel longer in terms of reach.

Perhaps he should try a shorter stem? On a commuting bike like the Focus, typically the stem will be 10-20mm shorter than on a road racing bike. The slacker head angle will also bring the bars closer.

At 190cm, there's no way you should be riding a bike with 558mm top tube. Sounds like the OP needs to sort his fit, which'll be very difficult if he buys a bike too small to start with.

kerzane

Hi all, thanks for your replies. I appreciate all the differing advice, I am also confused by the situation, so I can understand differing opinions.

I have ordered the 58, I think it's likely to be the best fit for the following reasons:

i) The reach metric is the closest to my current road bike.
ii) I think it's likely that the top tube measurement given by focus is not the horizontal top tube measurement as they claim in the diagram, but in fact the actual top tube length. In this case the Mares top tube would be longer than that on my Cube.
iii) There definitely seems to be a difference in the way Cube and Focus denominate their sizing. The peloton sizes range from 50-64cm, while the Mares 48-60. As these are "similar" style bikes, and both of these are German companies catering to more or less the same population, I find it hard to believe that their sizing ranges are significantly mismatched (in actual effective sizes). It's certainly hard to believe that I would find myself in the middle of the peloton range, but in the situation where all of the Mares sizes are too small for me.

It's conceivable that the 60 would be a better fit, but as of now I consider that situation unlikely. Supposedly bike24 will contact me with a bike fitting advice service, potentially they could give some more detailed advice.

Thanks for your help, I'll let you know how it goes.