Bike sizing question

baz69

Currently have a specialized roubaix ,looking at a de rosa idol ,can't try it out ,its on special in wiggle,my question is
My current set up which I got done a few years ago and works in terms of comfort and reach etc,set up is
Specialized stack 591mm and reach is 387
De rosa idol stack 577 mm and reach 397
Would I be just a case of saddle height increased,and shorter stem,unsure how to achieve something close to my current set up,and don't want to buy the bike and then find out it's the wrong size,really appreciate any advice on this.

mfin

In very basic terms, you'd need a 1cm shorter stem on the De Rosa than you have on your Spesh to be the same and you'd need 14mm more spacers under its stem compared to what you are running on the Spesh. Saddle you just set the height.

The only immediate possible alarm bell could come if you are already running a load of spacers on the Spesh, and that having 14mm more would be getting excessive. How many are you running. Post a photo of your Spesh, that would help (as there's more at play, like differences in heights of the conical top caps on the headsets on the two bikes).

Note I say in very basic terms as there are other things that can affect things a bit, differences in bar dimensions etc, but these are rarely stated and you can change them. A photo of your own Spesh might provide most of the info needed here for you to be able to buy with enough confidence.

baz69

Thanks for reply ,iits got 40mm spacers ,on a90mm stem ,bars are 420mm,trying to figure out how to post a picture ?

mfin

If you go to http://tinypic.com/ and upload one then once it's uploaded you can copy the url it gives you for forums. Then you can paste that into the Full Editor when you post.

You should be able to figure it out... if you go to reply to a post that has a photo in it and quote it, you'll see how the code looks. (I have put an image at the bottom of this post, so you can look, basically an image's url inside what they call image tags).

...from what you've already said though this looks like it will be the wrong size, because you'd need an 80mm stem and you'd need say 55mm of spacers. Alarm bells ring immediately on needing that amount of spacers, but the conical top caps need to be compared to be fair as some of that might be negated (not likely a suitable amount of negation). That said, even more alarm bells ring on needing an 80mm stem, it's too short really for a road bike, a sign that it doesn't really fit you and is being forced to fit.

It sort of seems to be heading that this De Rosa just doesn't have proportions that suit you, as it's too long (you needing to run such a short stem) and too low (needing loads of spacers). If you think about it, if you went for a size up, you'd need even shorter stem (mad) but maybe a more normal amount of spacers, and if you went for a size down you'd maybe have a more normal stem but a ridiculous amount of spacers.

You probably have heard of bikes being "long and low" and it not suiting some people, looks like you've taken a liking to one that's characteristically too long and low for you.

See if you can post a photo by all means, it will help confirm a bit more.

Someone should be along to confirm my basic logic here.

rollemynot

What research did you do before sizing the “Spesh”

If none and adjusted yourself to the bike - then do the same

If bike fit info - then do the same

If buy bike, size then keep or return if it doesn’t fit - then do the same

Job jobbed

baz69

,photo of specialized roubaix size 56cm de rosa size 57 cm

baz69

Bought specialized after trying sizes 54 and 56 ,the 56 felt better ,then got bike fit done ,changed stem added spacers ,and set saddle height ,,fit is comfortable on roubaix with back angle at 44degrees which is about spot on ,buying bike from wiggle and trying to send back if it's not suitable is I would think hassle ,I think from previous post ,info has been very knowledgeable and helpful ,looks like a risk not worth taking ,also have my eye on a bianchi infinito which are running close to my current dimensions,just a few tweaks,just the de rosa good price and has di2 on it .

mfin

Pic showing upside down but not a problem, saved it and it span around

Yeah, I'm even more sure now the De Rosa won't suit, you've even got the stem flipped.

I'm sort of imagining looking at the front of your existing bike, then adding 15mm more of spacers and shortening the stem by a 1cm, if that was done it really would be getting extreme and anyone looking at it would be thinking "why on earth did you buy that".

I wouldn't worry that you think the De Rosa is a good price with equipment levels you like, a better fitting bike is way way more important. Maybe the the Infinito runs higher and not as long. Remember you actually want something that is higher and not as long as your Spesh, as that Spesh looks far from ideal too! (The DeRosa was going the opposite way, fitting even worse).

Perhaps people can recommend bikes with a very tall headtube and short toptube, I don't really keep my eye on those kinds of bikes myself as they are not part of the market I ever have to pay attention to.

Any suggestions anyone?

baz69

Yeah agree best to get correct size frame ,when I got bike fit done he had to set saddle quite high ,short torso long legs,
Other dims are saddle height 782,saddle setback -78,handlebar reach 524,handlebar drop -40 mm on spesh.
Think I will stick to looking at bianchi ,stack 583 reach 386 which I presume is closer to the spesh.

mfin

Well the bianchi numbers you just gave means 8mm more spacers on it and same stem. You should be looking for something where you can reduce the spacers, at least down to 30mm, preferably less. Plus, a 90mm upturned stem on a bike is not ideal. ....so what I am saying here is the the Bianchi is slightly worse than the Spesh (whereas the DeRosa was much worse), but close, and I can't see why you can't find something that is much more suitable instead of worse.

You really want a bike with more 10,20,30,40 more stack than you have, run a stem non-flipped, and hopefully it to have 10 less reach or even 20 so you can run something longer than the 90mm stem (100/110) ...My guess is there might be sportive style bikes that are like this, I don't know though. Let's see if someone else reads this and some models with suitable geometry get mentioned.

baz69

So going a diff direction with a diff bianchi model ,more aero than sportive ,stack 545 and reach 388 would that then give the desired fit but meaning a much more aggressive stance .

DeVlaeminck

Your current bike set up is effectively shortening the reach because of your spacers - as well as bringing the bars up because the fork steerer angles towards you it brings them in.

As for getting an aggressive geometry aero bike - given your current set up - huge risk.

Why not take the spacers out from your Specialized and ride it like that see how you get on. Road bikes do take some getting used to the position and it may be that the position that feels good for a novice is not actually the best position for you once you've been riding for a while.

DeVlaeminck

Trek Domane would give you same stack little bit less reach, to be honest your Roubaix isn't a bad shout either. This is all assuming you are set up correctly, do you have a very short torso relative to your legs ?

mfin

baz69 wrote:

So going a diff direction with a diff bianchi model ,more aero than sportive ,stack 545 and reach 388 would that then give the desired fit but meaning a much more aggressive stance .

No. That would be giving a reach the same as your bike but a much lower front end, meaning a huge amount of spacers (way more spacers than is physically possible).

As the other post above, and in case you don't get the logic ...what I'm trying to achieve is the same fit. What I mean by this is if you sat on the bike with your eyes closed that everything would be in the exact same place. When I say everything, I mean 3 things are in the exact same place in relation to each other, they are your Saddle, Handlebars, Pedals. That means the "bike fit" is the same. This means choices of stems and spacers to make this happen as each bike measures up differently in stack and reach.

So, there is no such thing as "give the desired fit but meaning a much more aggressive stance", there is the desired (same) fit OR there's a different fit (position on the bike).

Now, if you are saying you might have a drastically different fit:

1) I'm out on the advice level, cos there's no real logic here to play with
2) In your case it seems madness, as your current bike is clearly setup to an extreme

What I mean by (2) there is you've already got your existing bike setup having the bars higher at the front than god intended, and with the the bars closer than intended too. So, really, the bike you have is a poor choice for you but it's luckily in the ballpark where you've just about made it work. There are going to be loads of bikes that you will not be able to make work, basically if they have any less stack and/or any more reach than that Spesh then forget them immediately.

(I'm also not entirely sure that you are not joking at this point, so apologies if you are not but I'm out. I suggest you read the posts I wrote including this one and digest them and try to understand what I've been saying as the principles of what I have been saying make sense of what you need to "get". Re-read that bit about closing your eyes).

baz69

No mfin not joking ,and really appreciate the advice given I know have a clearer understanding on what to look for ,
Once again thanks for advice.