Road bike sizing predicament for a long torso on a woman.

ChippedMug

Hi, all!

I've recently purchased my first road bike which is a Trek Silque (women's specific design) with a frame size of 52cm. I've had a couple month's worth of cycling on it and am pretty sure now this bike is not for my build. I'm 5'5" with a long torso and arm span. My inseam is 30". During the fitting, the bike guy had to swap out for a longer stem but I still feel like I'm trying to cram my upper body length onto the 52cm. There's quite a bit of arm and shoulder pain after each ride.

I suppose my question is... where to go from here? I'm eyeing a 54cm Trek Domane online. Is a size 54cm bike too much of a reach for me being only 5'5"? I feel like I have the upper body of a 6'0" man! Or do I try a 52cm Domane or Madone?

I know going into my local bike shop would be the easiest way to test sizing, but with the flack I got just trying to buy a helmet, I'm not looking forward to being talked down to again. Baaah.

cooldad

Generally, men have longer torsos, women longer legs, so it sounds like you are more suited to a mans frame.

Sounds like the bike shop were wrong in trying to lengthen a new bike - did they even suggest a mans bike?

Don't take sh1t, do your homework (as you are) and you tell them what you want. If they talk down, find a better shop. It's your money.

kajjal

I also have a proportionally longer body, this is generally not a problem for getting bikes to fit. A short body and long legs is a bigger challenge. According to the trek size chart you are right in the middle of a 52cm size going by height alone. The Trek website is hard work but it suggests purely by looking at the reach measurement on the frame the gain of going from a 52cm to 54cm frame is less than 0.5cm. Which suggests a longer stem is the best solution.

Too often people working in bike shops can be miserable when confronted with a real issue that needs experience and judgement to resolve. This is nothing to do with you and down to them. As above you may find a mans bike suits you better as women’s bikes tend to have shorter stems and shorter reach bars. What length and rise stem did they fit , what was the original ?

Other things to consider are having the saddle too high will make you very tense on the bike leading to various strains all over the body. For me I got a muscular strain on my upper back at the sides and across my chest. A quick test is to put the pedal down and the crank arm in line with the seat post, then when sat back properly on the saddle raise you self up in the same direction as the seat tube. If you can’t get clear of the saddle while keeping your feet flat , not pointed it is too low. Also look up KOPS to give you a starting point for the fore / aft position of the saddle.

Another thing to consider is the drop from the saddle to the bars. If this is too much again you can feel uncomfortable on the bike. For me about an inch is right as it means I am comfortable on all bar positions but some people prefer almost level.

ChippedMug

Thanks, cooldad!

My bike guy is different from the bike shop. Bike Guy is excellent, but very busy and I feel uncomfortable bugging him about fit questions. He was working with what I gave him; a bike in a box, hence the stem swap without suggesting another frame. The Silque is meant for riding a little more upright, and I was thinking that'd be more comfortable for me with my upper body length but turns out it's not. Whadda expensive mistake, yikes!

Kajjal, thanks for your input.

I should have clarified that the guy who fit me is not connected to the local bike shop that has a problem with ovaries. Unfortunately there seems to be a theme of that so that's why I set out online to do my best at deciding what bike would suit me. Stem now is 6 degree, but I don't remember the one that was too short, sorry! Thanks so much for the saddle positioning advice, I'll try this out.

First.Aspect

The seat to bar drop might not be the solution. It will tighten your hips up, but not necessarily open your upper back and chest that much. You'll just be every so slightly closer to a foetal position.

You should be able to go to about a 110 or 120mm stem without it getting crazy (I'm not sure, but I'd guess that noddy designers of women specific frames, aside from a love of pastel colours, also spec 90mm stems....) But in the first instance, you could try a set back seat post. This will give you about another 15-20mm.

Might be a sticking plaster, since it also risks you feeling like you are too far behind the bb (although I wouldn't have thought so), but its cheap.

Rule of thumb with frames is smaller is better, if you are between sizes, and a marginally too large frame can feel just as bad in a different way.

cld531c

Maybe a daft question but are you riding on the tops or the hoods? Hoods would give you a slightly longer reach and wider armspan that may be more comfortable.
Hope you dont need a new bike (unless you want one)! If you do, I seem to recall wiggle do 30 day test rides (on non-discounted bikes) which may save you from another costly mistake.
Get your point with the bike shop issue, I went to Evans in Manchester last year and asked if they had any Sidi road shoes (couldnt see any out) and was told they dont sell high heels. Guess where I wont be spending my money?????

svetty

Bike fitting is as much about your core strength, flexibility and stamina as it is about proportions and dimensions.

Before you spend more money swapping stems, bars, seat-posts etc I'd make sure you have a good idea what fit suits you. This could be as simple as getting the views of someone experienced who you know. Are you in a club? Alternatively pay for a fitting with a reputable outfit nr you?

Or post photos on here - the collective knowledge isn't insignificant

First.Aspect

Svetty wrote:

Bike fitting is as much about your core strength, flexibility and stamina as it is about proportions and dimensions.

Eh?

veronese68

cooldad wrote:

If they talk down, find a better shop. It's your money.

Please do this.

cld531c wrote:

...was told they dont sell high heels. Guess where I wont be spending my money?????

I hope you told them why you wouldn't be spending with them.
I'm all in favour of having a bit of a light hearted chat and joking with customers, but I wouldn't dream of making a comment like that and not because we don't sell shoes.

cld531c

Veronese68 wrote:

cooldad wrote:

If they talk down, find a better shop. It's your money.

Please do this.

cld531c wrote:

...was told they dont sell high heels. Guess where I wont be spending my money?????

I hope you told them why you wouldn't be spending with them.
I'm all in favour of having a bit of a light hearted chat and joking with customers, but I wouldn't dream of making a comment like that and not because we don't sell shoes.

I think the 'death stare' gave it away! Banter fine, but that was just rude (and they sell a load of shxt anyway)!

cq20

Have a look at this. https://www.cyclingweekly.com/fitness/b ... try-381525
As far as geometry is concerned the male / female torso to leg ratios are albeit identical. So it may be best to forget the female-specific ones and just look at the geometry. FWIW, I have a long body / short legs (and vertically challenged overall) and have always found it better to go down a size and fit a longer stem

ChippedMug

Fantastic replies, thanks all! I'll try to respond collectively, but first I must rant about the bike shop experience.
I'd gone in and stated right away I wanted a black helmet. No pink, purple, pastels or flowers. Black. The assistant told me he knew a good one, unboxed a helmet that was pink, purple and pastel blue in a ditzy pattern and proceeded to put it on my head and buckle it. Maybe I don't go into many bike shops, but I've never seen a dude put a helmet on another dude. I took it off and told him it wasn't what I was looking for and he told me his bike was 4k so he knew a thing or two. A more ballsy me would have asked what the hell his 4k bike had to do with me looking for a helmet, but instead I thanked him and walked away from that section and went to look at the socks. He followed me over and told me I'd get made fun of if I wore the length of socks I was looking at. I bought the socks, left, and won't be in there again.

Anyway...

After going over everyone's replies, now I'm wondering if a 50cm men's bike is what I need to test out? I was way off with thinking bigger, 54cm. I did have a reputable fitting done by a pro, albeit the more affordable version (wasn't hooked up to a computer). I think he did the best he could with what I gave him. I'm very keen on Trek, so possibly the Trek store could offer some advice. I'll put on my best pair of dirtied dungarees before I venture in. ;-)
Rode the bike 25 miles today and it's uncomfortable. Not killer, but I'm in shape and know the aches are not from exertion. I mean, yes there's some leg muscle fatigue, but this is a soreness in my shoulders, upper arms and hands. I am riding on the hoods.
And here's the confession... the Trek Silque is girlier than I'd anticipated. Just not my style, but what did I expect buying a bike that sounds like it was named after a stripper? As painful and expensive as this is, truth be told, I'd love to sell it on and get something that properly fits me but is less flash. Eek!

cooldad

In his case, sounds like his £4k bike was a penis extension.

cld531c

cooldad wrote:

In his case, sounds like his £4k bike was a penis extension.

bristolpete

ChippedMug wrote:

Fantastic replies, thanks all! I'll try to respond collectively, but first I must rant about the bike shop experience.
I'd gone in and stated right away I wanted a black helmet. No pink, purple, pastels or flowers. Black. The assistant told me he knew a good one, unboxed a helmet that was pink, purple and pastel blue in a ditzy pattern and proceeded to put it on my head and buckle it. Maybe I don't go into many bike shops, but I've never seen a dude put a helmet on another dude. I took it off and told him it wasn't what I was looking for and he told me his bike was 4k so he knew a thing or two. A more ballsy me would have asked what the hell his 4k bike had to do with me looking for a helmet, but instead I thanked him and walked away from that section and went to look at the socks. He followed me over and told me I'd get made fun of if I wore the length of socks I was looking at. I bought the socks, left, and won't be in there again.

Anyway...

After going over everyone's replies, now I'm wondering if a 50cm men's bike is what I need to test out? I was way off with thinking bigger, 54cm. I did have a reputable fitting done by a pro, albeit the more affordable version (wasn't hooked up to a computer). I think he did the best he could with what I gave him. I'm very keen on Trek, so possibly the Trek store could offer some advice. I'll put on my best pair of dirtied dungarees before I venture in. ;-)
Rode the bike 25 miles today and it's uncomfortable. Not killer, but I'm in shape and know the aches are not from exertion. I mean, yes there's some leg muscle fatigue, but this is a soreness in my shoulders, upper arms and hands. I am riding on the hoods.
And here's the confession... the Trek Silque is girlier than I'd anticipated. Just not my style, but what did I expect buying a bike that sounds like it was named after a stripper? As painful and expensive as this is, truth be told, I'd love to sell it on and get something that properly fits me but is less flash. Eek!

Name and shame please. Lets make sure this does not happen again to other female shoppers or indeed male too. Appalling service.

ChippedMug

cooldad wrote:

In his case, sounds like his £4k bike was a penis extension.

Ha!!

bristolpete wrote:

Name and shame please. Lets make sure this does not happen again to other female shoppers or indeed male too. Appalling service.

**Edit: I got the name a touch wrong and now I've discovered it's truly a local shop, no others. No need to name as most of you seem to be hailing from the UK!** I've had a miserable time at most of the bike stores in town, unfortunately. I don't know what's so befuddling about a woman knowing what she wants to look at prior to walking in the store? That's why I stick to guesswork online. I'd almost rather order the wrong bike again before being led to a pink Huffy.

cyclenutnz

ChippedMug wrote:

I'm eyeing a 54cm Trek Domane online. Is a size 54cm bike too much of a reach for me being only 5'5"? I feel like I have the upper body of a 6'0" man! Or do I try a 52cm Domane or Madone?

From what you've said you're not suited to a Domane or Silque. They are H3 (tall stack) bikes.
You're an Emonda or Madone kind of rider. They even have the Madone in hot pink, which sounds like it will be right up your alley.

If you look at the Emonda SL 54 you get another 10mm of reach for the same stack


However, before you go buying another bike - I'd be shifting the saddle back as that is going to address your reported problems better than increasing stem length. Even if the frame is not ideal, you shouldn't be that uncomfortable after a fit - there is a lot that can be done to work around frame geo deficiencies.

Ideally you would fix your fit first, then choose a bike that perfectly matches your position (and has the pink streamers).

In relation to the earlier comment about womens body proportions. That is not the case - women do not have proportionally longer legs in general. Taller people generally have longer legs, men are generally taller - so on average men have longer legs. The generalisations are meaningless though - a 95% confidence interval for inseam length gives a roughly 10cm range for both genders - there is significant population variation.

It is relatively common in cycling to have proportionally short legs as long legs are unaero and make it hard to fit race bikes. OTOH - runners generally have long legs to gain stride length.