Frame swap help

mjw567040

Hello, looking for a bit of advice to see if it’s feasible.
I bought a new bike on cyclescheme last year and due to injury I didn’t ride it for a while, I have now ridden it twice and It turns out I have bought the wrong size, the bike is a Pinnacle Cobalt 4 Hybrid in a large, I should of bought medium! This bike was £850 and as far as I can see the money is in the components, I like the look of the frame but cannot get a original medium frame anywhere to swap over the parts so thinking of buying a nice mtb frame to swap my parts to. Bike is basically new so would this be a good idea or just cut my losses and sell complete? It does have a spec(see below)that might make it difficult to find a suitable frame and not sure it would work in a mtb frame?

700c with 40c tyres
Taper headset
Rockshox paragon gold air shock 65mm travel
All shimano deore components

https://www.evanscycles.com/pinnacle-cobalt-4-2020-hybrid-bike-EV306239

steve_sordy

It sounds like you may not be too far off in sizing, but not to worry there is an overlap in the sizes of people that fit a specific size of bike and that will depend upon the proportions of their body. Not everyone of the same height has the same leg length.

Before you go to that trouble and expense, there are a few very simple and cheap things you can do that may address your problems. One problem I guess is that the bike feels too long, the other may be that it feels too tall. Or even both!

Too long? I noticed that the stem is 90 mm, which is very long. You could easily replace that with a 30 mm stem (stems come in 10 mm increments all the way down to zero). Don't feel the need to match the stem with one of the same brand. Any stem you can get in a colour you like will do as long as the internal diameters are the right ones. Most stems are angled upwards and you can get different degrees of angle. This doesn't have much effect on short stems, but the key thing is that that stem same can angle downwards if you flip it over! That will lower the height of the bars and that may make a difference to how the bike feels too.
Note: A shorter stem will make the steering feel more direct. Some say "twitchy", many say "responsive". However you feel it to be, you will rapidly get used to it and it will become normal.

Too tall? The seat tube is very short, so you should be able to drop the saddle all the way down. I noticed that there are some bolts for a water bottle on the seat tube. They project internally and may be preventing the seat post from dropping all the way down. In which case, just cut it shorter! As long as you keep at least 4" of seat post inside the seat tube (which will not be a problem) all will be well. Push the saddle as far down as it will go and measure how much seat post is stuck out of the seat tube. Cut that amount plus 1/8" from the bottom of the seat post and smooth it off. Sorted. You will still be able to raise the saddle, just make sure that you leave at least 4" of post inside the tube.

How does that sound to you?

mjw567040

Hello and thanks for your reply, I will try and explain the problem I’m having with the bike. The reach actually feels good, short if anything but i have no problem with the bar position, in the past when I’ve had mountain bikes I’ve always preferred a seat up bars about 1-2” lower position.
On this bike with The saddle set in the right position for normal riding the bars are about 1” higher than the saddle and I can barely touch the floor with just my toes.

mjw567040

Just had a thought, what if I was to purchase a nice set of smaller diameter wheels 27.5/650b, my thinking is saddle to pedal distance the same but saddle height lower?

JBA

With your saddle at the correct height you shouldn’t be able to touch the floor whilst seated. If you can then your saddle is too low.
If there are spacers below the stem you can reposition them to above the stem to lower the bars.
Bear in mind that if you are still paying for the bike via salary sacrifice and have not made the final payment to your employer then it is not your bike so you shouldn’t be making any major changes to it.

mjw567040

I understand what you are saying but every bike I have had in the past at correct saddle height, I can touch the floor with my toes. I’m 55 now so not as flexible as I once was and with a hybrid/mtb coming to a stop I’ve found it difficult.
I’ve made the mistake, should have got a medium and as this will be used for light off road I think I may look into smaller stronger wheel as a replacement. Bike is paid for now and transferred ownership to myself.

steve_sordy

mjw567040 said:

Hello and thanks for your reply, I will try and explain the problem I’m having with the bike. The reach actually feels good, short if anything but i have no problem with the bar position, in the past when I’ve had mountain bikes I’ve always preferred a seat up bars about 1-2” lower position.
On this bike with The saddle set in the right position for normal riding the bars are about 1” higher than the saddle and I can barely touch the floor with just my toes.

That sounds like a good saddle position to me.
If you put your heels on the pedals can you pedal without rocking your hips? Your leg should go almost straight but not locked out. When you put your foot in the correct pedalling position, the extra length of your foot gives you a comfortable pedalling position.

If you were taller and with a longer leg, you would raise the saddle to suit your leg length and still have the same problem. The BB height of the medium vs the large will be the same, so buying a smaller bike will not change your perceived problem.

Longer cranks would help, but that comes with effects: More pedal strikes; your gearing will change (spin out sooner, but go up steeper hills); your knee may come up too high for comfort.

I have just looked at the geometry on four different bikes that I have owned recently and the BB height was the same across the size range, whether the bike was S, M, L or XL. That covered bikes with 26", 27.5" and 29" wheels. With any one of those bikes, in any size, if you put the saddle in your preferred position and found a problem, the problem would exist on the same bike in all sizes.
If you cannot be persuaded that your saddle height is OK, then you need a bike with a lower BB height. So look out for that on whatever frame you buy, just don't buy a medium version of what you already have!

mjw567040

Im not disagreeing that the saddle position is wrong, the saddle position To pedals is perfect, my injury’s are to my knees and on all my bikes over the last 40 years I’ve paid special attention to having it set up right, it’s just on my other bikes which were all 26” wheels I could tip toe the ground when at a standstill, I can’t with this bike, maybe with more use I will get used to it but the other issue is that the handlebars are 2” above the saddle which I’m not keen on, I’ve alway liked the bars about 1” lower.
I have had a look at the bike and the stem is 90 degrees and +7 up, I could flip this over and see how it goes.

steve_sordy

Also consider a lower rise bar, or maybe rotating the bars you already have, as long as your hand position is still OK.

The tip toe problem to me suggests that you need a bike with a lower BB height.

wavey1000

Just get a dropper seat post and when you stop, drop the seat and you can touch the ground. My seat is perfect and i cant anywhere near touch the ground, so I hop off or use my dropper to lower the seat

mjw567040

The dropper is another option I have thought about, sad that I’m talking like this, 30 years ago it wouldn’t be an issue but just don’t feel comfortable when coming to a stop, this will be used on road and light trails as the bike is intended to be used. If the stem flip doesn’t work I might try fitting my sons specialised mtb 27.5 wheels which are a straight swap, am I right in thinking that the seat will obviously be the same in the frame but BB will be lower?

reaperactual

I'm 5"10' and was between large and medium on most mtb bike choices. I always chose mediums and only had to tweak saddle position to suit me and for comfort. My tiptoes touch the ground when stationary.

Check out You Tube's 'Accurately measure your saddle height with the 109% method' by Clint Gibbs. Works perfectly for me every time.

All my medium bike handlebar heights are around 3 inches higher than my saddle which I prefer as it gives me confidence and feels safer down steep decents makes for a comfortable riding position on a long ride.

My friends hybrid bar height is around 5 inches higher than his saddle which is pretty high as he is tall.

I would imagine a hybrid is more than likely to have higher handlebars for comfort, reckon you could get used to it in no time and may even end up liking the riding position.👍

mjw567040

Update - i tried my sons 27.5 rims on my bike and took it for a longish ride, set up correctly and it felt perfect, need to change the stem yet to fine tune it but it felt so much more controllable and easier to ride so ordered myself a set of Mavic rims and new tyres and tubes in 27.5.

loltoride

Sounds like you have it sorted all the best.