Giant Sizing?

FocusBoy
FocusBoy Posts: 5
edited July 2008 in Road beginners
Hi all,

Hopefully you nice people could help me, I'm after some informed unbiased advice.

I found a Giant Scr Ltd for sale, and the seller first described it as 'medium', then updated their ad to say the following:

"Frame size is a compact 18'', basically the frame is smaller than normal but will fit anyone from 5' 6'' to around 5'9'. It's equivelant to an old fashioned 21'' frame."

From what ive read online i wasnt sure if the info agreed. Basically i'm about 5'10 and thought a medium giant would do me, but as where the bike is located is a fair bit out of my way, I wanted to know if its worth going to see, or if size is likely to be to far out.

Thanks all.

Comments

  • doktorsteve
    doktorsteve Posts: 112
    I am also about 5'10" and have an SCR LTD in size 'M'. I went to Winstanleys shop to buy it and compared it with the 'L'. The 'L' seemed really long and a big shock after riding my Giant mountain bike. I rode the SCR with the standard bar stem for a while and felt that it was a bit short so I got a 120mm stem. However that may have been due to a short (non stock) saddle. Now I am beginnning to think that it is a bit long and should have got a 110 stem. Anyhow I reckon that I got the right frame size.
    The other thing with the 'L' is the lenght of the head tube (sorry if I go the name wrong) which is about 1" taller than the 'M'. I am now thinking about lowering the bars and on the 'L' I would have had to take out the spacers to get to where I am now.
    If you check out the sizing from Giant you will find that there is an overlap between M and L at 5'10"
    100% ME!
    Do you think I would be this bad on drugs?
  • topdude
    topdude Posts: 1,557
    You need to go and look at it, no point in guessing sizes as it is very important to get the right size for you.
    Giant frames usually have the size on a label at the bottom of the seat tube, sounds like Medium would be your size. As mentioned above you can tweak the stem and seat post to get the fit right.
    He is not the messiah, he is a very naughty boy !!
  • SCR Pedro
    SCR Pedro Posts: 912
    Hey there,

    For what it's worth, I am 180 cm's, which I think is around 5'11" or something.

    I'm riding a SCR2 with a Large size frame. It's a really good fit for me, but for some reason Giant have stuck quite a long stem on it, so I'm suffering with neck pains after a while.

    I'd agree that you should never guess what size is right for you. I made that mistake once.

    Cheers
    Pedro
    Giant TCR Advanced II - Reviewed on my homepage
    Giant TCR Alliance Zero
    BMC teammachineSLR03
    The Departed
    Giant SCR2
    Canyon Roadlite
    Specialized Allez
    Some other junk...
  • judokev
    judokev Posts: 49
    Hi there,

    Does one of your local bike shops not stock the bike your looking at nearer to home? That way you could try out a couple of sizes and see what you think

    Judo kev
  • simon_e
    simon_e Posts: 1,706
    Medium should fit you fine. IMHO it's easier to buy a frame that's slightly small and then get a longer stem than buy one that's too big.

    The term 'compact' refers to Giant's frame geometry - the sloping top tube changes some measurements when compared to a horizontal one. See Giant's info page. Recommended frame sizes are at the bottom of this page too.
    Aspire not to have more, but to be more.
  • LeighB
    LeighB Posts: 326
    I am 5' 10'' with 31' inside leg and have a Medium Giant.