Canyon sizing (vs Giant TCR)

triathlonthomas
triathlonthomas Posts: 69
edited April 2013 in Road buying advice
Apologies if this has been covered elsewhere, but after weeks of research I'm about to hit buy on a Canyon Ultimate CF SLX 8.0 and I'd like some words of reassurance regarding sizing!

I'm 5 ft 9 (or a touch under) with longish legs - I take a 32 or 33 inside leg in all my trousers. So my torso is relatively short.

The Canyon size calculator puts me on a 56 but I just can't believe that's right - as others have mentioned on this site already, the calculator seems to work off inside leg and not a lot else.

I'd be EXTREMELY grateful for thoughts on how my current set-up (on a size "Medium" 2011 Giant TCR 1) compares. Stats as follows:

Head angle 72 deg
Seat angle 73 deg
Top tube 55.5 cm
Head tube 15 cm
Chain stay 40.5 cm
Wheelbase 98.4 cm
Standover height 76.4 cm

For pics (and an idea of the geometry in reality), please see:

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bik ... /#geometry

I'm not sure if the Giant's top tube measurement is a little skewed because there's a significant angle/slope - and therefore I'm not sure whether it's as simple as doing a direct comparison between the Giant's top tube measurement and the Canyon's?

To be honest, I feel a little stretched out on the Giant and certainly wouldn't want the reach on the Canyon to be any further than my current set-up. I reckon an inch or two closer would be fine - whether by way of shorter top tube or even a couple of cm on the head tube (but obviously I wouldn't want to compromise feel or handling).

My gut instinct is to go with the 54 Canyon frame (I was even considering the 52 before their calculator threw out a recommended 56).

Really grateful for thoughts on how my current set-up might feel compared to the Canyon, and for suggestions on the £3,000 52/54/56 question!

Thanks! :)

Comments

  • What is your current saddle height (from bottom bracket)?
    What is your current saddle setback (from bottom bracket to tip of saddle)?
    What size stem are you currently using?
    Do you have many spacers under your stem at the moment? What is the drop from the tip of your saddle to the top of your bars (where they connect to your stem)?

    The frames for the 52/54/56 aren't _that_ different.

    Stack x Reach:

    52: 547x387
    54: 558x387
    56: 568x391

    Which means that you can _just about_ ignore the reach, pick the right frame based on stack height (consider too the seat tube length so you have a decent amount of seat post showing!) and then choose the right stem.

    For what it's worth, I'm 174cm but my inseam is about 30 and the 52 fits me great. I suspect you'd fit either the 54 or 56 depending on what sort of saddle/bar drop you need.
  • Thanks very much for this and good to know that frame size isn't ABSOLUTELY critical (i.e. to some extent can be dealt with by stem and stack height).

    Still think the 54 will be right but I'll measure up tomorrow and see how the extra stats sway things.

    Just realised that Canyon have switched their sizing mechanism?! Or maybe I was using the measurement calculator whilst looking at a different model? As it seems they now only do "S", "M", "L" etc?! Do I have to start again from scratch or are these new sizings directly comparable to 52, 54, 56 etc??

    Jeepers, way to go Canyon!
  • Ah:

    The Ultimate CF uses 50/52/54/56 etc.

    The new Ultimate CF SLX (and the Aeroad) are S(50)/M(53)/L(56) etc.

    The new frame geometries scale reach and stack together, so there isn't as much overlap (note my comment above when I accidentally provided the CF stack and reach numbers).

    53: 546x374
    56: 560x382

    The 53, give or take, matches up to the old 52.
    The 56, give or take, matches up to the old 54.

    I reckon the M(56) is likely to fit you the best.
  • dwanes
    dwanes Posts: 954
    what is up with you people? Given that your proportions are not straight forward, you must be mad to go for a mail order bike, especially canyon with their strange sizing and spending that kind of money.

    Get youself to a few local bike shop and try a variety of bikes out, spending that kind of money you WILL get a healthy discount if you ask. And at 3k it should be all you need anyway.

    PS. If you do go for a canyon can you post a photo of your set-up so we can see how wrong it will be.
  • adamfo
    adamfo Posts: 763

    I'm 5 ft 9 (or a touch under) with longish legs - I take a 32 or 33 inside leg in all my trousers. So my torso is relatively short.

    How about measuring your leg length properly, trouser sizing is irrelevant !

    Stand on a hard floor and shove a book or ruler up your crutch. Get someone to measure the top of the horizontal book to the floor. So what do get ?
    I'm 179cm tall with 87cm leg. On the Canyon mountain bike size chart that puts me on a medium however, put in 88cm and it flips to large. So, I did the ape test. Stand against a wall and measure arm span. If it's greater than your height you have a positive ape measurement. The large will feel comfortable. Negative ape number points to the medium frame.

    The Germans must be bemused that many Brits mix up Imperial and metric measurements when measuring themselves :?
  • chigman
    chigman Posts: 163
    edited April 2013
    Apologies if this has been covered elsewhere, but after weeks of research I'm about to hit buy on a Canyon Ultimate CF SLX 8.0 and I'd like some words of reassurance regarding sizing!

    I'm 5 ft 9 (or a touch under) with longish legs - I take a 32 or 33 inside leg in all my trousers. So my torso is relatively short.

    The Canyon size calculator puts me on a 56 but I just can't believe that's right - as others have mentioned on this site already, the calculator seems to work off inside leg and not a lot else.

    I'd be EXTREMELY grateful for thoughts on how my current set-up (on a size "Medium" 2011 Giant TCR 1) compares. Stats as follows:

    Head angle 72 deg
    Seat angle 73 deg
    Top tube 55.5 cm
    Head tube 15 cm
    Chain stay 40.5 cm
    Wheelbase 98.4 cm
    Standover height 76.4 cm

    For pics (and an idea of the geometry in reality), please see:

    http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bik ... /#geometry

    I'm not sure if the Giant's top tube measurement is a little skewed because there's a significant angle/slope - and therefore I'm not sure whether it's as simple as doing a direct comparison between the Giant's top tube measurement and the Canyon's?

    To be honest, I feel a little stretched out on the Giant and certainly wouldn't want the reach on the Canyon to be any further than my current set-up. I reckon an inch or two closer would be fine - whether by way of shorter top tube or even a couple of cm on the head tube (but obviously I wouldn't want to compromise feel or handling).

    My gut instinct is to go with the 54 Canyon frame (I was even considering the 52 before their calculator threw out a recommended 56).

    Really grateful for thoughts on how my current set-up might feel compared to the Canyon, and for suggestions on the £3,000 52/54/56 question!

    Thanks! :)

    For the Canyon size calculator to recommend you go for a size 56 frame, you must of entered the top size of 83cm. Am I right? If you entered 82cm it would have told you to go for a 53cm frame.

    I am just shy of 5'10" with a 82cm inseam and have gone for a 56 frame against their pps system's recommendation of a small.
    Canyon Ultimate CF SLX 7.0
    Cube Crossteam Hybrid
  • bobbydazzla
    bobbydazzla Posts: 289
    Email Canyon in Germany and explain your dilema, that's what I did and someone knowledgeable and helpful rang me straight back and we talked through things and he was able to guide me on the best size.

    The online system had me on a 56, but I was at the max inside leg measurement for that size so he recommended a 58 as it would be better for my dimensions.

    I'm slightly over 6ft with a 34" inseam and got the size 58, which is the perfect fit.
  • adamfo
    adamfo Posts: 763
    chigman wrote:
    with a 32cm inseam

    In that case you are officially a dwarf :roll:
  • chigman
    chigman Posts: 163
    adamfo wrote:
    chigman wrote:
    with a 32cm inseam

    In that case you are officially a dwarf :roll:

    :lol: Yeah I must of been miles away. Cheers for highlighting that.
    Canyon Ultimate CF SLX 7.0
    Cube Crossteam Hybrid
  • Gabbo
    Gabbo Posts: 864
    Email Canyon in Germany and explain your dilema, that's what I did and someone knowledgeable and helpful rang me straight back and we talked through things and he was able to guide me on the best size.

    The online system had me on a 56, but I was at the max inside leg measurement for that size so he recommended a 58 as it would be better for my dimensions.

    I'm slightly over 6ft with a 34" inseam and got the size 58, which is the perfect fit.

    I am about 6'1.5 myself, and have a 35" inseam. Also went for the 58, now just have to wait until it's delivered!
  • I'm thinking of going for a Canyon but I'm very put off by the fact that I can't test it first, especially for that amount of money. What made you guys go for it over other bikes and how has it turned out?
  • Gabbo
    Gabbo Posts: 864
    wisenedcat wrote:
    I'm thinking of going for a Canyon but I'm very put off by the fact that I can't test it first, especially for that amount of money. What made you guys go for it over other bikes and how has it turned out?

    Bang for buck.. simple as. I've not received mine yet, but you can always work out your size going by the geometry of a frame. For example, this Canyon I'm ordering is 1.7cm shorter top tube but 2cm longer seat tube than my old bike. This should help as I'm long legged with a short torso.

    Bikes can also be quite easily adjusted to fit the rider like a glove nowadays.

    It's hard to find a top frame, with Dura Ace 9000 and Ksyrium Elite wheelset for £3000. To me, that is a bargain!
  • Yeah, but there's a difference between a frame fitting and liking the ride. That's my only concern. I'm getting a bike as an insurance replacement so I could spend more if I use their supplier, so I'm thinking of a tarmac or maybe a quattro and upgrading the wheels. The Canyon may still be a better bike at £2000 - 2500 than those at £3000. Need to decide. I'm annoying myself.
  • Agreed, it's all about bang for buck.

    I've just had an incredibly helpful call with a guy at Canyon's UK service helpline. I didn't get his name but would have given him a special mention.

    Basically, the PPS system had me right on the borderline between S(53) and M(56) - and it all came down to inseam. If I entered 82cm, it recommended S(53) and if I entered 83cm, it recommended M(56). I asked him about this and he talked me through the differences in geometry between the Canyon and my current Giant TCR 1, reassuring me that if things don't feel spot on then I can return the bike or, importantly and helpfully, if the reach is not quite right then they will happily replace the stem for a shorter/longer one as required (theoretically this would affect the handling but in reality, I don't think a cm or two would make any difference...)

    In the end I'm going for the M(56) on the basis that the top tube and reach will be slightly shorter than my current set-up (which, if anything, is a SLIGHT stretch).

    Ordering the 7.0 with Di2. Was set on the DA mech 8.0 or 8.0ES but I can't wait another 8 to 10 weeks(!) and having done some further research on UDi2, I'm over my groupset snobbery and looking forward to maintenance-free, accurate shifting which is wholly compatible with my tiny girl's hands :)

    Wisenedcat, made your mind up yet?
  • bobbydazzla
    bobbydazzla Posts: 289
    wisenedcat wrote:
    I'm thinking of going for a Canyon but I'm very put off by the fact that I can't test it first, especially for that amount of money. What made you guys go for it over other bikes and how has it turned out?

    My criteria for a new bike were:

    Light and stiff but not a) aero b) too relaxed.
    Ultegra mech, Mavic Ksyrium Elites, good tires and decent finishing kit that I wouldn't want to upgrade.
    Ideally a smaller brand rather than Giant, Specialized etc.
    Budget was £2500 and fortunately I get 20% discount at a LBS so this meant I could look at £3000 bikes

    I test rode a few bikes and thought they were nice, but even the £3000 ones would have required some upgrading and additional spend to get the spec I wanted.

    The Canyon Ultimate CF 9.0 had everything for just under £2000. And it gets great reviews. So after months of fannying about and pontificating about buying without a test ride I bit the bullet and ordered one.

    And it's great. It flies along on descents, makes life significantly easier on climbs and you always feel like your effort is being rewarded. It makes me want to get out and ride it. And I think it looks great too.

    And because of the price I had a few hundred quid left over for Ultegra carbon pedals, S Works shoes and a pair of Oakleys.