What to do?

Robbo73
Robbo73 Posts: 15
edited August 2014 in Road buying advice
Evening!

I upgraded last year to a 58" Planet X Nanolight with SRAM Force. I picked it up for £1200 in their New Year clearance sale. I was happy with it until a bit of crash damage saw me with a replacement 58" frame- RT58 in June. I asked for this as I do regular20-30 mile spins and the odd sportive and longer rides in the Chilterns however being 6 ft 4 and working on a bit of flexibility, I get a bit of lower back ache after about 15 miles in.

Just been to my local shop for a proper bike fit. He knows his stuff and has helped to tweak my bike set up to help stop my back strain however tells me that I need to work on a bit flexibility with a few exercises on hamstrings to take pressure off the back. He also said I should have been looking at 60 cm frames as this would be the right size for me. One of his suggestions for me could be a Trek Domane Alloy.....he rates them highly despite me having carbon as a good value move.

What do you think? Should I consider the bigger frame and different material to get the right set up or get as close as possible with what I have got? The Planet X guys( you got to love their lack of customer service!), said it's easier to make as maker bike bigger, but wondering if I should have gone for a 60" from the outset.

Thanks!
Iain

Comments

  • danlikesbikes
    danlikesbikes Posts: 3,898
    If you've only just had a bike fit I'd be tempted to see how you get on and if the issue is resolved (with or without the exercises) then you'll be fine and problem solved, If not then reconsider your options
    Pain hurts much less if its topped off with beating your mates to top of a climb.
  • ai_1
    ai_1 Posts: 3,060
    Bike material is over-emphasised. What the bike is made of is much less important than whether it fits.
    Normally you'll be able to make a frame that's a bit small work by adding spacers or flipping the stem to raise your bars, getting a longer stem to extend the reach and of course the saddle position is easily tweaked. If I was you I'd get your position right on your current bike and then if you're not happy with the way this leaves your bike configured you can consider a new bike but at least you'll know exactly what you need. This is usually a cheap approach as all you're likely to need is a new stem. You don't need to buy top of the range stuff and a very basic stem isn't expensive.
    It's harder to get by with a frame that's too big.
  • StillGoing
    StillGoing Posts: 5,211
    As above. Fit a longer stem if needs be and either add a few spacers to raise the bar height or fit one with a decent rise if there's no room left. Work on your flexibility too. As for bike fits; I'd never trust a shop with a bike fitting as in my experience, they either don't know what they're talking about and are just guessing, or they're on a sales pitch. Go to a dedicated fitter who will know what they're doing and has no product to sell you afterwards.
    I ride a bike. Doesn't make me green or a tree hugger. I drive a car too.
  • ai_1
    ai_1 Posts: 3,060
    philthy3 wrote:
    ...As for bike fits; I'd never trust a shop with a bike fitting as in my experience, they either don't know what they're talking about and are just guessing, or they're on a sales pitch. Go to a dedicated fitter who will know what they're doing and has no product to sell you afterwards.
    I'd agree. Avoid conflicts of interest when seeking advice. At best a shop will be inclined to suggest buying your way out of a problem when it's a judgement call. At worst they'll actively try to find potentially profitable "problems" and find ways to persuade you to buy a solution from them. I'm certainly not saying shop based bike-fitters are all con-men. I've dealt with a couple and they seemed like good guys. But whenever there's a conflict of interest there's a risk your advice will be biased, even if that bias is sub-concious.

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