kinesis racelight T2 sizing

whoof
whoof Posts: 756
edited January 2015 in Road general
I was thinking of getting a Kinesis Racelight T2 frame.
Looking at the geometry it suggested that riders in the height range 166-176cm go for a 54 cm frame. This would have a 55.6 cm top tube, which seems a bit long.
I am 173 cm (5' 8") and all of my other bikes have always had 54 cm top tubes (or virtual top tube) +/- a few mm.
The 51 cm frame has a 54.4 cm top tube which but the manufacturer recommends this is for riders who are 158 -168 cm.

Do any kinesis owners have any advice regarding sizing?

Comments

  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    I have a Racelight Tk and I suspect the geometry is similar. I was properly fitted by Epic Cycles. I'm 168 cm tall but have relatively long legs / short torso. Because of the long top tubes the reach to the bars was too great on the 54. I ended up with a 51cm frame with a few spacers and a flipped stem so the saddle to bar drop wasn't too big.

    That was 8 years ago and I'm still riding it in perfect comfort.

    When I bought a CR1 I found the top tubes a lot shorter, so went for the 54. That I have set up with fewer spacers and the stem pointing down, and that puts the contact points in the same place as on the Tk
  • tonye_n
    tonye_n Posts: 832
    Size 51cm for you mate.
    Kinesis give their frame sizing by the length of the Seat-tube, not top-tube.

    So a size 51 bike will have a tt of about 55cm. They are very race orientated, and have rather longish top-tube and shortish head-tube.

    I had a Kinesis TK2, and at 5'8'' I was on the size 51 and still had to use a shortish stem of 9cm in order not to feel too stretched.
  • whoof
    whoof Posts: 756
    Many hanks for the replies. I'll go for a 51cm.
  • FitzM
    FitzM Posts: 232
    I'm 167cm and based on the Kinesis geometry I ordered a 51cm Racelight 4S, it the same geometry on the T2. I dropped the frame, components and Retul Bike Fit details to my LBS to be built, but the LBS were straight on the phone telling me they could build my Retul fit using the 51cm frame, they told me I needed the 48cm!

    Despite trying to tell them about Kinesis website height guide and the size of my other bike frames they (correctly) didn't budge. So I had to swap the frame. I did, my thanks to Winstanleys for being so helpful.

    The bike is build on a 48cm and I love it, an amazing bike, I can see why it's called the 4S, with better components and lighter wheels I could get away with it being my only bike. But who wants just one bike. :)

    In summary you're probably better off with the 51cm.
    Klein Quantum, Cervelo Soloist Team, Boardman SLR 9.0S, Boardman SLS 9.8, Kinesis Racelight 4S, DengFu FM028
  • Bordersroadie
    Bordersroadie Posts: 1,052
    tonye_n wrote:
    Size 51cm for you mate.
    Kinesis give their frame sizing by the length of the Seat-tube, not top-tube.

    So a size 51 bike will have a tt of about 55cm. They are very race orientated, and have rather longish top-tube and shortish head-tube.

    I had a Kinesis TK2, and at 5'8'' I was on the size 51 and still had to use a shortish stem of 9cm in order not to feel too stretched.

    Same here. I'm 5'8" and have a 51cm T2 with 90mm stem, perfect fit. The top tubes are relatively long for a given seat tube length.
  • whoof
    whoof Posts: 756
    I was also going to get the DC07 fork as I already have 47 -57 mm brakes and would like plenty of clearance.
    http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/produ ... nter_Forks

    It says 1 1/8" integrated aheadset but can anyone recommend one they have used with this set up as heatset compatibility is a bit of a nightmare.
  • indyp
    indyp Posts: 735
    I recently built a T2 and went with a FSA integrated headset, and seems fine. I think I paid around £25 for it. It's a great bike btw, I love mine, super comfortable and handles great.
  • holiver
    holiver Posts: 729
    edited January 2015
    I used a Cane Creek 40 headset for my build. This page on the Kinesis website gives a little further detail.

    http://www.kinesisbikes.co.uk/technical/racelight/t2

    This is the exact one.

    http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CANE-CREEK-40 ... 0860705286?

    For sizing reference, I am 180cm tall and ride a 57 with a 100mm stem. I could probably have used the smaller size, but wanted the extra head tube.
    2013 Kinesis Racelight T2
  • Scoob84
    Scoob84 Posts: 76
    I went for one of these with my T2. The red headset looks good on a black frame.

    http://www.ukbikestore.co.uk/product/40 ... adset.html

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