First time road bike buy, need help sizing please!

[tomaz26]

Dear all,

I have a dilemma. Currently riding Cube Cross hybrid bike with front suspension. At 38 years I finally decided to buy my first road bike. Now the problem is of course sizing. I do not have any chance to try those bikes in person so I have to buy on-line. I am 5.10 (177 cm) with long legs and short torso. My inseam is 86 cm, even 87 if I really push it in my crotch
I would like sportive bike with more relaxed position, because I would probably use this bike for 6 miles commute to work too (for 9 out of 12 months anyway..).


The first one which I like Cube Attain GTC PRO disc 2017, which is discounted for 40 %. Problem is, only size 58 and 60 left. According to Cube table 58 should be ok for my height, although on the top of the range. So 56 to 58.. I think with my long legs and short torso I should lean towards lower number right, so 56?

Second queston is, how about female bike? I found a lot of great deals and I do not see why for example I could not buy Rose bike, female version. The only difference I could find is seat (which I would replace anyway). On Rose bikes frame geometry looks the same. If anything what I found out is that female frames have shorter reach as women tend to have shorter arms. So this would then actually benefit me right? I have long legs and short torso so women geometry I think would be fine. I found one bike which I like and which has almost the same specifics as Cube attain mentioned above has in size 56..

I also found Eddy MerckX Montreal 74 for crazy bargain price, but on this one I am not so sure. Everything else looks good in size L, but seat tube is failry short. Like 4 cm shorter than on other bikes with same geometry.. This is not good right? It would mean I have to put seat very high, which would then make me lean on handlebars and made my position very low and racy, which I want to avoid.. I think handlebar cannot be raise that much higher and shorter stem would not help much either here.

thanks for advice guys.

Tomaz

[chris_suffolk]

For what it's worth, trying a bike is very important as they differ by manufacturer. Do you not live close to any bike shops stocking any bikes you are interested in?

When I bought my road bike I tried lots of bikes in lots of shop. Don't think I could have bought online.

Some of the big boys - Evans etc, will get a bike in for you to try out

[Ontherivet77]

Tomasz, I am more or less the same height 178cm and I have a 56cm road bike. However, my legs are quite short at 79cm and i started with a 52cm then a 54cm and now the 56cm which feels about right for me.
With your leg length you are probably looking at a crank to seat height of 76cm (using the Lemond method inside leg x .887) so on a 56cm you'd have a good 8-10cm of seat post showing on a standard road frame. Therefore, I'd start trying a 56cm and if the position is too aggressive then move up to a 58cm.
This video might help you regards saddle height :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVu5Zrktm40

[chris_suffolk]

To add to this, I'm 6'2" in old money, with an inseam of 35", which I make about 89cm. My bike is a 57cm frame, and even then I sometimes feel too stretched out when on the hoods.

You need to try before you buy

[foxyrider]

Hi
Well i'm 178cm with a similar leg length although I have long arms. My default frame size would be 56 although I have frames bigger and smaller than that too, depending on style/use. I would tend to err on the smaller side, you'll have more adjustment options. Whilst a smaller frame may need more exposed seat post, the saddle should be at the same height - on many endurance bikes the bar height hardly varies if at all so you don't end up in an extreme position.

As regards women specific geometry - it varies hugely between brands - some really do use different geometry with shorter top tubes and scaled stem etc, others use the same frame as the gents just in the smaller sizes. A couple of years ago I found myself borrowing a friends Spesh Dolce for a day - despite the saddle not being ideal (too soft rather than anything else!) I found it comfortable enough on the days 50km of riding.

Although you may not be able to get to try the actual bikes you like, it is well worth going to a shop and trying a few bikes for fit. Also consider what pedals you will use as this will affect the fit too.

Good luck

[NetworkMan]

Looks as if you are similar to me; about 5' 10" - 5'11" inseam 33"-34". I find it is a tradeoff. If you get a large bike you can get the handlebars high enough but the danger is that the reach will be too long and you'll need a silly short stem. If you get a smaller bike the reach will be OK but the shorter headtube may make the bars too low. Saddle height will be less of a problem.

I think like the others you should try before you buy. If you had a measurement of the effective top tube length, head tube length, and preferably seat angle as well as "size" you might be able to make an informed guess. Another problem is that ready made bikes tend to come with the steerer cut off pretty short so if the headtube is short you won't get the bars high enough.