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How small is too small

EM-EFER

Monkey
May 29, 2007
311
0
I like bikes that are very nimble.

If I am 5'10 is a 22.5 toptube to small?

What do you base you decision on? Is there any kind of rule of thumb?
 

ire

Turbo Monkey
Aug 6, 2007
6,196
4
I like bikes that are very nimble.

If I am 5'10 is a 22.5 headtube to small?

What do you base you decision on? Is there any kind of rule of thumb?
I think it depends on the seat tube angle, I've had several bikes with that TT and I'm 5'-11". The thing I hate is having a bike that is so short in the TT that you hit your knees when sprinting
 

dhkid

Turbo Monkey
Mar 10, 2005
3,358
0
Malaysia
depends on personal preference, the athertons used to ride xs size giant bikes. it worked for them.
 
Dec 3, 2004
152
0
San Jose, CA
Just go to a bike shop and test ride a few bikes in different sizes. Then you will know what geometry you like. Don't rely on anything you read to base your decision on.
 

EM-EFER

Monkey
May 29, 2007
311
0
Here is my take -

I bought the FOES this past season.

I hated it. So I changed the way I ride just to fit the bike. I made myself comfortable on it but running way more sag (2 1/2) instead of 1 inch.

This dropped the bottom bracket to 12 3/4 sagged.

The measurements on the FOES TT is 21 to the bottom of the seatpost.

I know the basic geo I want but not sure about the TT length. I would like to get on the front of the bike when turning instead of hanging off the back of the bike. A longer top tube would force that. So I think I will get the large which is a 23.6 TT.
 

dhkid

Turbo Monkey
Mar 10, 2005
3,358
0
Malaysia
the bike i am on has a 22.2 effective top tube and i am 5'8. i would like it to be a bit longer actually.
 

davep

Turbo Monkey
Jan 7, 2005
3,276
0
seattle
Keep in mind that the measurement 'c' on that pic above (Scott I think) is VERY different than the way you describe measuring your Foes. Effective top tube != top tube measurement. Unfortunately, not all mfg tell you exactly how they are measuring this.
 

EM-EFER

Monkey
May 29, 2007
311
0
Keep in mind that the measurement 'c' on that pic above (Scott I think) is VERY different than the way you describe measuring your Foes. Effective top tube != top tube measurement. Unfortunately, not all mfg tell you exactly how they are measuring this.
I measured my TT on the FOES just like the Scott up top.

Center of headtube to top of the end seatpost which was 22'. (I put a level on up of the headtube to be sure it was a straight angle just like how Scott measured theirs above)

The angle of the seat posts are much different though.

56 degrees (FOES) VS. 74 degrees (SCOTT)

That tells me the Scott is just a tad longer then the FOES because the seat post on the Scott steeper.
 

pelo

Monkey
Jun 11, 2007
708
0
BB to center headtube (horisontal) is often more intersting to actually get the real cockpit lenght of a bike. However, that information is often not given. But, headtubeangle, wheelbase and chainstay can give about the same information.
 

nh dude

Monkey
May 30, 2003
571
16
Vt
do want to be able to throw the bike around ?or do you want have the room to move around on the bike?
wheel base too preference.come up and do the montreal race
 

EM-EFER

Monkey
May 29, 2007
311
0
do want to be able to throw the bike around ?or do you want have the room to move around on the bike?
wheel base too preference.come up and do the montreal race
Hey whats up Jack!

I want to throw it around, that why I decided on a large. Anymore info on this Montreal race?
 

nh dude

Monkey
May 30, 2003
571
16
Vt
last year i just showed up at bromont planning to freeride (buy 100 season pass.) but they had a race . I didn't know it was a canadian national. so i bought a two day expert uci lic. then figured out it was a pretty large event. practiced and raced. couldn't shift but still had fun . the course was rugged. im sure you can pre reg save some $$ i don't know where to find official information. google it i guess. the 1.5 hour drive is looking nice this may compared to 4 + to plattekill