Grease_Monkey Posted October 9, 2016 Posted October 9, 2016 Hi all, this topic has probably been beaten to death, but here goes...My mom is selling her Specialized Camber Carbon Comp 29er (Medium Frame), she has 2 bikes and only needs the one. This one has less than 1000km on it, so it is basically brand new - and I get the lifetime warranty on the frame if anything goes wrong coz she can just claim from specialized if need be. I will also be getting the bike at a very good price (family benefits).So my question is, I will be buying this bike for my wife who is 164cm. According to specialized sizing guide she is a small. A medium is for people from 168cm and up. Can this bike be made to fit her comfortably?? Although I will be getting the bike at well below market value, it is still allot of money, and I don't want to spend it on a bike my wife will be uncomfortable on. My thinking is throwing a 40mm stem on with slightly narrower bars to shorten reach. According to Specialized I should be a med but a large fits me much more comfortably - but I am much closer to the verge between sizes than my wife is. What do you guys think? Will I be wasting my money on something I can never make fit?Just bear in mind that if I do not buy this bike from my mom, I will be buying a new bike for my wife with ALLOT WORSE components.... Really hoping I can make the Medium work for her coz then she will practically have a new Carbon bike with very good components at less than 50% of it's shelf price.... EDIT: I will be taking her in to the shop to get a proper fit done - just hoping to get some opinions here in the mean time.
Pure Savage Posted October 9, 2016 Posted October 9, 2016 Just remember the lifetime warranty of them Spez is only 5 years. But sounds like you will have to see it up and see if it can work, comes down to personal preference. On the road guys ride smaller frames and massive stems... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Matchstix Posted October 9, 2016 Posted October 9, 2016 My Gf is 165 and she is riding a medium. In my experience the problem on some bikes is usually when it comes to standover height for the ladies.
Grease_Monkey Posted October 9, 2016 Author Posted October 9, 2016 Just remember the lifetime warranty of them Spez is only 5 years. But sounds like you will have to see it up and see if it can work, comes down to personal preference. On the road guys ride smaller frames and massive stems... Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkYeah, true. But luckily there is still 4 years left on the warranty. Which I would not have at all on a 2nd hand carbon frame. (So 2nd hand carbon not an option for me, and new carbon too expensive...) Since it is an mtb a long stem is in my opinion not lekker. Personally always go 50mm or shorter. Just hoping 40 will be short enough for her.
Grease_Monkey Posted October 9, 2016 Author Posted October 9, 2016 My Gf is 165 and she is riding a medium. In my experience the problem on some bikes is usually when it comes to standover height for the ladies.Good to hear! Luckily standover on the camber is quite low due to top tube design. Thanks for this!
100Tours Posted October 9, 2016 Posted October 9, 2016 Frame sizing is often more to do with saddle-to-bars distance rather than the distance to the pedals. The old school (old school is not necessarily a bad school..) method to check this sizing was to place her tricep against the point of the saddle, make a right angle with her elbow with the forearm parallel to the ground, and see where her fingertips meet the stem/handlebar. The correct sizing is to have her fingertips about halfway along the stem in this position. I'm sure there are more scientific methods, but this has always worked for me. If that works then getting the right saddle height should not be too much of a problem, if it doesn't then you are likely to have issues with the rider being too stretched out on the frame - this may result in stability problems as well as excessive pressure on her hands. Edit - short stems on mtbs are great (although for road I would always try to keep them a little longer). Also you can probably keep the wide bars. My wife is 165 and she's using + enjoying 680mm bars at the moment (although on a small frame). The wider bars make the steering lighter. If you have to use narrower bars to compensate for reach then you might be compromising too much. Finally check the crank length on the bike - a 175 crank with a low seatpost can be difficult. Every 2.5mm reduction in crank length should give you an extra 5mm clearance over the top of the pedal stroke, and smaller frames often use 170 cranks for this reason. Basically don't try too hard to make it work - if it doesn't look like its working then the hub is a great place to sell the old bike and get a new one.
Grease_Monkey Posted October 9, 2016 Author Posted October 9, 2016 Frame sizing is often more to do with saddle-to-bars distance rather than the distance to the pedals. The old school (old school is not necessarily a bad school..) method to check this sizing was to place her tricep against the point of the saddle, make a right angle with her elbow with the forearm parallel to the ground, and see where her fingertips meet the stem/handlebar. The correct sizing is to have her fingertips about halfway along the stem in this position. I'm sure there are more scientific methods, but this has always worked for me. If that works then getting the right saddle height should not be too much of a problem, if it doesn't then you are likely to have issues with the rider being too stretched out on the frame - this may result in stability problems as well as excessive pressure on her hands. Edit - short stems on mtbs are great. Basically don't try too hard to make it work - if it doesn't look like its working then the hub is a great place to sell the old bike and get a new one.Thanks for this, I will definitely try this method!! When you speak of pros I assume you are refering to roadies and xc riders? As far as I know a mtb with decent handling never has longer than 50mm stems? Otherwise it feels like youn re steering a bus... just my experience maybe? But good point, will get her on the bike and if it doesnt fit it doesnt fit. No point in spending money on a bike that is too big! Edit: I saw you edit so my comment on stems doesnt apply
Matchstix Posted October 9, 2016 Posted October 9, 2016 Let your wife ride the bike with a shorter stem and let her decide.
Grease_Monkey Posted October 9, 2016 Author Posted October 9, 2016 Let your wife ride the bike with a shorter stem and let her decide.Yeah for sure... gna be her decision at the end of the day. Just have to get the bike from CT to Pretoria to trybit out. So just testing the waters tosee if it would be in the realm of possibility before I arrange that.
Grease_Monkey Posted October 9, 2016 Author Posted October 9, 2016 Get a taller wifeLMAO! Seems like a good compromise!!
Henryfeather Posted October 9, 2016 Posted October 9, 2016 I like the get a taller wife optionJust make sure Trump was not in the same room
Amberdrake Posted October 10, 2016 Posted October 10, 2016 Why would you get the bike to PTA when this is an excuse for a CPT visit. Perfect place to test ride and all
Captain Fastbastard Mayhem Posted October 10, 2016 Posted October 10, 2016 Why would you get the bike to PTA when this is an excuse for a CPT visit. Perfect place to test ride and all ^^This. And yeah, medium with a short stem should be absolutely fine.
JXV Posted October 10, 2016 Posted October 10, 2016 I nearly gave up MTB in the early days when I got a 'good deal' on a brand new frame that was too big for me. Riding all stretched out - sore shoulders, hands and neck every ride. I'm guessing your wife will enjoy riding a correctly sized bike more than a too-big bike with better components. The 'saving' doesn't represent value if you could be having fun and you're not. Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
Grease_Monkey Posted October 10, 2016 Author Posted October 10, 2016 ^^This. And yeah, medium with a short stem should be absolutely fine.Might be the perfect excuse to visit my home town of Stellenbosch
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