Bitsy Posted January 12, 2017 Share Hello guys, I have been riding MTB for about 2 years now and want to get a Road bike.My MTB is a Scott Scale 940 sized at "Medium". I enjoy the fit and feel very comfortable on the bike. My stats: - height = 171cm- inseam = 78cm- weight = 83 kg- waist = 36 When I started checking out sizing for the new Road Bike, I realized I have a little dilemma Most of the charts I have looked at places my height towards a 54cm but my inseam puts me back at a 51cm bike size. I want to use the bike for the training and the occasional road race- 947, Argus Therefore, I will probably lean towards comfort over hardcore performance and remain an intermediate cyclist. The two bikes I was considering are the BMC SLR vs Cannondale CAAD 12 What are your thoughts- Would a 51 or 54 suite me better? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JA-Q001 Posted January 12, 2017 Share Hello guys, I have been riding MTB for about 2 years now and want to get a Road bike.My MTB is a Scott Scale 940 sized at "Medium". I enjoy the fit and feel very comfortable on the bike. My stats: - height = 171cm- inseam = 78cm- weight = 83 kg- waist = 36 When I started checking out sizing for the new Road Bike, I realized I have a little dilemma Most of the charts I have looked at places my height towards a 54inch but my inseam puts me back at a 51inch bike size. I want to use the bike for the training and the occasional road race- 947, Argus Therefore, I will probably lean towards comfort over hardcore performance and remain an intermediate cyclist. The two bikes I was considering are the BMC SLR vs Cannondale CAAD 12 What are your thoughts- Would a 51 or 54 suite me better?Start searching in new places, sheesh. You probably meant "cm" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JA-Q001 Posted January 12, 2017 Share But to be honest, you should look at the less racy bikes and more to the comfort bikes. They are made just as sporty, just with slacker geometry. Check out the TREK bikes, I know they have a H1 and H2 geometry (dont have all the details)H1 is more racy and H2 is more comfort. At your length you should be on anything from a 50 to a 53, depending on the frame geometry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donovan Le Cok Posted January 12, 2017 Share Go with the smaller bike and have a high seat post and stem etc. It is easier to make a small bike a bit bigger with stem and seat post, than a bigger bike smaller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfcjim Posted January 12, 2017 Share Buy a Bianchi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZakAttak Posted January 12, 2017 Share Buy a Bianchi. LOL... This solution seems perfect, but for which model is this though? The different models has different geometries depending on ride comfort/racing/etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfcjim Posted January 12, 2017 Share LOL... This solution seems perfect, but for which model is this though? The different models has different geometries depending on ride comfort/racing/etc...Yeah, I was being a touch facetious. It's just their general sizing chart. Not model specific. (I am biased)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bitsy Posted January 12, 2017 Share thanks for the responses guys.... @cfcjim- looks like Bianchi and I are made for each other Pity Its just way out of my budget though.I perfectly fit a 53cm on the chart, hence it may seem that the 54cm on the Cannondale/BMC would work better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iwan Kemp Posted January 12, 2017 Share Go with the smaller bike and have a high seat post and stem etc. It is easier to make a small bike a bit bigger with stem and seat post, than a bigger bike smaller. Not true and, sorry to say, not good advice. A too long stem can and most likely will be a bit of a disaster. A seatpost that is too high will put quite a bit of strain on the other tubes and will result in a not ideal position over the pedal spindle. As long as you have standover it will probably be better to make a bigger bike fit with a shorter stem. But then you will need to invest in different cranks ( to correct crank arm length) BUT Stem length, seatpost, etc is only meant to be shorter or longer in order to make THE RIGHT SIZE BIKE fit properly. It's not meant to make a bike size work for you. To the OP: In terms of sizing and not making a mistake rather go for a proper fit and then make a call. Online calculators date from the dark ages and have not really been updated to modern bike design and what we know today. Other than black and weight measurements it doesn't take into account your body, injuries, flexibility and simply where and how you fel comfortable. Quite a few manufacturers will have an option available somewhere between 51 and 54 and not all 51's are 51. So go for a fit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtypot Posted January 12, 2017 Share Choose the BMC!! I'm very biased, but it's a great bike! I love my BMC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s14phoenix Posted January 12, 2017 Share OP, go and try the sizes. you need to make sure the amount of stretch is also within your comfort zone. Nothing looks crappier than a way too big road bike with a 50mm mtb stem or the saddle on the top tube to get the reach and seat height comfortable. Road bikes are a lot easier to fit when they are maybe just smaller than the exact size (if the perfect size is not possible) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slowbee Posted January 12, 2017 Share Not true and, sorry to say, not good advice. A too long stem can and most likely will be a bit of a disaster. A seatpost that is too high will put quite a bit of strain on the other tubes and will result in a not ideal position over the pedal spindle. As long as you have standover it will probably be better to make a bigger bike fit with a shorter stem. But then you will need to invest in different cranks ( to correct crank arm length) BUT Stem length, seatpost, etc is only meant to be shorter or longer in order to make THE RIGHT SIZE BIKE fit properly. It's not meant to make a bike size work for you. To the OP: In terms of sizing and not making a mistake rather go for a proper fit and then make a call. Online calculators date from the dark ages and have not really been updated to modern bike design and what we know today. Other than black and weight measurements it doesn't take into account your body, injuries, flexibility and simply where and how you fel comfortable. Quite a few manufacturers will have an option available somewhere between 51 and 54 and not all 51's are 51. So go for a fit.alot of good advice in this post! it will be the best R800 you spend. AND they will most likely do a check up for a much reduced amount for your new bike. let us know how it goes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fanievb Posted January 12, 2017 Share My stats:- height = 172cm- inseam = 79cm I ride a Medium Giant XTC, I'm borderline Small or medium, but extending the seatpost to far is dangerous as Iwan said. I ride a 54cm Felt F95 with a 100mm stem and 172.5mm crank, I went for a proper measuring session before I got the bike and had a set up done. the only thing I've changed on the setup was to lower my brake hoods.here is the geometry of my bike 54 Head Tube Angle 73 Seat Tube Angle 73.5 Top Tube Horizontal 545 Top Tube Center to Center 531 Head Tube Length 130 Seat Tube Center to Top 520 Seat Tube Center to Center 472 Bottom Bracket Drop 70 Chainstay Length 405 Front Center 580 Wheelbase 974 Rake 45 Standover Height 750 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bitsy Posted January 18, 2017 Share Hi guys, So I went for the 51cm BMC. Did a bike fit and it feels good. As mentioned, I have never ridden road bikes before, so I will only really know once I complete one or two longer rides whether the setup is 100% correct. It turns out that the BMC geometry on the SLR is bigger than other bike manufactures....its top tube is 53cm on the 51cm spec. I was very impressed with the service i received from Ian at DesignInMotion cycles (Morningside). He was able to only source the BMC SLR02 105 in a 54cm. Although it would have been a "fit" since I was overlapping, he really took time to check out the geometry to ensure it would suite me best. In his professional capacity, he actually advised me not to take the 54cm even though it cost him the sale. He was giving me the bike around R26k which is a steal for a full carbon and bike of the year 2015. It was also runner up 2016. So if someone is a 54cm...contact him quickly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V12man Posted January 18, 2017 Share thanks for the responses guys.... @cfcjim- looks like Bianchi and I are made for each other Pity Its just way out of my budget though.I perfectly fit a 53cm on the chart, hence it may seem that the 54cm on the Cannondale/BMC would work better.There is only 1 way to know which one you like better.... especially if you are between sizes (and I am) - RIDE the bikes in both sizes.... a lot - you will quickly know which one suits you best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grease_Monkey Posted January 18, 2017 Share With those measurements I would go 52cm. 53cm at most. I am 1.78m, and I ride a Large Specialized Mtb which fits beautifully, and a 54cm Cannondale road bike on which I feel very stretched out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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