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standover height significance for traditional road frame (i.e. with horizontal top tube) such as Trek Madone?
Hello
I am new to road cycling. I am male, 173cm height (~5'8" & 1/2 inches) , with ~83 cm inseam. In a traditional frame (horizontal top tube) road cycle geometry such as 2005 Trek Madone, for example, what should the desired stand over clearance be? The Trek chart says 54cm frame top tube standover is 76.9cm i.e. 6.1 cm clearance for my 83cm inseam (~2.5 inches?). Is this frame too small? The next size up (56cm) standover is 78.9cm i.e. 4.1cm clearance (1.5 inches)? Better? If there a rule of thumb on this topic? Is it important? I know from the Trek geometry chart that its top tube is 54.6cm (size=54 frame). What else should I be concerned about when trying to decide on Trek Madone road frame size? It appears that applying one formula I know of: Inseam*0.66 = 54.8 cm top tube length i.e. perfect for 54cm Madone frame? A 56cm Madone top tube is 56.2cm i.e. about 14mm too long for my height? Perhaps some folks with my height and inseam can shed some light on what size frames and stem lengths they find comfortable? thanks in advance |
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#2
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Yuri Budilov wrote:
I am male, 173cm height (~5'8" & 1/2 inches), with ~83 cm inseam. The Trek chart says 54cm frame top tube standover is 76.9cm i.e. 6.1 cm clearance for my 83cm inseam (~2.5 inches?). Is this frame too small? Standover height is not a critical factor as long as you have at least 1-2cm of clearance. Concentrate more on the top tube length, seat tube angle, and overall comfort on the bike. Do the bars seem too low? Too close? Too far? It appears that applying one formula I know of: Inseam*0.66 = 54.8 cm top tube length i.e. perfect for 54cm Madone frame? Top tube length should be determined by your torso and arm length. It's not related to leg length. Try riding the 54cm frame and the next larger size, and see which feels better. The 2.5-inch clearance you mention is not unusual by today's standards, although I personally prefer less. Just make sure you can get the bars high enough. Art Harris |
#3
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"Art Harris" wrote in message ps.com... Yuri Budilov wrote: \ Top tube length should be determined by your torso and arm length. It's not related to leg length. Try riding the 54cm frame and the next larger size, and see which feels better. The 2.5-inch clearance you mention is not unusual by today's standards, although I personally prefer less. Just make sure you can get the bars high enough. thank you Art. I owned a 56cm Trek 1000 last year and even with angled-up 100mm stem it seemed a bit too long for me and I could never ride in the drops (beyond 20-30 seconds?). Even on 56cm bike the bar seemed low but could it have been because it was a bit too long for me? So I am inclined to try 54cm. If I subtract my inseam (83cm) from overall height of 173cm, it would mean torso length of 90cm, less head+neck, right? Does this number lead to a preference - 56cm or 54cm Madone frame? Unfortunately there are no 54cm test rides in Madone so I am going by process of elimination here...... |
#4
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thank you Art. I owned a 56cm Trek 1000 last year and even with angled-up
100mm stem it seemed a bit too long for me and I could never ride in the drops (beyond 20-30 seconds?). Even on 56cm bike the bar seemed low but could it have been because it was a bit too long for me? Yuri: There's nothing wrong with using a stem shorter than 100mm (normally called 10cm), and it's quite possible (even likely) that you may need a 56cm Madone in order to get the handlebars high enough. The key is the drop from seat to handlebar, and, naturally enough, on a 56cm the minimum drop is going to be 2cm less than what can be accomplished on a 54cm. The main reason for going to a smaller size is to keep the top tube length in check, but this really shouldn't be guesswork. Where is the shop in this process? How do they handle fits? If it's the sort of place where it's up to the customer to decide what fits best, you might look elsewhere. There should be somebody at the shop who knows more about fitting a road bike than you do, and if not, as I said, keep looking. Getting properly fit is going to be the biggest factor in determining how much you enjoy riding a bike. So I am inclined to try 54cm. If I subtract my inseam (83cm) from overall height of 173cm, it would mean torso length of 90cm, less head+neck, right? Does this number lead to a preference - 56cm or 54cm Madone frame? Unfortunately there are no 54cm test rides in Madone so I am going by process of elimination here...... You don't have to ride a 54cm Madone to test the fit, as the Trek 5000, and even the less-expensive road bikes (1500, 2100 etc) all have nearly-identical geometries. --Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles www.ChainReactionBicycles.com "Yuri Budilov" wrote in message ... "Art Harris" wrote in message ps.com... Yuri Budilov wrote: \ Top tube length should be determined by your torso and arm length. It's not related to leg length. Try riding the 54cm frame and the next larger size, and see which feels better. The 2.5-inch clearance you mention is not unusual by today's standards, although I personally prefer less. Just make sure you can get the bars high enough. thank you Art. I owned a 56cm Trek 1000 last year and even with angled-up 100mm stem it seemed a bit too long for me and I could never ride in the drops (beyond 20-30 seconds?). Even on 56cm bike the bar seemed low but could it have been because it was a bit too long for me? So I am inclined to try 54cm. If I subtract my inseam (83cm) from overall height of 173cm, it would mean torso length of 90cm, less head+neck, right? Does this number lead to a preference - 56cm or 54cm Madone frame? Unfortunately there are no 54cm test rides in Madone so I am going by process of elimination here...... |
#5
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thanks Mike
the shop said I could ride either one i.e. in between. There is a guy at the shop who is ~3/4 on an inch taller than me and he rides a 56cm Madone and he used to ride a 54cm so we figured I might be a touch better on a 54cm with my 5'8" height and 32.5" inseam. How much can a Madone handle-bar be raised by on a 54cm, if I need to? I already plan to flip the standard 100/110mm stem upwards to raise it. Can I fill up the spacers? much obliged once again |
#6
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the shop said I could ride either one i.e. in between. There is a guy at
the shop who is ~3/4 on an inch taller than me and he rides a 56cm Madone and he used to ride a 54cm so we figured I might be a touch better on a 54cm with my 5'8" height and 32.5" inseam. How much can a Madone handle-bar be raised by on a 54cm, if I need to? I already plan to flip the standard 100/110mm stem upwards to raise it. Can I fill up the spacers? much obliged once again What's the distance from the center of your bottom bracket to the top of the saddle? With that I can mock something up quickly on the floor, and get an idea of where your bars are going to end up. Trek supplies 4cm of spacers that are typically used underneath the stem. The stock stem is a 7-degree, and you can easily get it another 3/4" higher with a 17-degree. --Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles www.ChainReactionBicycles.com |
#7
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"Mike Jacoubowsky" wrote in message . com... What's the distance from the center of your bottom bracket to the top of the saddle? With that I can mock something up quickly on the floor, and get an idea of where your bars are going to end up. if you are asking about my desired saddle height from centre of bottom bracket, where the pedals are, along the seat tube and to the top of the saddle then it is about 73cm give or take 5mm. I have 83cm inseam (or a touch under like 82.5cm). I find 72cm gives me some knee pain so I ride about ~73cm with no ill effects. The cranks are 172.5mm long. Trek supplies 4cm of spacers that are typically used underneath the stem. The stock stem is a 7-degree, and you can easily get it another 3/4" higher with a 17-degree. You are correct! I finally got to sit on the bike last night and it looks like I need a short 90mm stem on a 54cm Madone and all the spacers, as you said, at the bottom - there are 4 spacers there already. Is this a bad thing? I even flipped the stem upwards i.e +7 degrees. I can't believe that I need a smaller 52cm Madone frame with 5 foot 8 inches height???? In other words does 90mm stem mean this is 54cm Madone is the wrong size/geometry for my body proportions? Or does it mean that any Madone does not fit me in any size and I should be looking at a different frame? I figure Trek sells a lot of Madone's out there and I am according to a professional bike fitter just an average guy of regular shape, regular arm and leg lengths for my height.... Should I find comfort on a 54cm Madone or not? Much obliged for your assistance! |
#8
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Trek supplies 4cm of spacers that are typically used underneath the stem.
The stock stem is a 7-degree, and you can easily get it another 3/4" higher with a 17-degree. You are correct! I finally got to sit on the bike last night and it looks like I need a short 90mm stem on a 54cm Madone and all the spacers, as you said, at the bottom - there are 4 spacers there already. Is this a bad thing? I even flipped the stem upwards i.e +7 degrees. Certainly not a bad thing, and many of the bikes we sell are set up *exactly* that way. Nothing at all wrong with a 9cm stem on a road bike. It's served me very well for a good number of years; in fact, when I raced, my road bike had an 8cm stem, while my criterium bike was 12cm, due entirely to differences in top tube length. Both bikes handled just fine. In fact, I was more comfortable on the bike with the 8cm stem. I can't believe that I need a smaller 52cm Madone frame with 5 foot 8 inches height???? In other words does 90mm stem mean this is 54cm Madone is the wrong size/geometry for my body proportions? Or does it mean that any Madone does not fit me in any size and I should be looking at a different frame? I can almost guarantee that you're better off on a 54cm than a 52cm. I figure Trek sells a lot of Madone's out there and I am according to a professional bike fitter just an average guy of regular shape, regular arm and leg lengths for my height.... Should I find comfort on a 54cm Madone or not? At 5'8", it's hard to believe you would fit a 52cm Madone. Keep in mind that Trek is measure center-to-top, and that the "top" is actually the top of the seat collar, which extends a ways above the top tube. Thus a 54cm Madone would be considered a 51cm in a bike measured center-to-center. In other words, it's not a large frame. --Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles www.ChainReactionBicycles.com |
#9
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"Mike Jacoubowsky" wrote in message ... Trek supplies 4cm of spacers that are typically used underneath the stem. The stock stem is a 7-degree, and you can easily get it another 3/4" higher with a 17-degree. You are correct! I finally got to sit on the bike last night and it looks like I need a short 90mm stem on a 54cm Madone and all the spacers, as you said, at the bottom - there are 4 spacers there already. Is this a bad thing? I even flipped the stem upwards i.e +7 degrees. Certainly not a bad thing, and many of the bikes we sell are set up *exactly* that way. Nothing at all wrong with a 9cm stem on a road bike. It's served me very well for a good number of years; in fact, when I raced, my road bike had an 8cm stem, while my criterium bike was 12cm, due entirely to differences in top tube length. Both bikes handled just fine. In fact, I was more comfortable on the bike with the 8cm stem. I can't believe that I need a smaller 52cm Madone frame with 5 foot 8 inches height???? In other words does 90mm stem mean this is 54cm Madone is the wrong size/geometry for my body proportions? Or does it mean that any Madone does not fit me in any size and I should be looking at a different frame? I can almost guarantee that you're better off on a 54cm than a 52cm. I figure Trek sells a lot of Madone's out there and I am according to a professional bike fitter just an average guy of regular shape, regular arm and leg lengths for my height.... Should I find comfort on a 54cm Madone or not? At 5'8", it's hard to believe you would fit a 52cm Madone. Keep in mind that Trek is measure center-to-top, and that the "top" is actually the top of the seat collar, which extends a ways above the top tube. Thus a 54cm Madone would be considered a 51cm in a bike measured center-to-center. In other words, it's not a large frame. --Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles www.ChainReactionBicycles.com Thank you Mike! Do you think, based on what you have read so far, that I may have been better off on a larger 56cm Madone frame instead of a 54cm Trek Madone, with my 5'8".2 height and 32.5" (82.5-83cm) inseam? I finally got to ride it and managed 30 miles. No immediate problems that I can see so far. Based on that I might even have to go back to longer 100mm (10cm) in future because I felt like I wanted to slide my saddle a bit forward to be able to spin more comfortably and generate more power to the pedals..... But this would put me +1cm in front of KOPS. I am not sure if this would be wrong and I should persevere with my current neutral-KOPS setup for longer.... |
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