Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.kdos
08-29-05, 03:45 PM
I just went to my LBS and ordered a Bianchi Volpe (the 2006 models are out, for your information).
They originally sized me on a 56cm size Trek road bike (don't know which model), and decided it was a bit large, so recommended that I'd probably be good on a 55 for my Bianchi. I am between 5'7" and 5-8", by the way.
After doing some searching online, I found that Bianchi's tend to have a high standover height for their sizes in comparision to other companies. For instance, a 55cm Bianchi has a higher standover than that of a 56cm Trek, at 31.5 compared to Trek's 31.1. The next size down for Bianchi Volpe is the 52cm, which has a standover of 30.5.
Finding this out, I went to tell the guys at the shop about what I had discovered, and they went ahead and called Bianchi and asked about the sizing and whatnot (not sure exactly what was discussed) and it was recommended that I get the 52cm to be on the safe side. So, they ended up ordering me the 52cm.
They told me that with a larger size, I may be screwed for comfort, and would find difficulty bailing out if I needed to get off my bike in a hurry, and whatnot, and they said that the 52cm, if it was too small, they could raise the seat for me, and swap the stem so that they would accomodate my size.
Even with all of this, even though I am the one who suggested this in the beginning anyhow, I am paranoid as hell that I am going to get the wrong size.
Can anyone shed some light for me on this subject?
Was I correct in that Bianchi's tend to be a size larger than other bikes?
I even found a bike on Ebay where someone is selling a Bianchi Axis (52cm, same standover height), who claims to be 5'9", stating that the bike is a 52 but fits more like a 55.
This eased me a bit but as I stated earlier, I am still worried.
Any thoughts on this?
They originally sized me on a 56cm size Trek road bike (don't know which model), and decided it was a bit large, so recommended that I'd probably be good on a 55 for my Bianchi. I am between 5'7" and 5-8", by the way.
After doing some searching online, I found that Bianchi's tend to have a high standover height for their sizes in comparision to other companies. For instance, a 55cm Bianchi has a higher standover than that of a 56cm Trek, at 31.5 compared to Trek's 31.1. The next size down for Bianchi Volpe is the 52cm, which has a standover of 30.5.
Finding this out, I went to tell the guys at the shop about what I had discovered, and they went ahead and called Bianchi and asked about the sizing and whatnot (not sure exactly what was discussed) and it was recommended that I get the 52cm to be on the safe side. So, they ended up ordering me the 52cm.
They told me that with a larger size, I may be screwed for comfort, and would find difficulty bailing out if I needed to get off my bike in a hurry, and whatnot, and they said that the 52cm, if it was too small, they could raise the seat for me, and swap the stem so that they would accomodate my size.
Even with all of this, even though I am the one who suggested this in the beginning anyhow, I am paranoid as hell that I am going to get the wrong size.
Can anyone shed some light for me on this subject?
Was I correct in that Bianchi's tend to be a size larger than other bikes?
I even found a bike on Ebay where someone is selling a Bianchi Axis (52cm, same standover height), who claims to be 5'9", stating that the bike is a 52 but fits more like a 55.
This eased me a bit but as I stated earlier, I am still worried.
Any thoughts on this?