Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - I have been living a lie

I am having a bicycle frame made for me, so to confirm the actual measurements of my current bicycle—which i had been led to believe was a 53cm—i broke out the tape measure, and was staggered to find that all this time i have been riding a bicycle with a 50cm c-t seat tube!

I am smaller than I thought.

what builder? if you say johnny coast I'm gonna kick you.

was it a pista? i learned the same thing when measuring to check geometry for a custom.

well, they might not have been lying. when people give holistic measurements, they don't necessarily refer to seat tube or whatever else.

was it a pista? i learned the same thing when measuring to check geometry for a custom.


yes it is. tell me what happened with yours please

well, they might not have been lying. when people give holistic measurements, they don't necessarily refer to seat tube or whatever else.


well in a dozen plus years of owning and riding and buying bikes i've always taken the number to refer to seat tube length

who's making your new frame short stuff?

i got paranoid and just measured my 57cm pista and it measured 56 c-t so no big surprise there

it was supposed to be a 57 and was *almost* a 55. it always felt small--because it was. i wondered why i needed an extra long thomson seatpost for a bike that was supposed to be my size.

my jackson is a 58, which should be much better when it gets here.

i got paranoid and just measured my 57cm pista and it measured 56 c-t so no big surprise there

i wonder if they mis-decal them sometimes. i guess it's possible.

wierd visitor. Mine measures just about perfectly 56 c-t... i thought these were mass produced?

wierd visitor. Mine measures just about perfectly 56 c-t... i thought these were mass produced?

they are, which maybe lends itself to errors with things like decals? i don't know... the person helping me suss out my geometry was as surprised as i was to realize such a big difference.

i wonder if anyone other than eddie and i have the same issue?

yeah mine's always looked and felt small to me. now i know why

don't let the BB drop screw you up. Some people tag Pista's with a 'feels like' size, since they're sold in stores next to road bikes to people who wouldn't understand why they suddenly need a 50 instead of a 53.

track bikes have ~6cm of bb drop instead of a 8cm road or 10cm touring frame drop. that means that to get the same standover as a 53 with 8cm of drop, you need a 51.

instead of freaking out customers, they just fudge the sizing.

it's like, i ride a ~51 road bike, but my 49 3rensho fits great and the 47.5 3rensho is surprisingly close to fitting me. I expected a 47.5 to feel tiny, but add 3cm to that for the high bb clearance, and there you go.

shrimp.

are the other measurements that bianchi gives on their website (bianchiusa) correct or are all of them of a 50/51? it'd be interesting to see if it's a problem with labelling or if the factory just doesn't have very good quality control.

;)

but the pistas have relatively high bottom brackets (which is actually one of the few things i like about them).

don't let the BB drop screw you up. Some people tag Pista's with a 'feels like' size, since they're sold in stores next to road bikes to people who wouldn't understand why they suddenly need a 50 instead of a 53.

track bikes have ~6cm of bb drop instead of a 8cm road or 10cm touring frame drop. that means that to get the same standover as a 53 with 8cm of drop, you need a 51.

instead of freaking out customers, they just fudge the sizing.

it's like, i ride a ~51 road bike, but my 49 3rensho fits great and the 47.5 3rensho is surprisingly close to fitting me. I expected a 47.5 to feel tiny, but add 3cm to that for the high bb clearance, and there you go.


yeah i understand all that.

this changes everything. i guess i need a 52/52 measured c-to-c on both top and down tubes.

enlightening, because i'd been looking at larger bikes on e-framebank

but the pistas have relatively high bottom brackets (which is actually one of the few things i like about them).

bb drop is measured from the axle to axle line, so less drop = higher bb

and Eddie, I don't think you're short at all.
:p to you haters.

and Eddie, I don't think you're short at all.
:p to you haters.


:love:

http://tinypic.com/k2g07l.jpg

http://tinypic.com/k2g0fd.jpg

your still avoiding the question, what builder? are you keeping it a secret?

I am having a bicycle frame made for me, so to confirm the actual measurements of my current bicycle—which i had been led to believe was a 53cm—i broke out the tape measure
eddie- without knowing who's building this rocketship, i gotta recommend you visit your builder if it's possible. it's one thing to send in measurements of your bianchi, but what if you're riding the wrong size right now? you should make sure to send at least your personal measurements with the Bianchi's.

besides, i gotta tell you, it's awesome to have held my fork crown. you should visit your builder if only to fondle your lugs lovingly if you have the opportunity.

i wan't planning to simply send measurements of the bianchi. i'd definitely like to visit the builder but since it probably won't be possible and i'm not bizarrely shaped (other than shorter than average arms) i'm working off the bianchi's measurements. it's clearly a little small, as i have a good bit of stem and seatpost showing, and i'm still somewhat cramped in the drops. i figure to need 1cm longer in the top tube, 2cm longer in the seat tube to raise and sretch me out. 75°/74° head/seat.

and as for who the builder is, well, you'll see in a couple months.

enlacalle, what's up man?

your still avoiding the question, what builder? are you keeping it a secret?
The builder was "outed" in another thread. I won't tell you the builder or the thread, but it was posted on this forum a little while ago.

no i just don't wnat to get into all that right now. this thread's about bianchi sizing

shrimp.

and just because i haven't responded to you doesn't mean i hsven't been paying attention mr alan!!!


:lol:

*eyes Bianchi suspiciously*

Hmmmmm.....

I think mine fits fine, though what chimblysweep said sounds about right. The Pista fits differently than my road bike, but they both passed the 'nutz on top tube' test with flying colors. And that, my friends, is what's truly important.

If you note the iro site, they are doing something similar if a bit more open. The bikes have a "size" which is 4cm larger than the seat tube c-c (so about 2cm c-t), at least for the mark V: http://www.irocycle.com/id48.html . Presumably the "size" is the road bike equivalent...

The measuring tape that I use is missing 2 centimeters. Its an old measuring tape that came with a Thule roof rack. Its missing numbers for 54cm and 55cm.

It's already been stated in another thread who's building Eddie's bike. You guys are slipping.

your still avoiding the question, what builder? are you keeping it a secret?
He could tell you. But then he'd have to kill you. :D

what "top" were you measuring to?
the top of the top tube or the top or the seat tube?
because Bianchi, like trek, measures to the top of the seat collar, no? correct me if i'm wrong.

top of top tube, so if bianchi measures to top of collar then this is a 51, not a 53.


still the balls have the final call. i'm gonna base my measurements on distance from the ground for standover and bb height, head and seat tube angles, and wheelbase.

I'm confused: BB drop shouldn't change anything other than standover height, right? If a bike "feels" small, that's because the top tube or seat tube is too short to get proper leg extension/reach. Regardless of where the BB is in space, the distance from the center of the BB to the top of the saddle is the important measurement, right? So if his 50cm, or whatever, gives him good leg extension, why would he need a bigger or smaller frame?

So what I don't get is why do I need a "smaller" track frame, when all I care about is leg extension?

I mean, unless you guys are talking about standing over your bikes constantly, as opposed to riding them.

i can get my ass over a 58 bike. that is to say i can run the seatpost completely in the tube and the leg extension will be the same as my 51 with a bunch of post showing. doesn't mean it's the right size bike for me. and doesn't mean the 51 is either. fit is a matter of a bunch of factors, top and seattube lengh and standover being three of them.

i prefer a smaller frame because i can move my COG around easier which i like with an fg bike. but i don't ant it so small i am cramped on it

my track bike has a 54 seat tube and a 52 top tube... what size is it? MY SIZE BEYOTCHES!