Cyclocross - Jake the Snake / Romax sizing

After a pretty long list, I've narrowed my new bike down to two choices; a Brodie Romax and a Kona Jake the Snake. Unfortunately, the local shops don't really bother with cyclocross bikes so the decision has come mainly from looking over the specs and reading reviews online rather than test riding. I live in a remote area and would have to drive 8 hours to actually test ride any bikes.

One local shop has a JTS 56cm which seems like a good fit but maybe a 58 would be better. But.. they don't have a 58 in stock and would have to order one for me.

Another shop sells Brodie but they don't have a Romax in stock. So again, I'd have to special order it which means I'm stuck with it even if it isn't a good fit. I talked to someone at Brodie and they only have 56cm and 60cm left. I know a 60 would be too big

I'd really like to hear from owners of either of these bikes about their body and bike size.

I'm 5'11 / 31" inseam

thanks

Did you get a pro-fit?

Did you get a pro-fit?

Not yet. I've asked about it at a couple of the shops but it's not a true pro-fitting. They basically just measure my inseam and don't do a full body measurement or do any other type of analysis.

I'd call around and find a shop that will do a proper fitting. It costs money but is worth it.

FWIW, I ride a 54 Kona Major Jake and am a 54 in road bikes. My 54 Major Jake rides much bigger than any 54 road bike I have ridden. It rides more like a 55 or 56. That said, I love the bigger size. It touches my nads when I standover the top tub, but this has in no way affected my ability to ride it off road and only makes it nicer to ride on the road. For me, the longer length of the top tube is really nice.

Do you know your road bike size?

I'm 5'11 / 31" inseamWhat do you mean by inseam?

Do you know your road bike size?

I ride a 58cm

What do you mean by inseam?

the length of my inner leg. bare feet to crotch

The JTS has the same dimensions as my new Jake. I'm 5'10 and I ride a 52 because of a 29" leg. It is on the money. Normally I ride 54s but here I sized down and do not regret it. With a 31" leg I'd start on 54 and if you are lanky enough on the reach try a 56. You are not a 58.

Well I'm one of the very few people who've ridden a Romax on this forum, so I'll put my 2 cents in:

I'm 6'0", with a 33 or so inseam, and generally ride a 58-59cm road bike. I ride a 56cm 07 Brodie Romax and it's perfect. I ordered a 58cm Romax frame to build up, but they sent a Romax bTeam Scandium frame in 58 instead. Luckily, there was a 56cm Ronin in the same order that I was able to ride and figure out that it fit perfectly. The 56cm Ronin/Romax actually has less standover than a 56cm Fuji Cross Pro (which is supposedly the same as the Motobecanes geometry wise). One guy who bought a Ronin in the shop went from a 61cm Bianchi San Jose to a 60cm Brodie Ronin. The Ronin was bigger, which worked out because the San Jose was a smidge small. My LBS owner usually rides a 56cm Fuji Cross Pro, and he's building up a 54cm Romax like mine.

So, my vote is to size down. And between the Brodie and the Jake, the Brodie has a sloping top tube which I liked, and at least the 07's had discs and rackmounts, which was the clincher for me. If you want to see pics of mine built up, click the link in my sig. I've got over 1000 miles commuting/group rides on it and it's just about perfect.

pinkpowa - nice pics. I actually stumbled onto your site a little while ago looking for pics of the Romax. Thanks for the info too.

I ride a 2008 Ronin--same geometry as the Romax frame.

I'm 5' 8", with about a 30" inseam. I'm comfy on a 54 cm, which I picked up in April. This is my my first drop-bar bike so I don't have a lot to compare with in terms of the fit.

The JTS has the same dimensions as my new Jake. I'm 5'10 and I ride a 52 because of a 29" leg. It is on the money. Normally I ride 54s but here I sized down and do not regret it. With a 31" leg I'd start on 54 and if you are lanky enough on the reach try a 56. You are not a 58.

+1

I'm 6'3 and change on a 58. the 60 is a little too big for me.

At my size, the seat is about 3-4 inches above the bars.

Konas run big.

I ended up buying a 54 Jake the Snake. Thanks for all your help