Touring - Volpe sizing/weight help please?

Hi guys,

I currently ride a 50cm CAAD 9, had a 52cm Trek 1.5 - both fit me very well and am now looking at the Volpe for light touring.

Eff TT of Cdale=525, Trek=529 and Volpe=538

The 49cm Volpe has an ETT of 527 but I think that a 49 may be too much of a saddle to bar drop? Maybe if the reach is too much in the 52, I could get a shorter stem?

I was thinking of the 52cm Volpe based on the ETT but am a bit worried about standover height.

My height is 5'8" and cycling inseam is 31.5".

I cant test ride it as it will be a special order for me. No Volpes in my city and the Volpe is not normally sold in my country.

Also what do you guys think about heel clearance with the Ortieb rear panniers? I wear a 44 Scott. I will only be doing light touring and carrying a max of about 22-25 pounds on the bike, so am reluctant to go for a heavier bike like the LHT. That is not even on order here and I will have to buy it in the US.

Only other touring bikes available in India are the Cdale T2 and the Kona Sutra. Cdale is aluminium, and the Sutra is 31 pounds. I 'think' the Volpe is 23-24 pounds?

Volpes have a 30.5 S.O. ht. 2003 - 07 (older too) same Geometry

using calculations that I've been using for some time, similar to those found here and there 52cm is correct. Larger is even acceptable by some calcs.

I've mixed feelings about test riding. For instance,how does one test ride an $ 8000.00
Custom bike ? time machine anyone ?
A large component in bike purchacing is based on arbitrary decissions.

I could rattle-off some platitudes : jus' get the one that feeels gooood...

Dave Moulten , after decades of thousands of the finest custom bikes in the world
swears by THIS formula: if your 5'8" = INCHES= 68" divide by 3.2 which equals 21.25 " = 53.975 cm. THAT'S your core frame size. THAT precludes your fretting over the top tube.
I've consuted calculators on-line, builders on the phone, been fitted etc. etc. it's all mathematical, all based on consensus in the final analysis (for a store bought bike moreso)
49 is rediculous @ 5'8" unless you have a physical disabilty.

I agree a 49 is probably too small. I'm 5'7" and ride a 50 Diamondback comfortably after adjusting the bar height/seat position for my preferred riding posture. Nearly any off the shelf bicycle has to be fine tuned by the rider. I bet you can dial that Volpe in to fit you just fine.

This older thread (http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/index.php/t-134318.html) should ease your mind a bit.

As for heel clearance, one can usually move panniers back a bit on the rack if clearance is a problem. Or just not stuff them so full. Or, use front panniers only with a stuff sack on the rear rack. Better weight distribution that way. For a small load, that should work fine.

At 5'8" it seems like a 50cm bike is on the small side. My wife is 5'3" and rides a 50cm road bike, and equivelent size in the C'dale T-800. Trek bikes seem to run a little smaller for a given size. At least my Trek does compared to my C'dale road bike. I ride a Volpe for touring and it works well. The Volpe's chainstay is the same length regarless of size. At 5'11", I ride a 58 cm, also wear a 44 shoe, and have no problem with heel strike. I use Ortlieb Classic Roller panniers.

I may be wrong, but iirc the Volpe uses cross geometry, which is sized differently than standard road geometry. To be specific, the seat tube is smaller (due to the higher BB) so the sizing is smaller. E.g. with my Cross Check, I wound up with a 50 whereas I typically take a 51 or 52.

That said, while I concur that the Volpe is a good choice, I'd go for the Cannondale -- or any other cross bike that's in stock -- that you can test-ride rather than special-order a bike where you don't really know if it will fit you right.

One other thing though, my impression is that the rural roads in India are rough -- perhaps that's more the case in the north than where you are / where you plan to ride? If so, you might want to get a hybrid with suspension instead of a standard touring bike.

Thanks guys - the 52 it is then.

Bacciagalupe, cant test ride any bike in India. Whatever I choose will be ordered for me. Sad, but thats the way things are here.

One of the features of the Ortlieb rear panniers is the ability to adjust the bag at a bit of an angle if heel clearance is an issue-of course the bags are also very adjustable in terms of where they're positioned on the rack (front-to-back).

From the owner's manual....

One of the features of the Ortlieb rear panniers is the ability to adjust the bag at a bit of an angle if heel clearance is an issue-of course the bags are also very adjustable in terms of where they're positioned on the rack (front-to-back).

From the owner's manual....

Thanks Bob. I think that applies only for the PLUS series. Undecided between roller/packer too.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=592871

RE: Volpe bottom bracket height.

FWIW--I just meaured the height on my Volpe (58) and my wife's C'dale T-800 (50), and they are the same hight, about 10.75". My Trek road bike (58) is a little lower@ 10.5", and my wife's Specialized road (50cm) is 10.6". I'm not sure what X-cross geometry is, but the Volpe seems to be in the ball park of our other road bikes.