higehiru

I bought a Surly Steamroller off craigslist. I am 5'7" and I think it is a bit too small for me (49 cm) but I have been riding a 58 cm Long Haul Trucker for 4 years now without incident. I rigger that ride up by dropping the seat down as far as possible and switching out the drops for bull horns.

I wonder what things (such as steam, handlebar, etc.) I may want to look into getting to have this frame fit me better.

Thanks.

CliffordK

That is a pretty good range of bikes sizes.

I suppose the first question is how much bar drop do you wish to have? I could imagine building a speedy bike with a fairly long stem, and the same bullhorn bars you have on your other bike.

You might need to set the seat forward slightly to make it comfortable, although the seattube angle may already be steeper than your other bike.

Carbonfiberboy 

I doubt you'll every be really comfortable on it for long rides.

higehiru

Why do you say that? It is too small? I thought I would never be comfortable on the 58 cm (it was a hand me down from a guy that is like 6' 8") but I never had issues once I made some adjustments.

higehiru

I have a pair of drops as well that I was thinking of putting on. Which style handlebar would be more conducive to a bike that is a bit small - bullhorns or drops?

fietsbob

Steam roller not something I'd choose for a long ride, anyhow..

maybe bullhorn bars with reverse brake levers in the end, up angled stem ..

Fit the drop bars on the LHT, short stem.







lht

Carbonfiberboy 

Because the geometry is not optimal. I'm 5'6" and am reasonably comfortable on bikes 50cm-54cm. However the least comfortable is the 50. Easier to get comfortable on a too big frame than a too small one. That said, modern racers are using frames which are really much too small because they're lighter and stiffer. But they're getting paid to suffer. You're not.

ThermionicScott 

I'd exchange it for a frame that's in between the two. Didn't you test-ride it before handing over your money?

trailangel

Way too small

CliffordK

I meant drop between the saddle and the bars.

Perhaps that is the only advantage of a really small frame, you can get the bars quite low, in theory for a more aerodynamic posture.

fietsbob

But it was attractively priced .. Hawaii is an expensive place ...


but the distances are not far , except going around the island more than once.

higehiru

Appreciate all your comments.

The price was a big factor - it was $200 for the whole shebang. The rear wheel is not in the best shape, but all the other components were solid and the frame itself is is in excellent condition. I did test ride it, and it did not feel too small. I suppose that may be because I am used to such a large frame frame (nearly 9 cm bigger), but I didn't feel uncomfortable.

The used cycle scene is a graveyard here and most of the posts are for TT bikes or crappy Pure Cycle pre-builds. I suppose my happiness with my LHT made me bias towards the Surly brand as a whole too, so I pulled the trigger on this bike knowing it wasn't a perfect fit.

As I said in my initial comments. I don't expect to be riding more than 5 miles each way on this. It is purely for getting me to and from school. I will mess around with both bullhorns and drops and see which feels better.

Carbonfiberboy 

Oh well then, fit doesn't really matter as long as you can reach the pedals. Which you obviously can.

Aesthetic

I'm 5'9 and a guy at one of the LBS around my area tried putting me on a 48cm bike. Needless to say, that was my last visit there. Got a real fit after, and I'm comfortable on a 54.

redlude97

49cm is fine. I'm the same height and rode a 49cm for a number of years including a double century. Riding a 50cm now that has similar reach