dhale50

Yeah I was thinking about going with a 120 instead of the 110. I may try it and see how it feels. The 110 feels ok, but sometimes it does feel like I can stretch out a bit more.

OCRider2000

Are you comfortable with this setup for say a 50 or 60 mile ride? If so then that's great. It sounds like you have discovered your saddle to bar height differential max so I wouldn't bother going lower. As far as seat height it's hard to tell without watching you pedal. Bring a tool with you and experiment while on your rides. You should be able to discover your sweet spot by experimenting. To my eye you do look a tad short reach wise. How do you feel fore\aft balance wise? have you experimented with your saddle fore\aft position? By experimenting you should be able achieve ideal fore\aft balance, seat height and reach. You might want to experiment with a longer stem if you find that your current seat fore\aft position is already in the ideal position for you. Again if you can do long rides in comfort with this setup then you probably want to limit your exerimenting to very small changes. Your current setup my turn out the be the ideal setup for you but the only way to know for sure is to experiment.

taliesin

Looks good.

Saddle height looks fine to me - I might go a smidge lower, but probably not much. Reach looks a little cramped to me, but I like to stretch out on my hoods. You might try a stem with an extra cm of length sometime, but if you are comfortable and don't feel cramped on your hoods after 5-10 miles I probably wouldn't even do that.

Thanks too for wearing bike gear for the photo. Much easier to give feedback when you can actually see the fit.

Reynolds 

+ 1

CharlieWoo

umd - the OP's arms are bigger than your legs!

10 Wheels

Like the OP, I had a friend help fit me on an 25 y/o road bike.
After getting the professional fit for a New Road Bike, I found the old bike seat, 2 inches Too High.

C_Heath

looks killer to me, jus ride that biznatch.

Dubbayoo

if you draw a line from his front hub to his eyeballs while he's on the hoods it directly intersects the bar tops. That's about average.

umd

Maybe bigger than my calves but not bigger than my thighs...

halfspeed

What's your crank length? I have the same inseam and a 79cm saddle height with 175mm cranks. Stem could be longer too.

dhale50

Cranks are 172.5. The guy that worked with me also said I could probably go with 175's because of my inseam. It's too late for that though as I am out of money He also said that the 2.5mm difference would not "kill" the fit. I am definitely going to try a 120mm stem and see how that feels.

hollow

A bit personal, eh?

halfspeed

You get a pass on that because you're one of the few who have an earlier join date than I do.

Vireo

I usually leave these threads alone. I am a pro fitter but I prefer to fit people in person.

My observations are:

The saddle is not too high quite the opposite it is too LOW.

The OP's arms are freakishly long for his body hence he needs a longer stem by at least 2 cms.



My very first impression is the bike was too small for you. But at 5 10" you should be on a 56cm. It's just your arms that throw the whole thing off. You looked cramped to me. The pictures you took are excellent. Thank you. The one of you on the hoods sealed it for me your reach is too short.

If I was fitting you and selling you bike I would have recommended the 58cm. With all the spacers you have on the 56cm you should just be on the 58cm it would have a longer top tube you could ride a 110mm or 120mm stem and your reach based on your arms length would be appropriate. (with this bike looks like 130mm and I don't recommend that unless you are a crit banger)

Now let me set the rest of this thread on fire by saying that inseam is not important when sizing for a bike. The most important measurement is your trunk (notch to crotch) and then relate that measurement to the manufactures geometry charts for their top tube. You can jack a saddle up 300mm or down to the frame. But if you mess around with saddle fore and aft you mess with power transfer if you mess with stem lengths you mess with the handling characteristics of the bike. So top tube is the most important and least "adjustable" measurement in regards to achieving the correct reach. The OP is a classic example where if you size him to inseam the bike ends up too small for him.

KOPS is nonsense. Another ridiculous and archaic measurement that has stayed in practice for far too long. Tell me that the KOPS, taken in a static position, is where you will be pedaling the entire time you on the bike and I have a bridge to sell you.

hollow

And now you're making a pass at me? Wow, I should log off and go to the gym By the way, I think we're in the same town. And I hope my longevity on here allows me to make a stupid post on ocassion.

dhale50

In looking at my pictures, what about the position makes you believe the seat is too low? Is it that my foot is level at the bottom?

Thanks to all for the comments. Very informative stuff.

Doctor Who

Yeah, man. Sheridan's about as good as it's gonna get without leaving the city/north suburbs.

Oh, I can't wait until it gets lousy again so that only the diehards are out on the LFP. I can't handle it anymore.

Vireo

Send me another picture with your knee locked out and the pedal crank at the 6 o clock position. Also are you a toe down pedaler or heel down pedaler?

dhale50

Thanks. I'll try to get that photo to you. I definitely feel more powerful when I am dropping my heel at the bottom if that's what you mean.

halfspeed

I know people in Missouri, but I don't think it has annexed Minnesota yet.

Campag4life

You have a pretty girlfriend, but you should be in another line of work.

OP...the above is utter nonsense. You fit that bike perfectly...in particular with the long head tube of the Optimum relative to top tube length.

Vireo

Thank you. She's actually even more beautiful on the inside.

That is your opinion. But since you probably have never had the liability (as a pro fitter/shop manager) of having to fit thousands and thousands of people and sold thousands of bikes to people (from pros to recreational) of all shapes and sizes and NEVER had a bike returned or even questioned for being the wrong bike or wrong size then I think MY opinion matters. I have seen it in other shops and even in my shop with my coworkers. But it has NEVER happened to anyone that I have fit in the shop or in my private business.

and this is the reason I stay out of these threads.

ultraman6970

Agree in the GF part.

Lower the seat a little more is all you need right now. Many people simply have a bad style while riding a bike, they were never thought so after many years riding like that, its really hard to make them look good over the bike. So no matter who fits you, if you ride as a caveman, you will continue riding like a caveman all your life.

Well thansk for the pictures, as somebody said. Finally somebody post pictures in cycling gear...

Good luck

pharding

I would get the next size longer stem.

Chucklehead

It's no use. Your reputation and experience in real life mean nothing here