octiceps

Hello to everybody at Bike Forums. This is my first post on the forums. I'm a newbie, as you can probably tell from the stupid question in my title. Anyways, a little about me. I'm a high school student in Northern California. I run cross country and track at my school. I injured the articulate cartilage and ACL in my left knee last November and just had surgery. It's still going to be a couple months before I get the go-ahead to run again, so meantime I'm doing some cycling and strength training. I didn't want to be stuck in a gym riding a stationary bike and getting bored to death, so I saved up some money and pulled the trigger on the Forge CTS 1000 road bike from Target.com. It's gotten good reviews and seems to be the best bang for the buck for my budget (~$400).
However, I did all this without any knowledge of correct frame sizing, so I don't know if the bike fits me correctly or not. As of right now, everything feels comfortable, but I'd like people's opinions about this. I am about 5'5'' with an inseam of 74 cm. The bike is advertised as fitting most from 5'6'' to 5'10'', but using Lemond's formula for seat tube length, I would fit a bike with a 50 cm seat tube C-T. The bike is exactly 50 cm C-T. It is also compact geometry and has a very slanted top tube. Here are the specs:

50 cm seat tube C-T
45 cm seat tube C-C
52 cm from bottom bracket to where effective top tube and seat tube meet
54 cm top tube C-C along the tube
55.25 cm effective top tube
170 mm crank arms

I have set the top of the saddle at 65.342 cm from the bottom bracket along the seat tube, as per Lemond's formula for saddle height. There's about 4 in. of seat post showing. The stem has been flipped down and all spacers have been moved from below to above it.

So, does this bike fit me properly?

KyleOndy

Here come the Big Box Store bike rants.
3...2...1...

Steev

Hard to say if it fits you just by looking at the bike. Need to see you on the bike.

dsellinger

Well shoot we can't tell him to "flip it". At least he's been reading up and of course the obligatory pics of new bike.

It's my understanding that on compact geometry you can't trust numbers like C-C or C-T either, You need to get those effective numbers also.

Probably your best bet if your worried about fit is to post picks. Are you that worried though? Does something feel wrong?

redtires

The other important question..."how do you feel on it, especially on longer rides?" Without going overboard, I'll pass on some opinions that may help you out. First off, since you just had surgery, proper recovery is paramount, re-injuring may not hit you while you are young, but years down the road you could be in for some bad issues, so that said, fit is incredibly important. I would highly recommend scheduling a professional fitting session with a reputable shop. If they give you any hard time about your "big box" bike, well just get the fitting and say your goodbyes. Also, you may want to let your surgeon know what your up to and see what he/she says. Other stuff would include not pushing huge gears, in other words, keep your cadence kinda high, this will also help to keep from bulking out your legs when it is time to go back to running (that is if you don't get completely addicted to riding...which happens here from time to time I'm told ) Again, these are just opinions on what you could do...I'm coming from many years as a framebuilder and professional mechanic, but I don't know you, have never seen you and have only some experience with post-surgical situations, it's pretty much impossible to do any kind of fitting over a forum post. At any rate, hope you enjoy riding as much as we do!! Welcome!

haimtoeg

+1 - post some pictures of you riding, preferably one with your camera facing leg at the 6 o'clock position, one while your hands are on the hoods and one in the drops.

Ratfish

Without seeing you on it, I would guess that it is too big for you, since I'm 5'10" with a 56cm that feels a little too big for me and is causing me to compensate with the stem.

spinerguy

Sorry to say this but definitely on the big side. At your height, you should be between 50-53 cms.

Pendergast

Yeah, almost certainly a bit too big. I'm 5'7" and prefer a 55cm effective top tube. Most people would probably even think I'm on a bike that's a bit too big.

Surferbruce

i'd have to say it's too big.

oilman_15106

You get a BF Gold Star for buying first then asking. Unless your arms are really long the top tube is too long for you.

stapfam

Take your pick!!!

I am 5'6" with a 30" inseam. I ride a 51 with a TT effective length of 53.5. It fits me.

roadiejorge 

Not having seen you on the bike it's hard to tell but given the information you provided it seems that bike is big for you. When you go for a ride you'll be able to tell, signs of feeling really stretched out will be the first indicator. Keep in mind that making adjustments to the stem and the spacers should be done once you identify what feels right, flipping the stem and removing the spacers are only going to compound the problem if it's too big.

octiceps

Hi guys, thanks for all the prompt replies. I appreciate it.

To answer redtires' concerns about my surgery: While I did have surgery a little over a week ago, I got the go-ahead from my surgeon to ride and do some easy weightlifting. In fact, he recommended it as it would help me build back my strength and recover faster. I have not ridden more than 14 miles in one bout and I am not pushing anything higher than the 42x15 gear to keep the pressure off my knees. I also ice my left knee three times a day.

As for everybody else, so far I feel very comfortable riding the bike, but since I cannot put too much distance in my legs right now, I don't know how I would feel after a long ride. I'll post pics of me riding in various positions after the mag trainer I just ordered arrives.

When I first got the bike, I tried the stem in all the various positions: Flipped up, flipped down, on top of steerer tube, in middle of steerer tube, at bottom of steerer tube... I felt relaxed and not stretched out in all of them, but we'll have to wait and see once I get some longer rides in.