sam12

I asked few question regarding bikes and brand. There are good suggestions in there and few hate messages (understandable as it is part of life). Any way really appreciate for your suggestions.

In all, suggestions were to get proper fit bike in my budget range and goals.

Q. What is proper fit? How do I know which bike fits me well? Any objective criteria? I have been riding most of life but all of them have been hybrid bikes (they are great inner city bikes). Currently I ride Shogun and it is a solid bike.

I do mostly running to stay fit/healthy and recently I found out even when I very tired or not in a mood for running I can still go for a bicycle ride. Now I am thinking about buying a dedicated road bike. I use shogun to ride in the city/work etc. My shogun is straight handle bar vs road bikes with very different positioning and feel. I hope some of you can give me some ideas so that I don't have to rely on sales person completely!

Carbon Unit

There are some basic guidelines I found doing. A Google search, however, you would be better off going to a bike shop and getting a fit. It will save you aggravation in the long run.

BarracksSi

The first time I got a bike of a certain size was when the shop had three of the same model in sequential sizes (one M, one L, one XL) and told me to try them all out. It only took about twenty feet of riding to figure out which one fit me best.

If you can, try to do the same. Remember that you can further tweak your fit later by changing stems and saddle position. But, unless you have truly wacky proportions (I have a friend whose legs are as short as her torso), you should fit well on a stock bike.

dissident

I got rid of my hand numbness by angling the handlebars down a bit.. the bottoms are now horizontal rather then angling downward, and both the tops and bottoms now feel more comfortable then before. Now nothing really hurts after 25 miles (without gloves on, and just wearing jean shorts) unless I'm on some very rough gravelly road or start to, out of laziness, hold myself up with elbows locked straight rather then the proper form of having them angled.

First thing you should do is make sure you get a frame that fits you. Everything else can be tweaked later. I go by CM strictly, and have a 58cm bike at 6 foot, 1/2 inch. It fits just about perfect.

SBRDude

If you're handy and have a competent friend, you can get a decent fit by doing some googling and monkeying with your bike. It might not be perfect, but you should be able to get close enough so you don't injure yourself and can ride comfortably. If you're just starting out riding, that should be enough and then you can dial things in a little more closely as you gain experience.

rizz

Top tube length. When in doubt, get a shorter frame and stretch it out with a longer stem.