Kameleon

Hi all,
I'm really torn between the size 58cm vs size 60cm. I've gone back and forth between them and it's driving me nuts.

I'll post my competitive cyclists fitting next but here is what's going on.

After much debt and finally the advice or the store I went with the 60cm. Finalizing FIT, the bike felt much much better BUT now look at where everything sits I'm concerned.

The seat was slid forward to the max, this along with the 1.5° down made my knees a lot closer to being "directly over the pedal" with pedals at 3 & 9 o'clock. BUT I still have about 1" more to go.
Since I can't go forward any more is this a sure sign the bike is too big.

I assume with the limited knowledge I have that a shorter top tube in the 58cm means I wouldn't have needed to shove the seat forward that much... and hence I would have my knee absolutely directly over the pedals.

Any advice out there?

furiousgibbon

KOPS isn't the be all and end all but it's a pretty good starting point. If it's being measured correctly and you're still 1" behind the spindle with the saddle all the way forward, you should probably be on a size smaller.

I've just gone through a similar situation, got a 56cm and had to put a 90mm stem and move the saddle nearly all the way forward to get the right fit. It's fine, but the 54 would have been better for me (no stock and didn't wanna wait for 2015 release).

If you're stuck with this bike look for a lower setback seat post (5mm perhaps) which will give you a bit more adjustment room.

Fiery

The range of positions for your saddle is determined by seat tube angle, not top tube length. You could have a top tube shorter by 10cm and your knee would still be where it is now if the seat tube angle wasn't changed.

Downsizing woud move your saddle forward a bit, not due to the shorter top tube, but due to the steeper seat tube angle. The angle on size 58 is 73 degrees, and it is 72.5 on size 60. This means that the saddle is roughly 5mm further back on the 60, and you would gain some leeway by sizing down, though not too much.

However, I'm not convinced seat tube angle is your key problem. For example, you say you tilted the nose down to move you knees forward over the pedals - this makes no sense. Tilting the saddle forward will move it forward only slightly, but it will also effectively lower its height, which would move your knees forward a bit but could also mess up your leg extension. It might just be that your saddle really is too high, but that's fixed by lowering it, not by messing with the tilt.

Finally, if your saddle height is indeed good and if you really need to just go forward a centimeter or two, you might be better served by going to a zero offset seatpost if the rest of the bike fits better in size 60.

To avoid too much guesswork, would you mind sharing your height, cycling inseam and distance from bottom bracket to saddle top along the seat tube?

macca33

How tall are you and what is your inseam measurement - would be a way to start. A 60cm frame is only 15mm longer in the top-tube than the 58cm frame in CAAD10s. I reckon - looking at the position of the saddle in isolation - that you could've / should've gone 58cm... Unless there is something else missing here.

cheers

kleng

Zero set back seatpost should help with the saddle position

DXchulo

+1 on that. I don't know what it is about my body, but I've never felt comfortable on a setback seatpost on either a 52 or a 54.

SirHustlerEsq

Just the opposite with me.

WestPablo

I've found that whenever cyclists feel the need to ask if their bicycles are too large, 99.9% of the time, they ARE too large!

rms13

I agree. But I also feel that cyclists (especially new one) agonize over the mythical holy grail of the perfect fit a little too much. Most people can easily make more than one size work. I'm on a 54 CAAD9. and I'm sure I could make a 56 fit and feel nearly the same.

bikerjp

Yep.

I sized up from a 58 caad to a 60 evo. Not exactly the same geo between the two models but close. On the 58 I had a lot of post, stem spacers and a 120mm stem. All things considered it seemed like a 60 would bring things closer to ideal. However, after getting fit I now have a zero offset post and the seat is still all the way forward and still using the 120mm stem. It's simply a matter of trade offs. Taller riders, I think, have a lot of variability in femur, shin and torso lengths making it hard to fit a bike "normally". I don't think I want to trade a few cm of saddle rail for shorter TT and HT which might have me on a 140mm stem with max spacers.

In your case, with a zero offset post you might be more or less perfect.

FLvector

Rather than agonize over how you can fix your fit, then get a bunch of suggestions to confuse you even further, why don't you find a local shop that has a good fitter with a solid reputation. This will take most of the guesswork out of whether the frame is too large or not. Some can figure all this out on their own, but it sounds like you need some guidance which is better found face to face, not on the interwebs. Sometimes the suggestions that sound logical can create more problems and not solve anything. A good fitter would be a good start.

SirHustlerEsq

Judging from the picture of that saddle/post, I'd rather have a 56cm with a <=140mm stem, not a 58 or 60.

rms13

If he just bought the bike days ago, why go pay a different shop to fit him correctly?

Take it back to the shop where you bought the bike and have them make you happy

Kameleon

Thanks everyone. I such a newbie I'd need to search what a "zero post seat" is.

Also I'm not searching for a "holy grail of a perfect fit". I am however not wanting to finally get clipless and get a "real" fitting from say.. Retul.. Then to find out that I should have been on a 58 to be in more optimum position.

I'm trying to see how to format my competitive results. It looks messy

I don't know things should be dialed in because it's my first bike. I don't think should be at extremes or changing out a bunch of parts to "make it fit".

Kameleon

Here are some pictures... Maybe you guys can see something I don't...
Sorry, Mind the skinny hairy legs.. Like I keep saying... Newbie here.

rms13

If I bought a new bike from an LBS, especially one in the $1500-2000 range I would expect them to make me happy. And especially if I was a new rider I would expect them to make me happy because they should look at you as a future long term customer and want to get off on the right foot. They should have different stems and probably seat posts taken off other bikes that they can swap out for you and see how it improves the fit. They should also be able to tell you where your foot will be positioned when you get pedals/shoes and account for that in the current fitting. And if you are not happy they should give you the size you want.

Your other posts said they gave you a 30 day guarantee and would exchange it within then so do that if you want. You also seemed like you spent a good amount of time test riding 58 and 60 and you felt more comfortable on the 60.

rms13

Hard to tell much without seeing your whole body. How much bend are in your elbows on the hood, what angle is your back? My impression from the photos is on a 58 your stem is gong to be slammed and your seat is going to be very high. If anything maybe you should move the spacers to the top of the stem so you have the stem slammed on this bike and see how that feels and angle the stem down. May make the reach seem less.

RollCNY

Standover means nothing with a sloping top tube, so don't worry about that dimension. You are on the right size bike, or potentially too small a bike. You already have your stem flipped up, your bars rotated up, and a ton of spacers under it, so you couldn't make the bars higher if you wanted. Only lower, and you could make the bars on that bike a lot lower if you wanted. A 58 is going to be going in the wrong direction.

It is a bad photo, but your knee looks way forward of KOPS now. You are saying you are an inch behind the pedal spindle, and an inch is HUGE. Are you trying to fit this yourself?

Kameleon

When i test rode the 58 from 2 or more shops the seat was adjusted higher. I'm not used to having to tip toe when standing over the seat, and i didn't kow that "doesn't matter" but it's what made me move towards the 60cm frame.

goenrdoug

You really shouldn't be able to comfortably tip-toe while still on the seat. I can do it on one of my bikes but it's pretty uncomfortable and I generally will hop off the seat and step down when I need to stop at a light or something.

One thing to note is that while your knee may LOOK like it's behind the spindle, from the side, it appears to be in front of it. It's all about perspective and that's something that's difficult to sight, yourself, while seated on the bike. Your eyes aren't necessarily directly above the spindle, maybe they're a little forward -- especially if you're reaching for the bars.

I'd consider moving those bars down -- both in spacers and in rotation. That might not be super comfortable for you, though. I'm 5'11" and on a 58, but everyone's different. I find having the bars hig and rotated up does a lot to my position. It's not necessarily intuitive, but if your whole body is rotated more forward and bent over more to hold the bars, it will impact where your butt, legs, knees, etc. are as well.

You have 30 days, right? I'd suggest getting out there and riding the hell out of the bike in your possession now. It's the only way you'll be able to figure out what works (and doesn't) with regards to fit -- not to mention, you'll get used to the hunched over riding position after 100 miles or so and then you'll be in a much better position to figure out what changes you'd like to make.

FLvector

It depends on how competent the shop is to assure the 60 is the correct size for the OP. If they have a good reputation for fitting and making things right, then he has some hope to resolve the issues. I couldn't tell from the post if the purchase was in the last few days, but it did sound recent - not sure how recent. Of course, try to work it out with the shop you purchased from, but they're not likely to admit they sold you the wrong size. An independent fitter would give you an unbiased opinion to tell you if the 60 or 58 would be the proper choice and go from there.

Kameleon

FINALLY GOT IT TO FORMAT RIGHT....
On competitive cyclists I am a:
[TABLE="class: cms_table, align: center"]
[TR]
[TD][TABLE="class: cms_table, align: center"]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #FEFEFE"]The Eddy Fit (cm)[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FEFEFE"][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Seat Tube Range c–c:
Seat Tube Range c–t:
Top Tube Length:
Stem Length:
BB–Saddle Position:
Saddle Handlebar:
Saddle Setback:[/TD]
[TD]58.8 - 59.3 cm
60.6 - 61.1 cm
57.3 - 57.7 cm
11.1 - 11.7 cm
80.1 - 82.1 cm
58 - 58.6 cm
7.3 - 7.7 cm[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #FEFEFE"]The Competitive Fit (cm)[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FEFEFE"][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Seat Tube Range c–c:
Seat Tube Range c–t:
Top Tube Length:
Stem Length:
BB–Saddle Position:
Saddle Handlebar:
Saddle Setback:[/TD]
[TD]57.6 - 58.1 cm
59.4 - 59.9 cm
57.3 - 57.7 cm
12.2 - 12.8 cm
80.9 - 82.9 cm
57.2 - 57.8 cm
6.1 - 6.5 cm[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #FEFEFE"]The French Fit (cm)[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FEFEFE"][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Seat Tube Range c–c:
Seat Tube Range c–t:
Top Tube Length:
Stem Length:
BB–Saddle Position:
Saddle Handlebar:
Saddle Setback:[/TD]
[TD]60.5 - 61 cm
62.3 - 62.8 cm
58.5 - 58.9 cm
11.3 - 11.9 cm
78.4 - 80.4 cm
59.7 - 60.3 cm
6.8 - 7.2 cm[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

[/TD]
[TD][TABLE="class: cms_table, align: center"]
[TR]
[TD][TABLE="class: cms_table, align: center"]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #FEFEFE"]Your Measurments[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FEFEFE"][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Inseam:
Trunk:
Forearm:
Arm:
Thigh:
Lower Leg:
Sternal Notch:
Total Body Height:[/TD]
[TD]35
24
15.5
28.75
24.75
23
60
73[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

([/QUOTE]

Kameleon

YEs i agree with this. when i look down it looks like i'm BEHIND the pedal. but yes from the side it looks closer. i should have taken that photo against a white background so you guys can see where the pedal sits.

I'm not looking to have you guys "fit me" via the internet. I just do not want to be stuck with the wrong size bike that maxed out at any angle when i am ready to pay for a formal fitting... nothing "seems weird" or too far of a reach or compacted. it's just right but the seat being pushed so far foward is mind F**#ing me.

Kameleon

I was purchase 2 days ago. Ihad to drive 2 hours away to get a great deal ($250 off what everyone is selling it at) 30 days to exchange , but i like this bike, so i'd only change it for a 58cm. someone suggested i go bigger?!?!?

The store is reputable & the guy was knowledgable about fitting (static) but what will happen when i go clipless? (they will also do a static refit when that happens) - i just don't want to hear "oh darn if only you were on a __cm bike we wouldn't have to change all this stuff..."

How has going clipless worked for you guys? or did everyone just go clipless from the beginning?

I have a LOCAL shop i'm looking to support that does Retul fitting, my co-worker goes to them and i really like their attitude they just didn't carry Cannondale... I wonder how rude it would be to walk in and ask "hey i bought this you mind letting me know if i go the right frame" ..... to me it doesn't seem rude since i'll be pickign up my accessories and eventually they'll do the formal retul fitting... I'm off tomorrow so i hope they can ive some input.

RollCNY

Tie a bolt to a string. Put your foot at 3 o'clock, dangle the string from the bump beneath your knee, and spool out string til the bolt hits your foot. You will know for certain.

CC fit calculator is seriously flawed. It tells me I need a 690 TT and a 160 stem.

The bike is the right size for you to get an aggressive position on. If you intend "endurance" geometry, it is too small.