kensic

So I have been searching for a road bike for a while (3-4 months of non-stop stalking craiglist).

finally found a bike with excellent values in terms of money vs year and components, (as posted price, not even haggling yet lol)

So here is the situation

-52cm frame with 30" stand over height (the seller physically measured it).
-seller's height 5'6", he mentioned that is a slight bit of a stretch for him (don't know if he meant the pedals or the top tube distance is too long)
-the bike is 80 miles away from my house


my height is 5'5". with 29.5" cycling inseam.


So should I drive 80 miles to go check out the bike (stand over height is the most important factor in fitting the bike)?

so I was thinking, if the top tube is too long, I can always buy a shorter stem. but do you think it is ok to ride a bike were I can barely SAFELY stand over the bike.

thanks guys!

McFlurrey06

I wouldn't put too much stress about stand over height, bikes lean pretty easily. Look mostly at top tube length, affects your reach, and the seat tube length second. Keep in mind these can be affected by stem/bar settings, and seat height.

kensic

ill take your advice as "yes, drive that 80 miles to check it out"

McFlurrey06

I ride a 52cm Madone and I can't stand over the top tube without resting the boys on either side. 26xx miles later and it still fine.

chip1

I'm 5'7 with 32" inseam and ride a 52cm. I really think you should look for a 50cm bike, but can't hurt to ask for a test ride. If the ride is comfortable, take it. But don't just test ride couple blocks and decide, ask if you can ride for few miles at least. Or else you won't know how the bike really fits.

For what it's worth, my Specialized Sirrus hybrid had almost no standover clearance, but it was the right size.

Darth Steele

Are you planning to stand over the bike while riding?

kensic

ok you guys have convinced me to drive the 80 miles to check it out....thanks all.

yea I don't think its a big deal if the stand over height is only slightly over. (im sure I'll figure out a way to stop the bike safely)

in the end its about how comfortable you are while riding, and if the bike is flexible enough to achieve that.

valygrl

No don't do it, it's too big. 50cm bike for you. Standover is irrelevant, but you're ignoring the fact that it will be too long.

kensic

yea I was thinking to get a shorter stem, if the reach is too long

edited with picture

valygrl

buy the right size frame. I've bought a lot of too-big frames in my life, at 5'2". not worth it.

kensic

Hi Valygrl, so looked up the specs of the 50cm version of the very same bike. and the stand over height is 0.5 shorter (29.2" vs 29.7"), top tube length is 0.1 shorter (20.6" vs 20.7"). All other dimensions are exactly identical. these numbers are from the published catalog for that year.

So in the end, there's not much difference between the two. since the price is so good (comparing to all the ones I have seen in my search), I can always sell it back and get my money back if I find out I don't fit it, no biggie.

the only thing i'm wasting is time, but i'm ok with wasting time to gain experience lol

valygrl

I'm trying to find a geometry chart and I can't, mind pasting up the link?

Do whatever you want, I don't have a horse in this game. Just trying to steer you away from getting too excited about a price tag on a bike that might not work out.

jon c. 

There seems to be much more concern with standover height than there was in my youth. Used to be common to lean a bike slightly at a stop light. And no one had the amount of seatpost showing that is now common. At 5'8", I ride a 54. I rode a 56 when I was a teen and that was considered the correct size back then (mid 70s). If you're comfortable on it, then it fits.

wphamilton

It kind of looks too big for the rider the way it's set up. Being an inch shorter still I think I'd pass.

kensic

UPDATE, so I drove that 80 miles to check out the bike. and I think it fits me comfortable in terms of height and length
-I have about 1/4" clearance for stand-over height,
-the reach isn't for me with exist saddle set up (he had it all the way forward). that's just fine tuning the saddle to fit me (I need to push it back)
- I need to lower the seat abit. ill probably end up with 1/2" of seat post height above above seat tube.

so I bought this for 160$...and ofcourse it came with problems.
-left brake lever is a little stiff (full brake engagement with just 1/2" of pulling the lever). probably just gonna re-adjust the cable and brake
-rear cassette, shifting in the 4 smallest ring gears isn't the smooth as the other 5 ring gears. probably need cleaning and lubing the deralluer.
-Left shift lever is stuck (the lever that moves from small to big cog ring). so right now im stuck in the smallest ring. the level would not move anymore after 1/2" of movement.

bike seems to be in good condition, just normal scratches on the frame, no dents. (all shamino 105 5500 components)

so how did I do?

kensic

good source for looking at trek's full catalog for any year

Trek, Fisher, Klein, Lemond bike catalogs, bicycle brochures

valygrl

Well, you bought a frame that is too big for you with a drive train that needs to be overhauled. It was cheap, though.