Originally Posted by
Bigman
Hey bike forums members, I've got a problem and was wondering if you could help me out. I'm in college (NDSU, Fargo, ND) getting into my first non-bigbox store bike. I've determined a road orientated hybrid or cyclo-X (with emphasis on the X bike) bike to fit my needs perfectly. The problem is, I want to make sure if I'm spending a bunch of money, I get a bike that fits me right. I'm 6'5", 37" inseam, and I weigh 235 lbs. I've been to my lbs and sporting goods stores and most of them stock Giant, Trek, or Specialized bikes in 22.5" or 61cm frame sizes. I test rode an XXL specialized tricross that I liked a lot but it was only 61 cm and I'd really like to give a 25" or 63cm a shot before I make any final decision (mostly because I'm afraid I only like these bikes because they are bigger than Wal-mart ones and not actually my size). Am I just being overly picky? on lbs tried to tell me something about specialized bikes being "more proportional" as they get bigger, any validity to that? Are there ways to make a bike "ride bigger?"
Thank you, I look forward to your replies
a 62-64cm frame should be in the sweet spot, though you could actually go bigger - hard to find unless you go custom.
My son is 6'4 and 320 lbs, and he fits well on his 22" Motobecane mountain bike. I've installed a wider bar to fit his frame.
+1 on the Bikesdirect option. Their bang for buck factor is hard to beat, but the tradeoff is that you can't test ride one before you buy (you can return it at your cost, however).
Another option is the
Civia Bryant, which comes in a 63cm frame with approx 34-35" standover. The bike itself has very similar geometry to a cross bike, with slightly longer chain stays for better stability and heel clearance with panniers.
The derailleur versions are competetive pricewise with other bikes in the genre (Surly
Crosscheck,
Long Haul Trucker, etc). Salsa makes nice bikes, but their frames top out at 60cm, 33" standover.