Originally Posted by On Rails
Hi, I'm new here and just getting into Road Cycling. I've been riding mountain bikes recreationally for about 10 years now, but now I feel a need for speed. This past weekend I test road a Felt F70, but I'm not sure if the fit was right. I'm 6'2" with a 32" inseam and the guys at the lbs said I need a 58cm. I was touching the top tube when standing over it and when on the trainer, I felt like I could barely reach the shifters. Do I just need to get used to the road bike position or is this bike too small for me. I sat on a 52cm Scott Speedster 3 and it felt really comfortable reachwise and I had about 1.5 inches of standover clearance, but the lbs said its too small. Actually, there were 2 guys helping me and one said I should have a 56cm, but he was overruled by their fitting expert. I felt so stretched out on the 58cm that I don't know if I trust the lbs. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Not being familiar with Felt, fitting to 'compact' vs traditional triangles makes the process more difficult. Ultimately, the fit you want to achieve should be the same (for your body) but the frames might measure a bit different.
At 6-2 with a 32 pants inseam (I assume - thats not likely a 'fit' measurement...) you seem to have a long torso and relatively shorter legs. This makes fitting a bit more difficult.
As a general point it seems most people who come to their 1st real performance road bike tend to get tooo small/short a top tube - cause it feels as though they are too stretched out. Resist that.
You need to be fit for leg length, Seat position relative to the BB axis AND your upper body and arm reach. Too short of a Top tube and you'll be really cramped and also not be able to breath and get your maximum air intake (or be comfortable). You have a quandary of prolly needing a longer top tube and a shorter seat tube (and more raked seat tube angle) than another 6-2 rider who has longer legs and shorter torso.
Compact frames are actually good solutions for long upper body riders - you might consider looking at those also.
Do the fit measurements and plug into a number of models - CONI, Hinault/Genzling, Lemond, etc. and get an idea of the range you should fit in.
There's a lot to this fit thing.
Finally - this is not to DIS you, but to suggest the best approach in these forums (one I use before I ask a question and usually I find the asnwer before I have to post).
DO A SEARCH! plug in a number of different search terms - you'll prolly find answers to 90% of your Questions
BEFORE you post.
There are currently 2 other 'FIT' threads running in this forum - many good responses and one in particular with links to good online fit calculators...
You or I are not likely to be the 1st to ask a certain question. And if someone has already given a good response, they're not likely to type it all again...
DO a search - and for now, review the other 'fit' threads that are currently active here.
just a suggestion...