Originally Posted by
MacAttack
So I have 3 reservations with the Diverge.
I have long legs & a short torso, so bike fit is a challenge.
I went to 2 shops & they both recommended the 61 size even though I'm only 6' 1''.
They shortened the stem which made it feel pretty good, but there is hardly any bend in my elbows on the hoods.
1) I would like to avoid any saddle-to-bar drop, so I was wondering if there was a way to get them level. The 61 size didn't quite do it even with an angled stem.
2) I think I would eventually like 32-width tires "with" fenders, so I was wondering if that was possible.
3) I don't know much about the 10-speed Tiagra. I've read that people are often thankful to have an 11-speed. I'm not a super-strong rider, & I currently have the 3-ring setup with granny gears (although I don't use the granny gears too much anymore).
Those people are idiots. I am about your size and proportions. I ride a 56.
I know "idiot" sounds cruel, but they are. They are gauging your "proper" frame size exclusively by your height ... and even then 61 is Really big. No self-respecting bike-fitter would make that mistake ... I am thinking they are scared by your height, don't have anything "XL:" but 61, and are trying to sell you that without even noticing that It Plainly Doesn't Fit.
I have written a lot here, as have other short-torsoed, long-limbed riders, about how we are continually pushed to buy gigantic frames which are very uncomfortable, because bike-shop employees are either ignorant, or uncaring.
People with our proportions need tall seat tubes and short top tubes---pretty much the opposite of what most bike makers offer. So we need long seat posts, short, up-angled stems, and spacers---but the Tour de France guys ride stretched out and slammed so bike shop employees cannot seem to understand that fit is more important than fashion.
You can run about two inches worth of spacers under your bar, and use a short +17-degree and have Zero seat-bar drop if that is what you want ... if they will not help you get what yo want, don't give them what they want ... which is to take your money and never see you again. If they cared, they'd listen to you and set you up with something that fit.
Also, and adjustable stem is Heavy. They are meant for a rider to find out which stem fits before actually buying a stem. I assume they used the adjustable stem because they do not stock the right stem and they still want the sale ... and are too cheap and lazy to order one which would actually fit you.
Don't give in. You will find the bike more and more uncomfortable and ride less and less, and pretty soon you will either park it or sell it. Instead, INSIST on trying 56-cm and 58-cm frames. If they won't help, walk away.
I have 10-speed Tiagra on my '84 Raleigh and I love it. Shifts pretty well under load, doesn't take a lot of force to shift, good range of gears without too many big holes in the middle .... but that depends on your chainring and which cassette you pick, of course. As for the basic system, I like it. I'd rather have 105 11-speed .... but really, I'd rather have 105 11-speed triple, which I don't think they even make, so .....
As for Weight ....
people are going to give me a rtion of $h!7 for this but I don't care ...
I just started riding a 16-16 lb CF Wunderbike this week, and I Am Faster. I am consistently just a little faster over the only route i can physically ride right now as my shoulder continues to heal ... but I am faster in the morning if I ride on an empty stomach, faster in a really hard rain storm, and faster in a late-night ride.
I have been thinking about it ... you know how everyone says "The bicycle weight is such an inconsequential part of the overall weight, a few pounds doesn't make a difference ... "
So, fine. But i can still record the numbers on my cycling computer after every ride.
The way I have rationalizing it is" if I were to go for a hike wearing a 30-pound knapsack, I would definitely feel it, even though ti is an inconsequential proportion of my total weight.
If I was to go jogging with a pair of five-pound ankle weights, I would Definitely feel it---even though ten pounds is an extremely tiny proportion of my overall weight.
My new bike is six or seven pounds lighter than my next lightest bike--so, about 25 percent lighter. Simply, it is less load for me to move with my body, no matter how much my body weighs. So ... if I exert equal force to a lighter load, I will move it faster----and I do.
It might only be a minute or two over ten or 11 miles---but it is Faster.
While I am riding I cannot tell what my average speed will be (the computer tells me if I am over or under my average but i don't have time to look) but when the ride is over, i have the numbers ... and I love riding the thing because it Feels fast ...
So if you get a bike that is four pounds lighter than your current bike and has enough gears to handle the hills ... you might actually be marginally faster and/or use marginally less energy to get where you are going. it might be a tiny difference but if you feel it, who cares what everyone else thinks?
So ....
The Dew Drop I think is more of a bash-around tank to beat on, (actually a light tourer) and is notoriously heavy and stiff---not so much a do-it-all urban commuter.
The Diverge takes advantage of a few years of engineering and frame design learning, and offers a nicer ride for less weight--and has a carbon fork (with Zertz)as well---great for muting rattles.. it will do everything the Dew Drop will do just a little bit better ... and you could throw some skinny wheels on it and ride it in a quick group ride or a purely-paved loop if you so chose.
The Diverge is Listed (as in "claimed") at 23 pounds ... a very respectable weight for a strong frame.
In Summation:
Your performance will probably improve Very Slightly with the new bike. Mostly it will probably feel a little better getting up and down hills---and over chattery pavement, and cracks and bridge expansion joints ...
Oh, and it has braze-ons for racks and/or fenders in back but maybe not in for fenders in front .... sorry if that is a deal-breaker, but there it is.