57cm or 54cm
Hello all. I'm new to the board and have a couple questions for the experts here.
I bought a very nice 2001 Bianchi Veloce off of a friend a few years ago for an amazing price. We are the same height and of similar build. He was upgrading to some higher level carbon bikes for competition and just wanted to move the Bianchi to help offset his high end bike costs and wanted to sell to somebody who he knew since it was his baby. Being of similar size to him, I trusted that the bike was the right size for me and he even fitted me on a trainer at his house. The bike is a 57cm frame. I've never taken the bike anywhere to get tuned up as I've been keeping it in good condition myself. I actually haven't ridden it too much. Most of my rides have been 20 miles or less and I didn't really have anybody to ride with the last two years since I moved away from that area and my wife wasn't really interested. It's not a good excuse, I just haven't been riding.
My wife is now interested so she and I are looking at getting into biking more seriously and are getting her a new bike and went to a handful of local stores today to look at bikes for her so she can ride with me.
I decided to test a couple bikes out while we were at the stores and told them the size of my current bike and they all said it was much too large for me?!?! They said the reason that I felt probably fine was that I haven't ridden it too much and never for more than 15-20 miles and with no previous road bike experience I had nothing to compare the bike to. None of them offered any real decent suggestions about what I should do other than sell the bike and get one that fits. I rode a bike that was 54cm and it just felt so much better than my current bike.
I found a few sizing guides online and lo and behold, I should probably be riding a 53-54cm bike. I feel like an idiot as I never felt the need to consult somebody at a store. I never questioned the feel as I just felt that is what road bikes were supposed to feel like. I feel like such an idiot for not going to a professional, but oh well. Live and learn and move on.
My questions for any experts out there are as follows:
1. Would I be best off trying to sell the 57cm bike and buy a new one that's 54cm that fits better? Or were the salepeople just trying to make another sale?
2. Is there anything I can do to my current bike to make it fit? Is 57cm really too big for me? I'm around 5'-9"/5'-10" with an inseam of 31 inches or so. Again, I've ridden it and haven't had problems other than, looking back, feeling that something was a little off. I plan on building up to 40-50 mile rides as a goal and am afraid that this bike might end up being very bad for me if I don't do anything.
3. One thing I thought of doing was buying a new frame that was 54cm and just putting all my other parts on that and I'd end up with a bike that fits for less than a new bike. I found a Scattante frame with a carbon front fork and carbon on the rear for $300. My current frame is steel with a carbon front fork. This would be lighter and I was quoted around $200 extra dollars to take my old bike, strip it down and rebuild with the new frame and all new wiring. This could be nice as I'd be using all Campy Veloce parts. I'm just not sure if I want to deal with all that and if it's the best way to go. A problem with going this route is that I can't afford a really good frame. The Scattante frames were all I've been finding for a decent price and I'm just not sure if I'll be really happy with this frankenstein bike.
This all sucks as I wasn't anticipating any major money needing to be spent on my part to get going. Now I'm looking at $500 to swap out the frame or if I can sell this current bike for a decent price and then buy a new one with a few extra hundred dollars added. I don't feel experienced enough to do the rebuild work myself and am just not sure what I could get for my current bike.
Last question. 4. If I was going to sell my 2001 Bianchi Veloce, which has all Campy Veloce components, a carbon front fork and a steel frame, what should I try to sell it for? The bike is definitely worn and well ridden. The components are in great shape. The frame has a handful of aesthetic paint scratches and very minor paint chips, etc. but the frame is solid, no cracks and to my knowledge, never wrecked. It just seems like typical wear for a bike that's been ridden very well, at least up until I bought it. It's not a bad bike and I've heard there is a niche market for Campy lovers along with Bianchi lovers along with steel frame bikes with carbon fork lovers. So, who knows.
Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Mike