Ok so I came across this nice carbon road bike the other day as I was cleaning out a neighbors garage. She told me it was her sons who moved away years ago and never cared for it anymore so she said I could have it, NICE!!! only thing is that it's a XS frame and way too small for me.

Now my question is this, can I take all the components and just swap them to another frame and fork with ease or would it be a pian in the a**?

A little about the bike:

It's a Diamondback Racing Podium 4 XS 43cm

Shimano 105 brake shifters and front derailer

Ultegra rear derailer

Gossamer 50/34 crank

Do you think I'll have to get bigger crank arms to fit a bigger sized frame (56 cm)?
I know there are alot of variables to consider but don't know whereto begin? What should be the first step?


Shimano

Forgot to mention also... Would it even make sense money wise to purchase a new frame and fork or is it better to just buy a brand new complete bike?

Can you post a picture?

Generally, you can salvage the drivetrain, handlebar, brakes, saddle and wheels and a few other bits and pieces. Everything depends on what shape they are in. Generally a new frame, bottom bracket, headset, stem, cables, etc will run about 800 new, maybe 500 used. So unless you already have a pile of parts sitting around, you'd be better off selling the parts or the whole bike on ebay and buying a complete used bike in your size.

Depends how much the frame and fork is.

Entry level Aluminium Bike with 105 can be had for $1 to $1.5k.

You could sell that bike for good money to buy something that fits you, but I'd feel like a d--- selling I bike for that much if I got it for free. Personally I'd find a frame that fits and transfer as much stuff over as possible. Or sell it and give half the money to the lady who gave you the bike. Then put what you have left into a new bike.

crank arms have nothing to do with frame size, it's a fit issue, you could have a 63cm frame with 165mm cranks if you wanted. generally speaking though you will find slightly smaller cranks on smaller bikes but a larger bike with smaller cranks will just mean you can spin a higher cadence easier. as for cost, I"m assuming this bike is in good working order, if so, you just got one helluva deal. 43cm is TINY i just sold a fuji junior frame that was 43cm. it was designed to use 24 inch wheels, thats how small it was. i'm gonna assume this bike has a sloping top tube.

Pretty much all the components will be compatible with a larger frame. Few things (like seatpost and cables) may/probably need changed out. You could get a frame as cheap as $100 of Nashbar.com or spend a whole lot more. Sell the XS frame and buy that lady a case of beer.

Is it a pain to do the swap? Not if you know what you're doing or are somewhat mechanical. Youtube and Sheldon Brown help. You'll probably also need some tools (esp. for the bottom bracket and headset). Bike shop might charge you $100 to do the whole swap, so account for that.

Thanks for the replys, selling the frame was exactly what I was thinking purchasing a new aluminum frame with the money, after I buy my neighbor something nice of coarse, I just wasn't sure if the components would be compatable with another frame.

Are all roadbike frames, as long as they have drop outs, universal to this extent when it comes to components, derailers cranks brakes etc?

I also forgot to mention the bike is missing the rear wheel so purchasing a new rear wheelset plus cassette will also have to be added to the total cost even more so if I buy a front wheel set to match the brand new rear set, even though I could just keep the nice mavic one it has already and just polish it up nicely

I would really like to have this as a nice project I can work on this summer and a great learning experience rather than just selling the bike whole and buying a new one that's too easy lol. Being that said can someone give me a rough estimate of what I'll be needing to spend and on what components? Thanks again

Stuff you will need:

- Frame and fork: ? Couple hundred maybe. Depending on if you want new or used.
- Headset: $40? I wouldn't bother taking the headset from the current bike then trying to sell that frame and fork without one.
- Rear wheel: Figure maybe $100 for a good wheel
- Cassette: $30+
- Chain: $25? Might as well get a new chain. I don't buy 9 or 10 speed chain so I don't know.
- Cables/housing: $10-$20. Don't bother re-using the old stuff
- Rear tire: $30-50
- Tube: $5

Stuff you might need:

- Seatpost: $30
- Stem: $30
- Front derailer: $30 (If it's clamp on instead of braze on or vice versa.)
- Bottom bracket: $30

Maybe other stuff I forgot. These are very rough estimates/guesses so don't take them as absolute. It really depends what quality level you want. I tried to pick prices that would be somewhat consistant with the stuff that's on the bike.