Brad Smith

So I'm sitting here at work wearing my Adidas shoes with the Shimano cleats in them. Bike rests behind me. All I can think about is getting on the bike and riding. What happens at work in the meantime pales in comparison to the commute. For me, I think this is the tipping point where bicycle commuting becomes "easy". I never get that feeling with a car. :-)

In other news, there's a chance that whoever fitted me for my bike fit me with a frame too small for me. My seatpost is already raised past the "safe" point and my feet hit the wheels when turning the handlebars more than a little bit. I'm 5'11" and ride a 15.5" Marin San Anselmo. I have right at about 2 inches of clearance (guestimate) when standing over the top tube. May need to get another shop's opinion.

Did I say all I want to do go out and ride?

habernac

whoever fitted you with a 15.5 inch frame should be shot (unless your legs are really short). I'm 5"7" and that would be small for me.

marqueemoon

Looks like it's a compact frame with 26 inch wheels. If it's measured by actual seat tube height (as opposed to virtual) it might not be that off, but that still seems small.

Brad - I know what you're saying about the point when it becomes "easy". I don't know know if it's ever really easy, but once you get used to the routine it becomes more enjoyable.

asburysinglespd

i rode before work...then to work..then home for my lunch break...i really would rather be riding..now i'm about to ride home...

bmclaughlin807

Meh... I don't want to stop when I get to work... I'm always tempted to keep going on the trail and not take the turn off onto the road to get to my workplace.

One of these days.... they're gonna call me on my cell phone and I'm going to say:

"Oh, sorry.... I just couldn't make myself turn on the road that goes to work... I'm about 10 miles North of Denver right now... yeah, I might turn around in an hour or so and stop by work on my way home."

Bekologist

every day's a friday....if you ride like it's the weekend.....

jyossarian

+1

starburst

Brad, I'm slightly under 5'7" and ride a 15.5" Marin San Anselmo, fitted for me by a bike shop in San Francisco. Can you take it back and swap for a larger bike?

Brad Smith

I don't know. It's been two months since I got it. Since they promise to fit you on the right sized bike, I may have a good argument. Two months ago I knew very little except that I wanted to commute and ride my bike more. I have since joined here, learned a ton, and gone on long distance rides with the cycling club and through those have discovered the bike was too small.

chephy

Oh my! I am 5'7'' and I have a 17.5'' Marin San Anselmo that fits me very well.

But apart from that - glad you're enjoying the commute!

dane_bikes

Wow thats a small bike for you. I'm 5'6" and I ride a 16" bike...

max-a-mill

go back to the shop and ask ASAP... whats the worst that could happen???

at least get a longer seatpost! riding it beyond the extension is asking for trouble. you could either bend the post (the cheap one) or crack you frame at the seatube mount cause that little bit of seatpost hangoing in the frame is causing too much stress (much more spensive). the b!tch thing is if you frame brakes they probably wouldn't even warranty it cause your the one running the seatpost to high.

rajman

LOL I am 5'5" and I ride a 17.5" Larkspur! I am very happy with it and have even taken it on a century. I have a 15" Muirwoods that I ride in Toronto - and I find that the geometry of it is hugely limiting when it comes to speed.

Some LBS's are more into selling MTB's and the reccomendation is usually that smaller is better - several shops were not really receptive to selling me the bike in the size I wanted. It's possible that the LBS had a bias towards selling you a smaller bike.

However, the advantage of the smaller bike is that the manouverability and acceleration are much higher and more conducive to downtown traffic.

Try a larger bike (borrow one or go back to the shop) and see if it makes a difference. You can also adjust the stem for your handlebars, and get a longer seatpost.

Good luck

capejohn

Back to the shop. I'm 5'11" and ride a 19" Marin Belvedere.
They may have measured you, but they mucked it up.

Dickseacup

Just to add another data point, I'm 5'6" and my commuter is a 15.5" frame on 26" tires. It's probably a tad small for me, but it seems like I can 'throw it around' easier. My road bike is a 54cm, which is considerably larger than the commuter.

SMN21601

I bike most days to work (drive the car about 5 days a month total) and love to find reasons to "run errands" out to the post office or to get coffee, etc...during the day. This is in addition to the regular 120-140 miles of club riding I get in a week...haha...it is like biking is my job and my job is just to pay for all the bike stuff...lucky for me I have a cool boss that only calls my cell-phone and never my desk phone!

vik 

The only problem I can see is that any LBS that would sell you such an outrageously small bike might be the kind of LBS that won't help you out after the sale. Hopefully I am wrong on that.

Imagine how much you'll enjoy your commute on a bike that actually fits you!

Brad Smith

Thanks for all the data points, guys. I can't make it to the shop tomorrow, but I will on Thursday. I will report back what they tell me and are willing to do. Thanks!

Frankie Fixed

Nice post. Sorry about the frame. Take it back and tell them we're all behind you 100%.

I overheard my boss talking to his boss. She asked him how I felt about a recent change in the department. He replied, "Boy, you know, all Frankie cares about is riding that bike."

arbscht

Yeesh, and I thought I had it bad being 5'11 with a 17.5" San Anselmo. The fit's not perfect but it's workable. I tried using the seatpost above the mark too, but found that the suspension kills the extension anyway. Might get a nice 350 or 400mm seatpost soon.

A friend of mine who's shorter than 5'7 rides a 15.5" (or 14"?) San Anselmo. I feel uncomfortable even standing over that bike.

Good luck sorting out your fit.