Hello All,

Looking for some insight to fitting. I am new to road cycling (coming off a hybrid) and went to my LBS for some product knowledge and fit guidance. I am 5'4" even with a 29.5 inseam. I stepped over and onto a Specialized Dolce 51cm frame and felt good; then tried the 54cm frame. Felt bigger, but still manageable. The shop employee then took me to the trainer with the 54 for a full fit and when he was measuring, said that I definitely couldn't / shouldn't go any smaller than the 54. I said okay, so that's what I ordered.

I came home and did some extensive research on fit, WSD bikes and Specialized, and everything (and I mean everything) I found on forums and specs, show that a 54 is too big for me and I should be on a 51cm at least, some think even smaller. I understand it's about proportions, etc. but I am just really second guessing the 54cm measurement for me. I did a bike frame size calculator with all of my proportions and it recommended the 51; even Speciaized's website puts me squarely within its recommendation for a 51 frame.

I know the best recommendation for fitting is to go to your LBS but what they measured me for contradicts with everything I am reading online, overwhelmingly. All of the women in the discussions that are riding a 54 are between 5'6" - 5'9", and the women 5'4" and under are riding anything from 48-51 frames.

I am new to road bikes and couldn't tell you what felt better, honestly, so I am nervous that I am getting this wrong and should in fact be going with the 51. LBS said I can definitely change the order but they are still really confident that I need a 54 and nothing less. And they are not just trying to move inventory because I'm placing an order either way.

I would greatly appreciate any advice and/opinions. Thank you!!

He would know Best...

Unless there are a Lot of High end bikes sold for performance maximizing roadies ,
Dropping $4K + then a multi 100$ fitting session may feel 'worth it'.


the Usual bike & frame size selection in small shops with modest Priced bikes,
is by trying the bike on for size , in Person, and talking about how it feels ..

That cannot be done, sight unseen, over the Web Forum , really..

All right, thanks. I went in and was fitted on the 51cm tonight. Feels better to me. He had to adjust the seat back a bit and pointed out that on the 51cm, there is more seat post out of the frame than there is on the 54cm...but I would need a different stem on the 54cm because I am reaching too far. I think I'm going to go with the 51cm.

Secondary question: As I am relatively new to riding and hopping from a hybrid to a road bike, the shifting is different. I think I have a pretty good understanding of the set up on the Dolce (2 on the front - left handle controlled, 8 on the rear - right handle controlled). My hybrid was 3 on the left with 7 on the right, and what I appreciated was that I could see what i was in at all times. So it will take some getting used to. My understanding is that I should stay on the larger chain on the left and adjust as needed, up and down, with the right, using the small chain on the left when climbing hills. Is this "correct"? Also, with my hybrid, if I was in say 2 on the left, and 4 on the right, I would jump up a few to 5 or 6 before dropping down on the left to 1 before hill climbing. Is this the right mentality? Make it a little more resistant on the right before making it easier on the left? And vice versa. I've always understood that you don't want to drop to the easiest gear on the right, then drop to the easiest chain on the left, or go to your most resistant gear on the right then up your resistance on the left...

Does this make any sense?!

Re: Shifting...(warning I am famous for, ask me what time it is, and I tell you how to build a watch)

Your Dolce has 50/34 up front for the chain rings and 11-32 on the 8 speed rear cassette.
The 8 speed cassette has this gear combination: 11-13-15-18-21-24-28-32

When you are in the big chain ring (50) your best combinations will be:
50x11, 50x12, 50x15, 50x18, 50x21 & 50x24
This gives you 6 gear combinations. Don't use 50x28 or 50x32 this is called "cross chaining".
It is hard on your gears, and will wear them out. Noisy too.
50x11, 50x12, and 50x15 are your gears for sprinting on flats and bombing down a false flat gradual descent.

When you are in the small chain ring (34) your best combinations will be:
34x15, 34x18, & 34x21, 34x24, 34x28, & 34x32
This gives you 6 gear combinations. Don't use 34x13 or 34x11 this is, again, called "cross chaining".
It is hard on your gears, and will wear them out. Noisy too.
34x28 and 34x32 are your climbing gears and will really save your knees.
If the grade is not to steep or too long you might carry speed up such a bump in 34x24, leaving you 2 easier gears if it gets tougher.

Early in a ride I spend most of my time in 34x21 or 34x24 until I am warmed up, even on flat roads.
Once warmed up the same flat road might find me in 50x21 for a nice cruising speed.
I climb mostly in 34x32 or 34x28. I like my knees to much for mashing up hills.
Spin to win is the philosophy I follow. Lower (easier) gear combinations and faster pedaling (called high cadence)
Pedal speed translates into ground speed when you spin.

Helpful, thank you. So in newbie terms, I don't want to be high on the left high on the right (cross-chaining), or low on the left (front) low on the right. And for hill climbing I want to be low (34) on the left and high (28-32) on the right, right? :-)

As far as the sizing and adjustments, it makes sense.

"Correct" doesn't really apply. Your new gearing system is called "compact." Usually there's a really small inner chainring, and a normal sized large outer chainring. The numbers don't matter that much. They usually differ by more than the difference between your hybrid's third and second rings (tiny and middle). So your strategy of shifting over a few gears in the back before shifting in the front will still work on your road bike - you just have to compensate with a few more little steps in the back than you used with the hybrid bike.

Sounds like you're now doing well!

Just one thing - my opinion is that with modern indexing systems chains are quite flexible side to side, so the resulting wear and tear due to cross-chaining is nowhere near as big a deal as it was for early 7 and 8 speeds. I'd not worry about it much at all.

Sweet! Thanks. I think I've got it worked out in my mind, now just trying to wait patiently until Wednesday for pickup ;-)

Also, I was pedaling away on the trainer and the guy there showed me that I could "sweep" the gears on the left (front)? No idea what I did and why I would need/want do that...

I don't know why people over complicate shifting.
Move the chain left for easy.
Move the chain right for fast.
When you are almost out of shifts in the rear, move the front toward the same side, then readjust the rear until it feels right.

In time you will do both front and rear shifts at the same time intuitively.

Hey NLB, I'm sure you already got your bike by now. But just wanted to confirm, my girlfriend is a bit under 5'6 and has a 54cm specialized that we need to move a few parts to get it to fit. I felt she is in between 51 and 54, but went with the larger one because we can make it work and the deal was hard to pass up.

So yes, the 51 was the way to go!

Hi, I had a similar situation in June. I am 5-9, and was looking for my first road bike. I could stand comfortably over a 54cm with an inch of clearance, so my excellent LBS thought this was a good place to start. When I mounted the bike on the roller thing in the shop for initial fitting, the fitter said that the 56cm would be a little simpler to setup, but not much; he could make the 54 work. And that is what we did, we used the 54, changed the stem to stretch me out a bit, changed the seat and adjusted that. The bike fits like a glove, I think.

It does make sense, but don't overthink it. It's disconcerting to suddenly be in a much easier gear and find yourself spinning against no resistance because you dropped too low. That situation happens easily when you drop into a smaller chain ring in the front because of the significant difference in tooth count as compared to adjacent cogs in the back. So if I'm thinking ahead and have the time, I'll upshift once or twice in the back just a second before downshifting in the front. That way I'm still pedaling against resistance.

But don't overthink it! Shifting comes naturally after a while. Don't ruin your ride by trying to remember forum postings as you roll up those hills.

Yes! Thanks.

@NLB 32 - Did you get your bike yet? Also on shifting, I usually tell people that if you want big changes in how easy/hard it is to pedal, shift the front. Then fine tune with the back. Just go by feel.