Pepper Jack

Hello all. First post here, was looking around and thought to ask for advice. So, a bit of advice on three points. My bike and my wife's.


I had been meaning to get a better bike, as after pulling my back rowing at home I decided to switch to biking. Went to the only authorized Cannondale and Specialized dealer in my city, kind of had my mind set on Canondale though am flexible. They only had one Cannondale-it was Trail SE 4 with 29inch tires. I remember seeing her pull it out and slide the saddle way up, then she said it was a perfect fit. Didn't really pay attention. Rode around and thought it was alright and bought it after she talked it up-specifically about the fit being great for me. Then work and taxes kept me super busy and I have only ridden it maybe 10 times. Bought some gloves as my hands were going numb quickly and have felt cramped on it, kept raising the saddle but then it was way too high, but didn't think about it much other than just not seeming right.

That was purchased April 2nd-so almost 2 months now.

Then I went back with my wife and the sales associate (who I think might also be the manager or owner) pulled out the only specialized women's bike they had on hand, it was an XS. She said it was a perfect fit again. My wife didn't like the colors so I started researching it more while looking for available inventory. I started realizing she MIGHT be better on a small rather than XS. She has short legs so the small would be right up on here, but the XS frame would be too small in other dimensions.


That was when I looked at MY bike again and saw that it was size Small.

,
I am 5'9 and my inseam at home with no shoes is just a hair over 80cm. Not large (other than my belly) but I realized this was ridiculous. I am cramped up when riding which has been why I haven't been happy...and I should be on either a large or maybe a medium?


Had my wife ride it for an hour on a trail today and while riding it was a great fit for her, but when straddling it just pressed into her crotch a bit when flat footed. Not uncomfortably but no additional clearance.


SO, I am going to confront the store about this tomorrow. I can't find anywhere with quality large or medium bikes in stock now, so that's a huge problem. The two areas of advice I need are


1: does this sound like it might be a good size for my wife? I have read a lot about needing 1-2" clearance but am not positive that this applies to women, if she can stand flat footed on it without any pain, its not like she has balls to smash into. EDIT: Spoke to my wife again and it turns out it does hurt to straddle it, so will just get her a different bike.


2. A double question, how should I handle this situation with the store...If it is not the right fit for my wife t I need to return it, and if it is I still have no bike! (I blame me partly as well, but in this situation I think she either conned me pretty good or failed me pretty badly) and should I be looking to find and test a large or medium in your opinion? I would prefer to just get better educated and test them both, but I can't even find a single one in stock anywhere within 200 miles. Trail 4 says stand over of 80.9cm, so it sounds like it would be a tight fit if I can find one, but I have fairly short legs and think the large might be better in the other dimensions?


any advice on these issues would be appreciated.

VicBC_Biker

The standover height is important.
If your 'inseam' (height to crotch) is 80 cm, I think most guidelines suggest a bike with a standover height a few cm less than that.
Looking at the Trail4 geometry page, the M has a standover of 79.5 cm. the Small is 74.6.
Have you called the sizing help at Cannondale?
It sounds like the advice for your wife to get an XS was correct.
Can you find a bike fitter in your city? It could be the best few hundred dollars you could spend at this point.

shelbyfv

At 5'9" Cannondale suggests a Large. Borderline though, so a Medium might be a safer choice. No way a Small unless you are interested in freak fit/ clown bike sizing. Return it if you can, find another shop.

alo

I can't say how well the bike fits. You can decide that for yourself.

Sales people are there to get sales and make money. Most of them say whatever it takes to get sales. The truth is often not relevant.

Of course, that might have been the best bike for you, of all the bikes they had in the shop. But the aim was to get the sale.

I doubt you have any legal recourse. If you bought it, it is yours. Don't expect the shop to take it back. Even telling them they gave you bad advice will not achieve anything.

Call this a learning experience. Do your own research, and be better informed next time.

Pepper Jack

edit: just called he number on Cannondale. They said a small will definitely be too small, maybe a medium with some adjustments or possibly a large if it’s not uncomfortable to standover.


Thanks for all the replies. Got a real array of positions too. Will definitely call Cannondale before moving forward, but since they recommend small for 5ft1-5ft4 it seems at minimum the other measurements must be pretty far off somewhere, though I don’t know enough yet to figure out where.

as to the advice to get educated first...I can respect that to a point but only to a point. I was specifically planning to not spend hours studying and learning about various bike fit dimensions and Cannondale does specifically say that is a service authorized dealers will provide. If they had said “don’t know you need to pay extra to get the right fit” that would be different than pointing out all the ways it is a perfect fit if, as it seems to me now, it is not. Admittedly short legs make it harder and I should have gone with a different bike with lower standover and different frame, I suspect.

VicBC_Biker

The whole 'standover' issue is a lot clearer with ('old-school' ?) bikes with horizontal top tubes.

The bike shop should have told you that they didn't have a bike that would fit you, if that was the case. Or, that the bike you liked wasn't the best choice for you.Then they would have gained your trust and started a retlationship for the future.
Without honest and trustworthy advice, a novice is in a difficult spot. The situation right now with hardly any inventory in most bike shops (or even online at direct-order companies) makes it harder to find a bike that is suitable.
The 'flip side' of that is that it is easy to sell a bike that you don't want right now, if the situation in my area is any indicator.

If you only buy one bad-fitting bike before you 'zero in' on the right fit, you'll probably be doing better than average.

Going back to the dealer with an approach of : "How can we fix this situation? I'm sure you don't want me to be riding a bike that doesn't fit." might be the first approach I'd take.

If that doesn't work, sell the new bike.

You could ask here at BikeForum for reputable bike shops within a reasonable driving distance, if that's an option.
Perhaps shop around for a cheap used bike that fits, if there are any available in your area.
Anything that fits and rolls and works as designed will do until you get some miles behind you.
You'll probably find that your idea of what feels good will change with more time in the saddle.

You aren't alone in this - I have a friend who has pedalled tens of thousands of km on the same bike, and the other day he told me that he thinks he's be riding a frame size that isn't exactly the right size!

Iride01 

My wrist's just hurt looking at those flat bars. But some of your pains might just be getting used to it. And especially if you are new to cycling or have not ridden in a while.

I will agree that you probably should have got a bigger frame, but large might be too big. The medium on the sizing seems a better fit.

Bicycle sizing isn't a one exact fit and position that works for everyone. Some of us fit well on a wide range of sizes. Others don't. Perhaps it's the style of bike you bought and the geometry and other stuff. Do you really ride it off pavement?

If you don't, then you don't need a mountain bike. The term mountain bike was to equate with mountain goats that go over rough terrain with no roads. Not just something that you can pedal up a paved mountain road. Other bikes are much more suitable for that purpose on paved roads.

If your LBS person was a little unscrupulous just selling what ever they had in stock, then unfortunately that still is on you. It's still a buyer beware thing.

Pepper Jack

Thanks again for all the replies. Small update, I spoke to her this morning and she told me Cannondale doesn’t know what they are talking about and that the spec sheet is off. She said it has 29 inch wheels so is obviously for large. Then said she refused to talk about that any further.

she offered to sell it on my behalf, obviously at a loss for me, which I obviously can’t do without trusting her.

the More I have learned the more absurd that seems. As to how to proceed with this bike my personal opinion is that it depends largely on why she did this. If she just honestly believes it then I would accept eating it. However if she was outright lying to me then I would handle that differently. The more I learn though the more of a stretch it is to see it as anything but a deception, really trying to but it’s straining credulity imo.

as to bikes I am looking to try out the specialized chisel or fuse. I mostly rode paved trails at the park for exercise but sometimes pretty modest I paved trails etc and hope in the future as I continue losing weight to explore more off the paved trails but have no plans to really go goat style at the moment. Any suggestions for those use cases?

shelbyfv

This is complete BS. I don't know if Cannondale customer service could/would encourage the shop to do the right thing but it would be worth a try. Beyond that, this is a good time to be selling a bike. Advertise it for a few hundred dollars less than you paid, eat the loss and move on. Consider trashing the shop on yelp or whatever.

VicBC_Biker

I'm not at all expert, but I think that almost any hybrid bike or non-suspension 'mountain' bike would work for you, as long as it is a reasonable fit.
I bought a Kona DEW hybrid 5-6 years ago and it has suited my needs just fine. Spent not-too-much on the bike and had money left over for swapping tires, saddles, etc...
If it's at all hilly in your riding area, look for a bike with low gears (low twenties gear-inches or less IMO - look online for calculators that will translate the chainring and cog tooth #s into gear inches). You can always coast on the fast downhills and it is nice to be able to keep those pedals turning as the old ladies walk by on the hills!

I'd stay away from most 'road' bikes (and most 'gravel' bikes, too, since a lot of them are just road bikes with fatter tires..) for now, as the riding position will not be as comfortable. Once you get a few thousands of miles behind you, you'll probably have a better idea of what you want.

Look for a bike shop that has a good trust reputation and ask for advice. Get an independent bike fit if possible before buying - not all fitters have a setup for that.

Iride01 

I was about to "like" this. But the ending sentence I don't agree with.

I just find flame reviews useless. They get too one sided in their view point and certainly the viewpoint of the other side is not presented. Many give no facts at all other than what amounts to they aren't happy and don't want others to be happy.

Though I wouldn't be opposed to reading a good and calm review that stated the facts and you were told and sold a bike as being the correct size for you but the manufacturer sizing charts and your body don't agree.

Joeyseven

Cannondale doesn’t know what they are talking about ? What city are you in?
Tell her to call Cannondale and get their fitting charts right. Really I would just move on, I'm sure Cannondale would like your feedback, but the shop also sells specialized so do not expect them to do much as they can not control what LBS sells their customers.
When I was bike shopping a few years ago, I still had a few shops try to fit me on the wrong size bike just going off my height.
But I also found 3 great shops that had great employees that knew what would most likely fit just by confirming my height and looking at my build.
They got $ and business.

Hope the bike fits your wife, if not just sell it as used on Craiglist, FB etc. And leave a honest review about the bike shop not selling you the right size and trying to sell your wife the wrong size, because that is all they had in stock.You be helping future bike shoppers and look for a better shop that knows about bike fitting. good luck

Pepper Jack

Well I emailed again last night. I won’t go into the specifics of what all was said or why I think positions changed as it is really nothing but speculation. In the end she did agree to do an exchange and held the Fuse Medium comp for me. Whether it is the right type of bike I should have gotten aside- it sure does feel better riding! And man does that red look sharp, never really care about the color on a bike but that is a good looking paint job. I don’t plan to give my location or name of the business as it was handled satisfactorily, in the end, and so am just going to roll with the benefit of the doubt and have significantly more skepticism in future dealings. Thanks for all the advice here, at least it let me know I wasn’t crazy, despite the varying positions on how to handle it.

VicBC_Biker

NIce bike - and the main thing that makes it nice IMO is that it fits you!

FrznTek

Glad you stuck to it, and they finally did the right thing.

This bugs me... a lot. IDK what she was trying to say there as all sizes of that bike come with 29" wheels, even REI said when someone asked about if smaller sizes come with smaller wheels "All sizes of this bike come with a 29" wheelset." IDK if it's the only LBS to you but if it is, I'd buy what I know I needed and have a really hard time trusting them.