Today, I found out that the frame of my touring bike was few size small for my height. I am 5' 8" (33" inseam) and ideal frame size for my height should be 21" whereas the frame of my bike is, I am afraid, only 17". And I can't find a replacement of this frame (it is always hard to find a hybrid frame replacement, they do come with the bike itself or they never come. Also it looks a bit weird like a MTB frame, maybe it is an MTB frame, who the hell knows?)

Do you think I can compensate the difference by hightening the saddle (because this is what I am doing now)? Even though I did this adjustment I can't feel much comfortable on the bike and it might be the reason why I am dealing with knee issues since two years.

You can see the bike in attached photos, saddle height is much higher now, these are old dated pictures.

The 21" they are talking about is the slightly sloping TT of most mountain bikes of 10 years ago. The steeply sloping top tubes of modern hybrids aren't measured on the same scale. You can find seat posts in nearly any length now as you already know. When you put your elbow at the tip of the saddle and reach your fingers to the handlebars do they reach? I'm happy when my fingers are just short of the bars on a flatbar and when they actually overlap by about a half for a drop-bar situation. Your bike appears to be using modern threadless stems which are cheap and easy to replace. You can get any length you want. Sadlle height isn't arbitrary. There are guidelines for setting it. You were possibly riding around with your saddle way too low for a long time or you now have it way too high. Why guess? Good luck.

H

Well, I tried that elbow measurement and the tip of my middle finger can reach to the center of the stem holder screw. They don't reach to the handlebar. I don't know how the saddle fore-aft position could affect this measurement but I adjusted my saddle as back as possible so that the ball of my feet and the tip of my kneecaps align vertically. It was only possible if I set the saddle as back as possible so I can't move it forward to reach the handlebar easier. I think the reach for the handlebar is only a flexibility issue and how aerodynamic position you want to have. My problem with this bike is I think it hurts my knees for some reason. I am trying to see if it is because of small frame size.

Who told you you needed a 21" frame? Maybe a 19" frame due to your longer legs but there is no way you need a 21" inch frame at 5' 8". Your torso is way too short.

Which part of your knees hurt?

So, the frame size is all about the reach? I checked frame sizing table at evanscycle.com and also bikefitting.com | made to measure. Here it is asking for inseam length and it gave me the same result; 54 cm.

Above the kneecap and lateral side. Quadriceps tendons I guess. I know it sounds like or points to low saddle height and saddle too forward but I adjusted the saddle properly and still have pains. Maybe I need a long break and rest period but I am afraid that it will repeat on my next ride. So, I have to take care of every detail.

If I understand you correctly... your 'cubit' measurment.. elbow at nose of saddle to tip of middle finger doesn't reach the bars but only to the stem bolt... that does not sound like a frame that is too small.


It should be pretty obvious that moving your saddle forward will move your elbow forward when you have your elbow at the tip of the saddle. This will shorten the distance to the bars. In any case. It looks, note I said, it looks, like a plumb dropped from the nose of your saddle would go through your bottom bracket. I only have one bike that can do that. It's the one that fits me the best actually. I don't think you need to get your saddle any further forward, And... yes, for a flat-bar situation having the bars a couple of inches further than your cubit distance wouldn't be a deal breaker. Two things though. It looks like your saddle isn't level. It should be. Certainly, if it isn't going to be level, the nose should be up, not down like in your photo. Next, your bars are too low, I think. You may need a stem extender to get them higher because I don't see any spare stack height anywhere. If your seat is higher now than in those photo's I just don't want to think about it. Why don't you get some measuring done and give us some numbers to work with or go to an LBS and have this done right?

Knee's can hurt because of bad gearing choices too. The frame being "too small" is a non-issue because you have a seat-post long enough to put your saddle at a correct height. "Larger" frames raise the handlebars higher off the ground and also move them further away from you. I see where your bars could be higher but they don't seem to need to be further forward. Are you female? This does matter. Women and men of equal height have different length legs and torso and arm lengths are going to be different as well. Most of the "tricks" in use to ball-park fit, are based on men's physical characteristics.

H

The saddle looks too far forward and tilted down in front to me, pretty much triathlon position.

A couple days off, then first ride a nice, easy spin for 45 minutes, sounds like a good idea.

If you don't want to think I can show it to you



This is the actual photo. Saddle is not much higher anyway. I don't know if it is level because I don't have that lever tool. I am a male btw. There is no professional bike fitter in my area.

21" is probably in the ballpark for a horizontal top tube road bike. I'm 5'7" and ride 54cm classic road bikes.

I ignore the seattube measure for sloping top tube bikes with flat bars, however. I just shoot for around 58cm Effective Top Tube for those. I make stem and bar adjustments to dial 'em in. I have a 16" Mongoose with 56cm ETT that works well with 130mm stem and a riser bar. And my KHS must be an 18 or 19" with a 60cm ETT. I run a flipped 110mm stem with a flat bar on that one, wish I had a 100mm for that, will grab the first cheap one I see.

Currently running drops on the Mongoose. 100mm stem unflipped.

NB make sure there is enough seatpost extending well inside the frame

down past the bottom of the welded join point of the top tube miter.

What is NB?

Nota bene
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nota bene (/ˈnoʊtɑːˈbɛnɛ/; alternative pronunciations /ˈnoʊtə ˈbeɪni, ˈbɛni, ˈbini/; plural form notate bene) is an Italian and Latin phrase meaning "note well".[1] The phrase first appeared in writing circa 1721.[2]

Often abbreviated as "NB", "N.b." or "n.b.", nota bene comes from the Latin roots notāre ("to note") and bene ("well").[1] It is in the singular imperative mood, instructing one individual to note well the matter at hand. In present-day English, it is used, particularly in legal papers,[3] to draw the attention of the reader to a certain (side) aspect or detail of the subject on hand, translating it as "pay attention" or "take notice". While "N.B." is often used in academic writing, "note" is a common substitute.

The Oxford ancient historian Robin Lane Fox is a well known proponent of "N.B." in both oral and written scholarly publications.[4]

So, I have very long legs. Does that mean I need a shorter crank arm? Currently, it is 172.5 mm. Or is there any other adjustment I should do?

Long legs = long crank, in theory anyway.

In practice, I think most people manage with the "standard" crank of 170-175 mm.

Hard to tell with out seeing you on the bike. My guess is that the saddle is too far forward. Have you done the test where you take your hands off the bars while pedaling on a trainer and see if you feel like you are falling forward? When you stand, the saddle horn should touch the insides of your thighs as you rock the bike.

Understood. I don't have a trainer but I will try that stand up position. Actually the saddle is positioned as backward as possible. I did so because when I slipped a bit forward on the saddle my kneecaps were going ahead of the ball of my feet.

You can't possibly know that. Professional cyclists with thousands of miles under their road shoes can't really tell what their bodies are doing without video cameras and tape measures and laser levels, etc. By the seat of the cycling shorts assumptions is what ****'s up cyclists knees and other parts of their anatomy. I wouldn't even trust most cyclists to know if they were falling forward or not when they let go of the bars. The plumb bob from the front of the knee is an objective, repeatable measurement that can give a whole lot of information as to fit along with measuring particulars of a given cyclist and matching that with measurements of particulars of the bike they are riding. Nor am I a slave to numbers, once the facts are in, I can and do vary things a little more here a little less there and aim for long term comfort and performance with the numbers as a baseline for comparison.

H

P.S. It would be harder to "slip forward" on the saddle if it was pitched nose up a bit or at least dead level. Just saying.