Dave Horne

This will be my next to last follow up.

The shop called me last week to make an appointment for me to bring my bike back to the shop. The appointment was for tomorrow, Thursday, and I brought my bike back tonight just before closing.

They will have the bike for a few days and swap everything from my 52 cm frame to a 47 cm frame. I assume they will call me back later this week or early next week. I spoke with one of the guys there and was told there were no problems at all with Van Nicholas with this situation.

I'll return back here when I have my new bike. I sincerely appreciate the work CliffordK put in with those charts. Thanks!

nomadmax 

Glad to hear you're going to get it all squared away

tcs

Sheldon told us over two decades ago: with 'compact' style frames, buy your size based on forward reach.

CliffordK

It sounds like you're getting it straightened out. Kudos to the bike shop and Van Nicholas for following through... finally.

Hopefully you like the new ride.

Kai Kai

Bike size really matters. When I get back to riding I bought a cheap bike. I'm 5 foot 7 little Asian. The charts all tell me I am a size M. For some reason, other bike shops I've tried also suggested size M to me before I bought my cheap US$200 bike. Yes, 5 foot 7 is usually size M. But for size S I am also ok. I am in between.
I can not stand on the size M on both my feet, the top tube will be in my crotch area. Not even sitting on the saddle. I didn't learn much about bike geometry. I hadn't ridden a bike for a while and I thought bikes will all be well made by now. I bought the best looking bike from the internet ordered from mainland China. With 3 spokes wheels that look like it is made with plastic. I went for looks. It was way too big. The saddle had to be at its lowest point for me to ride. The handle bar was too far.
Ended up using this bike to learn about all the parts and geometry before upgrading to a much better bike and brand.

Look at other bikers. When they peddle standing up, their chin can easily pass the handle bar or pointing straight down at head tube area when they are grinding hard. Can you do that on your bike? If not, it is way too far. It is odd that vendors go for bigger instead of smaller when they measure you. As kids we all probably remember trying to ride on an adult bike that is too big. It doesn't really work and can be dangerous. You can be too big and ride on a teenager's bike that is smaller and feel comfortable. So after this experience I insisted I wanted a size small. And now I love my bike.

bakerjw

Glad things worked out.
I am in the process of preparing to order another custom built tandem for my wife and I.Whenever dealing with custom bikes or brands that your LBS does not handle on a normal basis, do your homework. Know exactly what frame sizes are and what you are getting.

Dave Horne

My last post in this thread. I got a call from my dealer this morning to pick up my bike. They swapped everything out from the 52 cm frame to the 47 cm frame to include the handlebar which was their third attempt to make the reach on the 52 cm frame shorter.

I'll go back next week and they will replace this very curved handlebar with the initial straight handlebar from the original order.

I still have to tweak things but I can already tell that everything is within reach, so to speak.

Thanks again for everyone's comments.