Therion

Greetings all!

I'm a new member of Bikeforums.net community and so glad to be so... I hope you are okay and everything is going flawless (atleast fine)

I have a problem about frame size for my 29er. I'm Trek FX 17.5" user and last month I also bought a Trek X-Caliber 7 18.5" for winter cycling. However it is not as comfortable as the FX. The huge problem is effective top tube lenght. I feel like it is too war away from my body and it forces me to really really bend down. Especially, I'm holding handle bars with my fingers, not palms in order to reduce bend down angle. My bike seller told me that Caliber series couldn't be as comfortable as FX series, it is connatural situation for 29er bikes. However as I check the frame size measures, it seems like 15.5" X-Caliber the best for me... At first I tried to buy 17.5" but that frama size wasn't available... Besides, I had to cut seat tube for 7cm because it it was too high for me.

I'm 1.71cm and my leg height is 82 cm... (5'7" with 31" inseam) I'm living in a city which there are no official bike markets so I can't give a try to anticipate which size is really the best for me. But as far as I presume, the 15.5" would be the best for me...

Here is the link for frame size details...

https://www.trekbikes.com/int/en/bike...29/x_caliber_7

If you can help me about it, I'd be appreciated... I'm planning to sell my Caliber and buy a new frame sized 29er...

Daspydyr 

It does sound like a real sizing problem more than the bike being a 29er. Sounds like you are pretty handy and handling some of the issues yourself. Congrats on that! It is always best to ride the bike before buying. For myself, I prefer a bike that is slightly smaller than I need. I feel I have better control of the bike.

Therion

Thanks for reply... It was really helpful...

The problem is I trusted my seller who we've met for a long time and good friends. He told me that it wouldn't be a problem so that's why I've ordered it... Nevermind, I guess it will be the best to sell this bike and get a smaller one...

Daspydyr 

Sad to hear about the seller not understanding his product very well. I've learned many things that way. This is a good connection for bike sizing, it has been helpful for me.

https://www.competitivecyclist.com/St...ulatorBike.jsp

Good to have you on board with us.

slowride454

Is the saddle location the same from the FX to the new bike? If your saddle is farther back on the new bike it will make the reach issue worse. Have you tried a shorter stem? There is a difference between the fit of a hybrid and a mountain bike. You want to be down a bit more on a mountain bike. Just look at the side view of each. The mountain bike has the saddle and bars almost level and sometimes the bars are below the saddle like a road bike. A hybrid is more about comfort than pedaling efficiency and aggressive handling so you will have a much more upright posture and a shorter top tube to compensate. If you want to have a mountain bike that rides like a hybrid....then first try a shorter and much more upright stem like this one.

https://www.bikeparts.com/search_resu...Fa9DMgodqm0A7w

or this one

https://www.tvc-mall.com/details/TRUV...FawRMwodFAYAuQ

Therion

Thanks for a detailed reply... I appreciated for it... Do you think that upright stem will be enough to compensate the problem? Because it is obvious that 18.5" is really big to me... I'm considering your advice... My bike seller also told me that... I guess I'll give it a try... By the way, the saddle looks a bit farther back than FX. I'll fix it.

What do you think going for a 15.5" or 17" Caliber 7? Should I buy a smaller frame size 29er or is it just fixable by changing some gears? I'll tell to my bike seller to send me a shorter stem bar and will see how it works...

Best Regards...

Therion

I've ordered a new 40mm stem bar. The current one is 90mm. I hope it will work... I'll be informing you...

Best Regards...

megalowmatt

I hope that works for you. I'm 5'9" and usually like to ride with ~69-71cm of reach (effective top tube + stem). The 40mm would put you at a 66cm reach on the x caliber which may just work out.

nakos2000

At 5' 7" I would say you would be looking at riding a "small" size versus a medium. The geometry of the 29ers are so different than smaller wheeled bikes that I know people who would be obvious size large, but go with medium because of the fit of the bike as a result of the dimensions of the design, including stem length. Like someone else on this thread said, the only way to really know is to try before you buy. Good luck!

Therion

I appreciate for your interests and answers! I'm very thankful for it...

Today, I modified the bike with a new 40mm - 0 degree stem bar (The former one was Bontrager Race Lite 90mm with 7 degree). I rode it for around 20 minutes. I guess, it was perfect. Seems like I didn't have any problem. I'm so happy that just modifying stem bar has solved my problem. But, yeah if I went for a small or medium frame, I'd not be in any trouble...

I'll be attached the picture of the bike tomorrow

I thank all of you again!

Therion

Here is the bike... It looks much better with the new stem

Best Regards...

deerfly

Nice looking bike. The frame looks a lot like the older (pre 2013) Trek DS frames. I remember trying out a 19" DS and it felt really long. I dropped back to a 17.5" frame, even then I ended up changing out the stem to shorten it up a little, just like you did.

megalowmatt

Good to see you got it worked out.