pedalmonkey

Greetings -

I'm in the process of setting up my wife on her first roadie, and well, I may have gotten her a frame just a bit too large. It's got classic geometry, and her standover height leaves around an inch of clearance over the top tube. We expected this lack of clearance after taking all of her measurements (shorter legs, longer torso). And actually, she fits nicely over the top tube while resting her hands on the hoods. What I'm trying to convey is it looks like this frame fits pretty darn well.

But what's got me a little worried is that there is very little seatpost exposed between the top of the collar and the bottom of the saddle rails... only 1.5 inches. I already know that "get thee to an LBS and do a bike fit" is sage advice... but I'm wondering if I should just abandon it altogether and go for a smaller frame. It certainly doesn't provide for much (if any) downward adjustability now or in the future. Does such a small amount of seatpost sticking out seem ridiculous, or is this rather common? With all of the other dimensions looking so good it's something I'd like to avoid but I'm not wholly opposed to the idea. I've already got 170mm cranks installed... seems like there aren't a whole heck of a lot of other ways to adjust pedal-to-saddle height.

Thanks folks!
Pete

urbanknight

1" clearance is rideable, 1.5" seatpost is a small amount, but you said she has a long torso. Has she ridden before? If so, have her take it for a test ride. If she feels like she's riding a tank, it's too large. If she says it feels fine, you might be safe. But if you're not done building it yet, it might be a good idea to go one size smaller just in case, but you might be buying a longer stem to compensate.

AnthonyG

Well my reccomendation is that its the top tube length that's important and not the standover. An inch of standover is enough. Now you've got me a little confused however when you say that your wife has 1" of standover and only 1 1/2" of seat post exposed. It just doesn't add up unless she has extrodinarily long cranks that are almost touching the ground and my reccomendation is that if you say your wife has short legs then she should be using shorter cranks anyway. If you fit shorter cranks the seatpost will need to go up. For cranks see, https://www.cranklength.info/

I have a custom frame that has 'only just' standover clearance and I have about 3" of seatpost exposed. I am using 140 mm custom modified cranks and the frame was built with a lower centre bracket which the shorter cranks alow for.

I'm rambling now but I think the frame will be fine but something doesn't add up.

Regards, Anthony

roadfix

My thoughts exactly.......logic tells me there should be at least a fistfull of seatpost exposed.

jschen

Maybe little seatpost showing means that the saddle is relatively low. But here's my question. Assuming the bike fits well and rides well, why would someone need to lower the saddle significantly later? Maybe there's a reason, but I can't think of it. I suspect the measurements mean the saddle is relatively low, and over time, it will get raised, not lowered.

pedalmonkey

OK, thanks so far guys. Anthony, one additional detail, the top of the seat collar is roughly 2.25 inches above the TT. For reference, the top of the collar on my LS Tuscany is 1 inch about the TT. Does this solve the riddle or does it still seem out of whack?

Other details if they might help: she's 5'7" tall, this frame has a 52 cm seat tube (C-T), standover of 30.4 in and a TT (C-C) of 53 cm. And, yeah, the cranks are 170, a bit long according to the online calculator. But hell, in the time it takes to get custom cranks I could just get a different frame/stem and yank everything off this one, on which everything is hung but I haven't run the cabling. Ahhh... so many choices!

pedalmonkey

Only reason to lower the seat later would be pedal/shoe change (adjusting the height of the platform) or if she woke up one morning with shorter legs. Fixer, can you expand on the "logic?" I know it looks better, but as long as everything is physiologically aligned I can't think of another negative... but I'm all ears!

roadfix

looking better now..........so she does have a "fist full" between the TT and saddle rails.

AnthonyG

Yes that makes a lot more sense. Honestly if you believe that the top tube length is right then I would use this frame and not worry about it.

Regarding the cranklength it doesn't seem to be too long actualy based on the standover which you say your wife clears. Check it more accurately but my rough calculation comes out at reccomending 165 mm cranks which isn't that far out and 165 mm cranks are available. No need to go custom.

Now when I was riding 165-170 mm cranks and www.cranklength.info is reccomending 140 mm then thats a WHOLE different story.

I was just going by your claim that your wife had short legs and a long torso which is a flag to check things.

Regards, Anthony

AnthonyG

Something else to consider is that there is a genuine advantage to using this frame over a smaller one. The larger frame with the shorter seatpost extension will also have a longer steerer tube. This means that the height differential between the seat and the handlebars is pretty level. If you go for a smaller frame the seatpost will go up and the headtube will most likely be shorter and this will have the handlebars lower in relation to the seat. Unless your wife is going to take up racing she will be more comfortable with the higher handlebars.

Regards, Anthony

pedalmonkey

Interesting points. Yes, right now I've got it configured with a stem with quite a bit of rise to get it nice and level for comfort's sake. Good thing there's a ton of stems to pick and choose from - it's easy to adjust handlebar position later should she want a more aggressive angle. I think you guys have me convinced to finish finish the buildout on this one and see how it works out. Now all I need is a seatpost that doesn't taper at the top so I can clamp it down - damn that high seat collar!

Pete

trayer350

Put a small bag at the end of the seat and your aesthetic problems will be solved. You sound neurotic.

AnthonyG

That wasn't called for. If you have nothing positive to add to the thread then don't bother posting.

Regards, Anthony