Road Bike Question: How much is frame size REALLY going to affect my riding?
 

Greetings all, love the forum, haven't posted much, accept for answers I can't find otherwise. I find the forum really helpful though, lots of knowledgeable people here. I am 6'1" , meaning it would be ideal for me to ride a road bike 58-60", or somewhere in that range. I am currently looking into buying a Giant that is 56". I'm wondering just how much this is going to affect the ride as in:

Is just a few inches going to make me prone to injury?

How much is the size going to effect my top speed?

Will there be a loss of comfort?

The reason I'm looking into a bike a little small for me because it is coming at a quite cheap price, so any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Well, I guess you could get a really long stem and raise the seat high. But why not just buy a bike thats the right size.

Its like buying a pair of pants, but in this case they're too big. Sure you can get a belt and have them fit right, but why not just buy a pair the right size.

yes...

I think you're taking a wrong approach.

Try the bike. If you like it get it. If you don't like it - then the price doesn't matter.

You can always get a bike that you don't like for $200 in Walmart.

and don't go by some chart that says you need such and such. you should either try the bike or do a professional bike fitting - preferably both :)

the apparent $aving$ can be an illusion anyway. for example i thought i was saving tons of $$$ when i paid $999 for a $1,999 Giant. Turned out i got a 3 year old model, with previous generation components. i think i still got a good deal but the saving wasn't so great that it should have affected my decision as much as it did. i was going to get a Specialized but got a Giant at the last second because of the sale. i was so eager to get the Giant that i didn't take the time to ride it and see if i liked it - turned out that the seat it came with was painful. i eventually had to replace it with a Specialized seat similar to the one the Specialized bike i wanted came with stock.

if i was doing it over again i would take more time making sure i am getting the right bike, and less time worrying about saving a few pennies.

moving the seat front and back to compensate for frame size will alter the angle between your back and legs. this will have a big effect on the way you produce power.

i am not going to buy another bike without doing the fitting first. charts are useless. a chart put me on 130 - 143 mm seat. the seat that actually fit my butt was 155 mm. it had tried sitting on 5 different seats before i got one that fit me. and that's how i will be shopping for my next bike.

Well, the reason for me asking is because its a bike listed as a Carbon Fiber Giant w/ Schimano 105's for $150. So I'm thinking as long as the frame isn't totally dinged, it should be a pretty good buy right? The guy got a knee surgery apparently that's why he's selling it.

Its not the right size, it will effect your riding alot, but if thats real, by the bike and sell it again for more and use that to fund a bike the correct size.

get the wrong size, you wont be riding it long, and probably be looking for a new sport soon. Just get the correct size and you'll love the sport.

I understand where you guys are coming from, but you've got to realize, I'm a pretty casual bike rider. I know that when it comes to road biking, perfect fit is most important followed by componentry and things of that nature. I know this won't be completely ideal, but I've got a friend who's got a much smaller bike then would fit me, but it's still a fun bike to ride, I can just tell its not 100% efficient. I guess more importantly then the ride comfort & speed question is this : how much more likely am I to get injured on a bike that is a few inches too small as opposed to a correctly fitted bike.

look at the bike. if its in good condition buy it, try riding it for a couple weeks and sell it. you will gain some experience and make some money.

Get it, you won't be sorry.

everybody is different. However at 6'1" a 56 cm frame might not be that far off. I'm 6'1". I ride a Giant sized M/L, (which has a 57.5cm TT)

My TT bike is a 56cm. On the other hand my Merlin is a 59cm.

You just have to try it out and see if it works for you.

That said, abike that doesn't fit, is not a bargain.

I would agree with what everyone has said of just ride the bike and see, personally I ride a 56cm frame, I'm 5'8"/9" and the frame is slightly on the big side vertically but perfect length wise as far as reach, thus I ride with the seat fairly low to accommodate and the bike feels great. However I like a fairly long reach, because of flexibility and what i find comfortable I tuck very low in the drops and this suits me perfectly. However someone else at about 5'8" could find this frame horribly uncomfortable for the same reasons that I like it. On the other hand a rider at your height who prefers a more upright ride could be suited perfectly on the same size frame putting the seat post up if it puts them in a position they like.

Sizing varies greatly between companies and between individual models, I even rode a 58cm bike at a local shop that I found extremely comfortable, but based on calculations I'm probably supposed to be on a 54cm frame. So I tend towards larger frames, on the other hand many prefer slightly smaller frames so it's all preference. Also to put it into perspective a 58cm frame is a bit less than once inch different in seat tube height from a 56cm frame if I understand the measurements correctly.

Finally giant suggest Large frame size(55.5cm-57cm depending on model) for 6'-6'3", so it might be right.

Thanks for all the help guys, if any of you are interested, I'll update the thread when I find more details out about the bike.

If you can tolerate a decent amount of saddle to handlebar drop, the 56cm frame will probably work for you. FWIW, I am 6'0" and ride a 55cm frame but I do not mind the 10cm or so drop that I have. If this bike is a Defy series bike, the headtube lengths are pretty generous and the drop may not even be an issue.

FYI: Road bike frame sizes are typically given in centimeters, not inches.

Your seat will probably be waaaaay high and will probably need a pretty long stem too, other than that you may make it work. $150 for a carbon Giant sounds like something is wrong or the guy doen't know what he has. Is the frame or just the fork in Carbon? What is the model of the bike?

I'm waiting to hear back from him. I really hope he means $150, because I'm assuming he would put more information if he was charging $1500 for it. All he said is 56cm Carbon Fiber Giant with full Schimano 105's.

$150?

have fun with your mis-sized, stolen bike!

More like shoes. Whats going to happen if your shoes are two sizes too small?

+1, I've got a Giant CF bike. I'm 5'8 and ride a 52cm frame. A true late model Giant 56 cm frame should be just about right for someone who is 6'1". But at $150 for a CF bike, something doesn't compute. Either it's stolen or it's an ancient POS with a cracked frame that's ready to break on your first ride. IMHO proceed with caution.

i sure hope its just stolen.

care to elaborate?

lol wat

What I mean by that is I would rather the bike be a stolen bike this guy is just trying to get off his hands rather than a bike that is defective. Yea it sucks that some guy may have gotten his bike stolen, but it has happened to me. It's the circle of bike.

Uh-oh.

now you got me worried. am i soon to be banned? or is my reputation tarnished? both?