sittingdownnow

Hello,

I have a sort of quick question I guess.

I'm looking to purchase a Windsor Clockwork,

but I'm having trouble deciding what size I should go with. I'm a student and I don't really have access to a bike store right now, and I'm going to purchase a bike soon (within the next week or two) i've been looking at and reading about bikes for a 1-2 years now, having not owned one (a mountain bike) since many years ago as a little kid.

I'm looking at either the 49 cm or the 52 cm. the geometry chart is here:
https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...kwork.htm#size

my stats:

I'm a 5'5" female, with a short torso and long legs. My standover/inseam is 31.5" i've heard that for my height, i should look at something more like 510-520 top tube lengths.

the 49 cm has a TT of 539mm and standover of 29.8" . the 52 has a TT of 545mm and standover of 30.1" i dont want to be stretched out or scrunched up, so i'd appreciate your help.

---slightly interesting sidenote
(((i've never really handled many bikes like this, but if it helps, i went to a walmart a few days ago and stradled a 54cm (or maybe like 55/56, it's 22" i think) schwinn something-or-other. I could clear the bar by maybe a half inch, but i felt a strain in my legs so i know that it is too big.

*edit
here's some guys measurements of the schwinn varsity:
https://www.cyclingforums.com/t/32844...-at-walmart/30

standover of 31")))

Nagrom_

https://www.competitivecyclist.com/za...LCULATOR_INTRO

Give that link a shot, and compare the results with the frame geometry chart for the windsor. Make sure to take the measurements really well, or you'll just get junk results. Another person helps quite a bit.

Scrodzilla

Standover height is the least important (and quite ridiculous) factor in choosing a frame size - considering you will be riding the bike much more than standing over it. Top tube length is the most important.

Use the fit calculator Nagrom suggested.

sittingdownnow

Thanks a ton Nagrom_ and Scrodzilla. will do

sittingdownnow

update: so the caluclator gave me a range of top tube lengths of 51.4-51.8cm on two fit options and 52.6-53cm on the third, and when i measured against various bike geometries, puts me at about 49-50cm frame size, depending on manufacturer.

Thanks again for the help.

wheredidcuongo

Has anyone rode a pair of Alex 700c R15 wheels? Im looking for a new wheelset to throw on my single speed build and found a pair of these for $100, just wondering if theyre worth it.

PeyoteCult

I've been browsing the forums for a while now and I've been looking at different single speeds that I could buy. I have a price range of anywhere from 350~550. I was looking for something that has a flip flop hub so I can try fixed gear as well as SS. If it doesn't have one I'm pretty sure you can just buy the hub for it and do it yourself? I like the different bikes I've been reading about online, but the one thing I'm a bit iffy on is not being able to test ride the bike to see if it fancies me. I would rather buy from a LBS, I live in the bay area of California so I've been going around to some shops locally to see what they have.

Would there be any certain brands to keep an eye out for while shopping around? At one shop there was a bike called felt which the guy working there said it was one of the smoothest SS he's rode before. I would be using the bike to commute to and from school which is about 2 miles, take out for exercise and to ride for fun around coastal roads, and such. I might be using the bike for a bit of a journey around California so I have that to consider as well.
Do shops usually sell brands of bikes like the IRO MarkV/Angus, Bianchi Pista, Windsor The Hour, or a Mercier Kilo TT/KHS Flite? Thank you for any help and suggestions.

Nagrom_

Shops usually only carry a single brand of complete bikes, maybe two. You won't find any of those mentioned bikes in a shop.

Where are you from?

PeyoteCult

I live in Fremont. I was thinking of going to check out Berkeley or Oakland, maybe SF.

Nagrom_

Ah, well in terms of SS/FG oriented shops, we have iMinusD in San Jose, Area Cycles in Castro Valley, Cyclepath in Hayward, and a couple more I can't quite remember. No need to go to SF, we have plenty of shops in the east bay.

PeyoteCult

I'll check those shops out. This question probably gets asked a lot, but when comparing SS/FG to a multiple gear road bike for commuting, exercising, and joy riding what's your opinion on it? I hear a lot of SS/FG can be more fun, easier to maintain, and a bit cheaper compared to a multiple gear.

Nagrom_

I really like both geared and fixed. Hard to compare the two, for me at least. It's all subjective.
Cheaper? Absolutely.
Easier to maintain? Definitely.
More fun? Up to you.


That being said, don't let the maintenance steer you away from gears. It's 4 extra screws to turn and a handful of bolts.

PeyoteCult

Hm, that makes it a bit more confusing now on which to pick haha. Looks like I have some more research to do, thank you very much for your help

Nagrom_

No problem. You'll enjoy whatever you get.

Timmy666

No way! I live in Fremont too. I have a kilo tt I ordered from bikes direct a couple of months ago and I love it. It's my first real bike and being a ss/fg the first couple of rides were really tiring but you get used to it. It's a lot easier to maintain than I thought it would be.

PeyoteCult

Nice! I've just been iffy on ordering a bike without being able to try it. I'll see if any shops near by have it. Thank you for the input!

detroitwilly

Looking to build my first SS, and trying to keep the budget small. Nashbar currently has a Nekkid frame available at a low cost. Does anyone have an opinion on this brand?

Thanks.

prooftheory

"Looking to build" and "keep the budget small" shouldn't really be used in the same sentence. The one Nekkid bike that I have seen, the frame seemed like it was actually pretty nice but really if you want to keep your budget low then you should be looking at buying a complete bike, (i.e. a Kilo TT). The rule of thumb with build is that you should take whatever you think your bike will cost at the end and double it.

And congratulations on finding this thread!

detroitwilly

Fair enough! I guess small wasn't a good word then. I probably should have said something along the lines of 'trying to optimize quality and price'. Anyway, thanks for the info on the brand. Given its price I might try it out.

I'm going to check out some completes as well.

prooftheory

"trying to optimize quality and price" will almost always mean buying complete. The only possible exception to this is if you are a long time bike wrench and have many or most of the parts you need to build a bike laying around in your garage already. Take a look at the complete bikes from Bikes Direct and then price out what it would take to build an equivalent bike starting with the Nekkid frame and you will see that there is no comparison. All of the parts on the complete bike will be of better quality than you could fit within your building budget.

detroitwilly

Makes sense to me. I will do that then.

Thanks for the info.

island rider

Looks like this thread is hiding. Question - Coach says a single speed will be a good training tool. Looking to do it on the cheap. Are the bikes direct bikes still the way to go for that? (Other than buying used.) Kilo TT, Kilo Stripper, Windsor The Hour Plus?

TejanoTrackie 

How tall are you ? Right now BD is selling the Windsor Clockwork for only $270 in a few remaining sizes and it's a really good singlespeed bike for the money.

island rider

5'10.5" I tend to ride a 56 to a 57 depending on manufacturer. (i.e. 56 in Cervelo RS, 56 in Cannondale Supersix)

I'm trying to sort out fit and geometry issues. I think this bike would benefit from fenders and I think I'm looking for road bike geometry, so thinking the Clockwork or the Hour in a size 56, does that sound right?

TejanoTrackie 

Well, both the Clockwork and Hour unfortunately don't have one close to your size. The Hour is a fixed gear, not a single speed, although you could flip the rear wheel and buy a single freewheel for it. The Clockwork Plus for $30 more is set up as a single speed, but is also currently out of stock in your size. As to geometry, you need to compare top tube lengths to get an idea of the proper frame size to get.