cannondale geometry question

[fierte_poser]

I am helping my girlfriend buy her first road bike, and I don't know much about sizing/fit for someone 5'4". The LBS has Cannondale's, and he guesses that she would fit the 51cm size.

Anyone care to comment on the geometry numbers from this table?

Do the STA, HTA, and trail look reasonable for Just Riding Around?

Thanks,
Kent

[Pegoready]

Impossible to say whether the 51 will fit her based on only a height, but the 51 seems the best 'balanced.' Good head and seat angles, and the trail of 57 mm on it is going to produce the best handling in the group. If she's sensitive about toe overlap, I'd double check it. That front center is shortish.

[fierte_poser]

She's brand new to cycling so I'll just tell her that toe overlap is normal. :D

[SpeedyChix]

If it's possible, have her ride that size and one smaller. Depending on her arm length / flexibility / comfort, she may feel a tad stretched out on the 51.

Making a 51 fit with an 80 stem wouldn't end up being ideal.

Bite is, on the stock small frames the head / seat tube angles can result in sub-optimal handling as they are trying to avoid overlap.

[soupless]

Speedy Chix is right. Definitely have her check the next size smaller.

My shop sells Cannondales, and I sell lots of Synapses, and they tend to run a touch big, especially when it comes to the smaller sizes.

[fierte_poser]

Thanks for the replies. I will definitely have the fitter have her try more than size.

A couple more notes:

1) She currently does pilates 2x per week, so she has some core strength already.

2) All I know about her is her height...I have no idea where she falls with the bell curves for females on leg length vs. torso length for her height.

I guess my main concern is avoiding a bike that is too nervous in the handling department as I could see that keeping her from enjoying riding. I am mainly going by geometry numbers, as I don't think she'll get much out of a ride around the parking lot having never ridden a true road bike before. If she looks good on the stationary trainer in the LBS and the geometry looks ok*, we'll pull the trigger on the purchase.

Thoughts on this approach?

*and the bike is the right color :p

[soupless]

Hey F.P.-

My mother just got her first road bike after a lifetime of Raleigh 3speeds and Trek comfort hybrids. Here are a couple of things we learned after a few rides together:

1. The quick handling is quite an adjustment.

2. Because of #1, don't rush the transition to clipless. After two low-speed tumbles my mom rode three or four times on platforms to get used to the feel of the bike before she felt comfortable clipping in again. Now she's cool with it.

3. The pilates will help her get used to the position, and getting her really comfy on a Synapse will be a snap.

Good luck with the purchase, I'm sure you'll be happy.

[Kines]

Serotta will make her one with whatever geometry you want.

Sorry someone had to say it.

KN

[allegretto]

there are several on-line fit calculators available. while they ask for slightly different measurements, they end up being remarkably similar in recommendations so i don't think they will steer you too wrong.

the real benefit of this approach? you do the measurements! ;)

try it, it's fun... :banana:



Thanks for the replies. I will definitely have the fitter have her try more than size.

A couple more notes:

1) She currently does pilates 2x per week, so she has some core strength already.

2) All I know about her is her height...I have no idea where she falls with the bell curves for females on leg length vs. torso length for her height.

I guess my main concern is avoiding a bike that is too nervous in the handling department as I could see that keeping her from enjoying riding. I am mainly going by geometry numbers, as I don't think she'll get much out of a ride around the parking lot having never ridden a true road bike before. If she looks good on the stationary trainer in the LBS and the geometry looks ok*, we'll pull the trigger on the purchase.

Thoughts on this approach?

*and the bike is the right color :p

[cmg]

suspect the 48 will fit her better. The LBS probably doesn't carry it so they suggest the 51. that's the usual scenerio, be aware. try to get a frame that doesn't need anything shorter than a 9cm stem, a 10cm would be better.

[sg8357]

The goofy geometry comes from using a 700c wheel on a small frame and
C-dale using one for rake for all sizes.

Check out the geometry on the Gunnar 480 on this page.
Head angle goes back to near normal, trail is good too.
Using 26in or 650c wheels.

Scott G.

[Der_Kruscher]

I think that the right approach is to get her on a test ride. You can look at the geo all you want but her seat-of-the-pants experience will tell her everything she needs to know. She should also test a few other brands with different geometry. If she doesn't like one bike more than the rest then she can choose by price, color, etc. The LBS is allowing her to road test the bikes, correct?

[fierte_poser]

Update:

After going to 2 shops over the weekend and doing the 'pull a bike off the rack and see how it fits on the trainer' routine, we ended up going to a shop that has Serotta certified fitters and went through a complete fit on the size cycle.

It was a good experience for my girlfriend, as she got to hear (for the first time) many riding, pedaling, and fitting tips that most of us around here take for granted. She is also new to clipless pedals so the fitting process gave her a chance to get some familiarly with clipping in and clipping out.

As for the quality of the fitting, I would describe it as good, but not great. When I pressed the fitter on KOPS, he stated rather matter of factly that there would never be any reason to deviate from that saddle setback location. This contradicts what I've learned over the years both here and across the hall that, while KOPS is probably a perfectly ok place to be for most people, it is not necessarily the 'best' place to be and it is certainly not a magical location. What is the official Serotta Fit Science stance on KOPS I wonder?

As for the bike, we ended up going with the entry level Trek 1.2 WSD in a size 50. For $850, its a great place for my girlfriend to start. Here's the weird part...it has Sora shifters, which I actually prefer for her vs. Tiagra or 105 due to the fact that Sora has the lowly thumb shifters, which will make it easier for her to move over to Campy later. ;)

Anyways, just wanted to give everyone an update.