How much difference does 6mm make?
Hi—I’ve been lurking here for about a year, but this is my first time posting. I love you guys, and have found some of the best advice here. Now I’m hoping to get a little bit. :) It’s probably going to be pretty long, so I apologize in advance!
I’m relatively new to cycling, just got my first road bike about 9 months ago (which is what brought me here originally…all the threads on choosing a bike were soo helpful!). After riding about a dozen bikes at 4 different LBSs, I ended up with an ’05 Trek Pilot 2.1. Nine months and 1500 miles later, I still love most things about her.
However, I’m starting to suspect that the reach to the handlebars is just a hair too long. I’m somewhere around 5’4”-5’5”, with short torso and arms, but with relatively long thighs and long fingers. I thought I’d be fine with a standard bike, and the WSD I tried (Specialized Dolce) wasn’t a good fit for me…the 51cm put my knees less than an inch from the handlebars, and the 54cm was a longer reach than the 52cm Pilot. The reach on the Pilot seems fine to the bar, but I have a hard time staying comfortable on the hoods, and I feel like I have very little control in the drops and can barely reach the brake levers from down there. I end up with my hands mostly on the bar or on the place where the bar starts to curve forward. It’s not really uncomfortable until 2-3 hours into a ride, when my shoulders and neck start to feel like they’re on fire. I’ve tried adjusting the saddle position, but if I move it far enough forward to feel comfortable on the hoods, I end up with an awkward pedal stroke and knee pain.
Now, to the reason that I’m whining about this. :p The other day, I saw a picture of the ’06 Orbea Mitis Dama (the pink paint, natch), and fell head over heels in love. Since it’s a WSD bike, I thought for sure that the geometry would be wrong for me….but was surprised to find that the 53cm frame is very similar to my Pilot. What got me thinking about my reach issues was that the top tube length on the Orbea is 6mm shorter than my bike, but the seat tube angle isn’t all that much steeper. Which means that it might be better able to accommodate both my long thighs and my short reach. Comparing the specs on the Dolce I tried last year and my Pilot, the Orbea’s top tube length falls exactly in the middle of the two. I’ve half-convinced myself that this could be my One True Bike. I’m hesitant to actually go and test ride, though, for fear that I really will love it and will then be forced to pine away for months until I can afford to buy. $2300 is double what I paid for the Pilot, and more than I paid for my first real car…it pains me to think about investing that much in a bike. Especially since I only average 14 mph and I’ve yet to ride a full century.
So, here comes my question for the long-time cyclists out there. Based on my shoulder/reach issues and all other factors (components, weight, bike sexiness, etc) aside, is that 6mm decrease in top tube length going to make a huge difference? Or would I be better off saving a couple grand by trying narrower handlebars (the stock ones are maybe 1-2cm wider than my shoulders) or a shorter stem (currently 80mm)? Maybe short-reach brake levers? I’m not too keen on putting a shorter stem on the thing, because I’ve read—here, I think—that shorter stems make the bike harder to handle. Handlebars may be a good thing to try…maybe if my arms were going straight out, it would be more comfortable. Or should I just go ahead and test-ride the Orbea first, since it may not even fit anyway?
What would you do? Is there something else I haven't thought of?
