Old bike 650c, New bike 700c?

I know there are a million debates about 750c vs 650c so I apologize if this brings up the same arguments.

I was previously riding a 47cm 1500 WSD and LOVED IT. LOVED IT. It was my first road bike and you know, you never forget your first. I sobbed like a baby when I finally sold her this week. :( Call me silly, but it was like losing a buddy. It was sooooo hard...

But the reason I sold her was to upgrade. And now I'm a proud owner of a 47cm 5000 WSD.

So my conundrum is this: On the 1500 WSD the LBS installed 650c wheels which I was very comfortable with. I ride with a racing club on the weekends and even did my first crit on these wheels against girls who rode on 700c. So it's not about the bike...or wheels for that matter...;)

But now on my 5000, it comes standard with 700c wheels. I test rode her today and it felt SO HIGH!!! But otherwise, I didn't feel uncomfortable.

I guess what I'm asking is, shouldn't I feel really strange on these 700c wheels? I wonder if it's my infatutation with the new bike that has clouded my ability to assess how the bike really handles...

Any insights would be greatly appreciated.

I'm not sure what your question really is- are you not liking the 700c wheels?

I've only ridden for about 10 weeks. The first month i was on a hybrid bike a girlfriend loaned me. It was comfortable to ride but I knew it was "technically" a bit too small for me.
I got my new road bike with 700 wheels and a higher seat, of course, a month ago. Yes, at first I felt too "high" (aside from my natural high at owning such a beauty!) and I felt it was a bit hard to control while I was riding "up in the air". I was pretty wobbly for the first week. But I got used to it after a week and now it feels totally great and my body is way more comfortable with the better proportions. Just make sure your saddle is not set low so that it keeps your leg bent a lot even when your pedal is at the lowest position. Your knees will develop trouble if your leg can't be close to straight at downstroke. Distance between low pedal position and seat is WAY more important than distance from saddle to ground. With 700c tires, you should NOT be able to stop and balance both feet on the ground while still on the seat.

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Originally Posted by Lisa S.H.

I'm not sure what your question really is- are you not liking the 700c wheels?

I've only ridden for about 10 weeks. The first month i was on a hybrid bike a girlfriend loaned me. It was comfortable to ride but I knew it was "technically" a bit too small for me.
I got my new road bike with 700 wheels and a higher seat, of course, a month ago. Yes, at first I felt too "high" (aside from my natural high at owning such a beauty!) and I felt it was a bit hard to control while I was riding "up in the air". I was pretty wobbly for the first week. But I got used to it after a week and now it feels totally great and my body is way more comfortable with the better proportions. Just make sure your saddle is not set low so that it keeps your leg bent a lot even when your pedal is at the lowest position. Your knees will develop trouble if your leg can't be close to straight at downstroke. Distance between low pedal position and seat is WAY more important than distance from saddle to ground. With 700c tires, you should NOT be able to stop and balance both feet on the ground while still on the seat.

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Thanks Lisa. I appreciate your feedback. I guess what I'm asking is if I should give it more time to get used to the "high" feeling? I took her on a ride today for 80km or so and it felt fine but I certainly don't handle her as well as my previous steed. I'm just not sophisticated enough of a rider to determine if these wheels are the right size for me??? :confused: But I think I should give it some more time and get used to it.

Thanks again!

I'd say give it time. I haven't done it both ways but I'd expect a bit of adjustment.

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Originally Posted by bluerider

Thanks Lisa. I appreciate your feedback. I guess what I'm asking is if I should give it more time to get used to the "high" feeling? I took her on a ride today for 80km or so and it felt fine but I certainly don't handle her as well as my previous steed. I'm just not sophisticated enough of a rider to determine if these wheels are the right size for me??? :confused: But I think I should give it some more time and get used to it.

Thanks again!

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bluerider - give it time. When I got my new bike it took awhile for me to get use to the feel even though they have the same size wheels. You have a change in wheel size and also a change in the material your bike is made from and these things together might take awhile to get the feel of.

Ride, Ride, Ride and Im sure you will become as attached to your new bike as you were to your old one.

Have Fun.:)

Yes, give it a couple weeks to get used to the "high" feeling. I felt very "high up" but I got used to it and now it feels like nothing at all.
As to whether your wheels are "too big": First, I am assuming you can stand over the bike ok when you are not sitting in the saddle, right? Ok then, so the top tube (if you have one) is not too high. You should NOT be able to balance with both feet or toes touching the ground while you are in your saddle. If you can, that means your saddle is too low and your legs will always be too bent while you peddle. It's not so much about the size of your tires as it is about your seat height. The bike height difference with 650B vs. 700c tires is not THAT great (remember only the axle-to-ground distance counts there, not the total wheel diameter -which counts the tire thickness twice). What makes your feeling of being "high up" is mostly A)the size of your bike frame and B)the seat height on top of that.
You can change the height of your seat somewhat, but you can't change the height of your pedal crank axle. So changing your seat height will change how much or how little bent your leg is while you pedal. People with their seats too low and their legs too bent wind up with painful knee problems if they bike regularly. Plus they can't get as much power from their pedaling.
Give it a week or two before you try to change it. What feels wrong now may simply be because it's new and different. It was to me, anyway, and now I am VERY comfortable and I laugh at what I thought was "too high" a few weeks ago. :rolleyes:

Thanks ladies. I appreciate everyone's feedback. Your advice is bang on. I took her in again to the bike shop to have the saddle tweaked. And mentioned how I felt like a giantess on the road now. Hardly as I'm 5'2. But you ladies are right as usual, give it time they said! I miss my old bike dearly. I kept wondering why I would change her if she fit me perfectly but I know in time, this one will grow on me.

I made this switch in June. I was riding a Trek 5200 WSD 47 cm with 650 wheels. My new Kuota frame is a 50 cm, with a very short, sloping top tube and 700 wheels. At first, I also felt like my bike was giant, high up, even though I felt fine riding it. The turning radius also was different and I'm not too swift with those kinds of changes. But, now it feels normal. It took about 2 weeks.

I'm with the others. I would guess it just takes some getting used to. I've always ridden very small frames with 700 wheels. I've just aquired a second hand TT bike with 650's. I rode it today for the first time in a race and I thought it felt a little more squirrley than my 700 bikes - so I'm guessing its all in what you are used to.

Thanks again ladies for your feedback. I took her out again today and felt more confident. One aspect that I am noticing is that she does not climb as well as my 650cs. I also noticed a drop in my cadence. These are things I need to work on as a rider but thought it was interesting to see the differences. :eek:

On the flats, she is faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaast though. :D

You are probably noticing the difference in the actual gear inches caused by the difference in the wheel sizes. Often you'll see 650 bikes equipped with the same gearing as 700's, but the wheel size has an effect too. The same front/rear chainring combo was easier to turn on the smaller bike than it is now with your bigger wheels - but with the bigger wheels you travel further. This gets a little technical - but I've run it through a calculator. Lets say that all other things are equal - same front and rear gearing (I've assumed 53/39 front 12/25 rear), same crank length, just the wheel size is different.
on the 650 bike the smallest gear would be 39.94 inches
on the 700 bike the smallest gear would be 43.06 inches
(the smaller the number the easier the gear)
this means if you have the same gearing the 650 bike would actually have a "lower" gear and be easier to spin up that steep hill - but in that lowest gear for each pedal rotation the bike travels 10 feet 5 inches on the 650's and 11 feet 3 inches on the 700's.
the same things go for the bigger gears.
So in the real world this means on the 650 bike and it probably will be easier to spin up those hills, but on the flats where you are less likely to notice the difference in the gearing even though your cadence may have dropped a bit (as you are using "bigger" gears now) your speed may be up. In time you'll get used to it and you'll probably find you adapt which gears you are using to get the fast cadence back. You can also check out a gear inch calculator and see if you can change your rear cluster to get back some of the same ratios if you miss them.
I hope I've stated all of this correctly and it wasn't too confusing :p

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Originally Posted by Eden

You are probably noticing the difference in the actual gear inches caused by the difference in the wheel sizes. Often you'll see 650 bikes equipped with the same gearing as 700's, but the wheel size has an effect too. The same front/rear chainring combo was easier to turn on the smaller bike than it is now with your bigger wheels - but with the bigger wheels you travel further. This gets a little technical - but I've run it through a calculator. Lets say that all other things are equal - same front and rear gearing (I've assumed 53/39 front 12/25 rear), same crank length, just the wheel size is different.
on the 650 bike the smallest gear would be 39.94 inches
on the 700 bike the smallest gear would be 43.06 inches
(the smaller the number the easier the gear)
this means if you have the same gearing the 650 bike would actually have a "lower" gear and be easier to spin up that steep hill - but in that lowest gear for each pedal rotation the bike travels 10 feet 5 inches on the 650's and 11 feet 3 inches on the 700's.
the same things go for the bigger gears.
So in the real world this means on the 650 bike and it probably will be easier to spin up those hills, but on the flats where you are less likely to notice the difference in the gearing even though your cadence may have dropped a bit (as you are using "bigger" gears now) your speed may be up. In time you'll get used to it and you'll probably find you adapt which gears you are using to get the fast cadence back. You can also check out a gear inch calculator and see if you can change your rear cluster to get back some of the same ratios if you miss them.
I hope I've stated all of this correctly and it wasn't too confusing :p

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Eden, you ROCK!!! Yes, I had to read that a few times. Okay QUITE a few times. :p

I should mention I converted the triple chainring into a compact. Not sure if that was smart or not but I had triple in my old bike and never used the baby ring. :confused:

I think you're right, it takes a while to get used to. It's so strange, no pains on the new bike but my quads are killing me. I know I'm using more effort to push the bigger wheel or I should state, I need to learn the new gear ratios a little better. I used to spin over 100rpm regardless of terrain and now I'm spinning at 70-100.

Not that this should matter but I did my first crit against women who all rode 650cs. Although I had no problems hanging onto their wheel, I think it would've been an advantage to have the bigger wheelset. Not sure.

I rode a 49 cm Bianchi with 700's for 8 years in absolute pain and torture. I am super petite, 5'1 (110 pounds) but I have a very short torso and almost a 31 inch inseam. After many injuries and much suffering, I bought a 46 cm Guru (road not triathlon) with 650's. I love my new bike. I like the feeling of being able to control it. I like a bike with fast response. It's also immensely lighter. I like how the bike feels in corners, climbs, and descending. I feel more in control. It feels 'lower' to me than my other bike and I like this.

It's my second full season with my newer bike. It did take time to adapt to it. So, I say stick with the new bike for a while, especially if your only consideration is being 'higher.' If the new bike fits and is comfortable, I'm sure you'll be feeling better soon :) Let us know how it goes :)