STA & Cranks

[Miranda]

I'm 5'1, with a 29 or so inch inseam? I never thought I had long arms, but my top tube lengths are around 540, which seems to be longer than most of you guy's ... And I ride fairly upright...


Summary - I like 165 cranks, my knees hate 170 cranks, and I prefer 73 degree seat angles to 73.5 or 74... and I'm still usually using setback seatposts and my seats all the way back. If I don't put my seat all the way back with a 74 or 73.5 seat angle, my knee seems to have to go above the horizontal to pedal, and I end up sitting off the back end of my seat to try to get to a comfortable knee position.

I have 3 road bikes - the 43 cm surly pacer has a 74 degree seat angle... I currently have the seat all the way back with a set back seatpost & 170 mm cranks on it. I hate the 170's... I can ride them, but I definitely feel it in my knees when I'm geared to high. I just bought it 165 mm cranks. I think I have a 120 cm stem on that because it's got a short top tube.

I've got a carbon park pre frame that has about a 45 cm seatpost (it's supposed to be a virtual 53 cm, but I definitely don't ride it like that), with a 73 degree seat angle, that I love... I like having the 73, and I've got 165 mm cranks on it. I still have a setback on the seatpost, but I don't think I've got the seat all the way back.

I've got a marin vernoa that's about 49 cm frame (probably a 45 cm seatpost actually) with a 73.5 cm seat angle - again, 165 cm cranks & seatpost all the way back on a setback seatpost ... My bf has the same frame (he rides it with the seatpost way up, i have mine way down)... and 170 cm cranks. I definitely do not like the 170's... my knees feel it very quickly.

Thanks... that is really good to know. I kinda thought the higher gears might be the place to feel the crank length being good or bad. It gives me a good ref point to think about.

Hi Miranda -

You sound similiar to me. I have short femurs (short legs, actually) and had some issues with finding the right geometry bike. I would walk into bike shops and they would take one look at me and put me on a 52cm bike which was WAY too big for me. I've got short legs, a long torso BUT, short arms...so while the geometry of the men's bikes were probably close for me...they were all too big and I couldn't even find one to test ride.

Anyway, I did what you are doing - tons of research based on what I could learn here at TE, what the geometry of my first two bikes were (I tried two - a 49cm men's Fuji and a 44cm WSD Specialized), and what I was reading everywhere. I was determined to get the best possible bike for me because I was tired of 'almost' fititng bikes. I ended up ordering a 19" Terry Isis (the 2005 model that is TI) from the website. I figured I was 'safe' giving it a shot since she gives 30 days to try it out. My STA is 74 and I still need a zero set back seat post to get my short femurs over the crank correctly. My saddle is just forward of center on the seat post, too. BUT, my longer torso leaves me a bit too cramped in this position, so I needed a longer stem (110) AND a shallow reach handlebar (to accomodate the short arms). I had my fancy fitting about 6 months after I got the bike and I was just terrified that she was going to tell me that my bike was all wrong (and I'd fallen in love with it by then). Turns out, she gave me a gold star for getting the best possible stock frame for me.

My fitter did mention that while I clearly had the strength/power to kick it with 170mm cranks, my leg dimensions would not allow it. Thankfully actually, since my bike came stock with 165's. I've since set up my commuter bike to the exact same dimensions (it's also a Terry) and they both fit extremely well.

Of course, then I read Margo's site and now I cannot wait until I've got the cash to go full custom. I'll still keep my TI Isis until the end of time though - I love it so much.

Two dimensions I left out: I'm 5'4" and a 19" Terry is about a 48cm...

Yea... looking at Margo's web site made me want to take an airplane road trip... but I don't think that wold get a stamp of approval atm. Terry... we do not have any dealers close. I have not called yet, but I was planning a trip if they had something just to feel the ride of modern steele. I figure I'm limping along on my bike the way it is now, anything close should be ok for a test ride (for frame material feel). That is interesting what you say about the lbs guessing you at a 52cm. I'm only 1/2 taller at 5 4 1/2"... they usually spout off the same thing to me (except for the current fitter of course).