My road bike does not fit. Help.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Xeney, I didn't mean that was necessarily what happened in your case, but unfortunately I suspect it happens too often. I'm glad your person at least tried to get the fit right for you.

[xeney]

Well, I think we are giving up. The Ritchie stem is about equivalent to 8cm, with some rise. It is still way too far. More than 3cm too far. The bike does not fit me and we can't make it fit.

I'm going to take it to a shop that will sell it on consignment. I'm not shopping for a new bike right now, because I really can't afford anything nice, and I am not excited about paying nearly $2K for an aluminum bike, as I would have to do with a Terry. I am just going to cut my losses and try to learn to love my mountain bike.

Thank you, everybody, for your help.

[Triskeliongirl]

You don't need to spend 2,000 for an aluminum terry. I just bought a beautiful 2003 terry isis frame, reynolds 853 steel , never been built on ebay for $100. I am buying a carbon fork for it for $200 and then transferring the rest of the parts from another bike. Some shops may even still have the 2005 Isis left which was made in titanium (you could try phoning harris cyclery where I bought mine). If you watch ebay, steel Isis and symetries are always available at good prices. If you go to the buy/sell section of the terry website, you can also find folks selling older models. But don't give up. There is a road bike out there for you at reasonable cost.

[xeney]

I don't think I would feel okay buying a used bike at this point without test riding it and being fitted to it. Not even a Terry, because I looked at the geometry page and I am having a hard time seeing where the miracle is. Maybe I am visualizing it wrong. The Isis has a slightly different angle in the seat tube than the Veloce -- 74 vs. 75 -- but the other measurements are really similar. My current bike is right between the 19 and 20 inch Isis in terms of standover and seat tube length, and it is also right between them in every other area. The only measurement that is really different is the top tube length, which is obviously where I most need an adjustment, but it's only about an inch shorter, and that is not going to be anywhere close to enough.

I know you can't just go off the numbers, but I would really need to ride one, I think, which means I probably need to buy a new one. Unfortunately I have never seen a Terry in a used bike shop, and the Terry dealer here only stocks the tiny ones.

[jenxxs]

It sounds to me like you're going to have to prioritize the top tube measurement (shorter) and the seat tube angle (slacker, 73 not 74/75). This may mean that you end up with a frame size (seat tube length) that seems smaller than what you might expect given your inseam. Note that in the Terry Isis/Symmetry, the smallest sizes get the classic 73 angle by using the two wheel sizes. (That's the "miracle" of the Terry geometry.) The middle sizes then have to get steeper (74), and then the largest sizes get back to 73. That's considerably slacker than most WSD designs, which typically have seat tube angles exceeding 73 in all sizes.

I definitely understand the reluctance to buy used, especially without the opportunity to extensively test-ride. However, keep in mind that if the used price you pay is reasonable, it's not difficult to resell for close to that price if you make a mistake. When I had to unload my used Bianchi that didn't fit properly, I got 90% of my purchase price back, within one day, by selling it on Craigslist. I've also sold bikes from a distance, and it's not that much of a hassle if you require that the buyer pay for professional boxing and shipping by your LBS.