Giant Bikes? Compact Sizing?

[SouthernBelle]

I have big time toe lap on my Giant but it is seldom an issue. About the only time I notice is going from a dead stop into a left turn at an intersection. That's because I'm actually turning the bars rather than leaning as I would at speed. When I'm actually riding it isn't an issue at all.

[spokewench]

Spoke and Raven - are you referring to my post?

I didn't say the Giant was slow! The steering is not as 'twitchy' as the Isis (which Triskelion and I both ride) so that's why I mentioned it. The steering is more stable/easy going/predictable...I don't know the best word for it....than the Isis. But, it has nothing to do with the speed of the bike!! It's just different...that's all.

I did not mean to offend any Giant owners!!

You did not offend me, I just wanted to make sure that someone did not buy say a TCR 1 like the one I have and think it was going to be really slow up front, cause it's not. There may be faster twitchier bikes up front but the TCR up front is not a slow, raked out bike either. It was just a clarification about the handling characteristics of the bike, that is all.

[RoadRaven]

So... Spoke... is that your TCR1 in your avatar??

[Triskeliongirl]

Well thanks for all the suggestions. Unfortunatly a bike like a ruby has too steep a seat tube angle for me to achieve a good KOP on. I mentioned this in a private email that stemmed from this discussion and was asked to explain the relationship between seat tube angle, top tube length and reach. I thought this might be of interest to the group so here it is again:

This is how the seat tube angle stuff works. Don't worry if you find it hard to get, the manufacturers try to use this to fool women all the time. Its really very simple. All you have to understand is that every 1 degree increase in seat tube angle pushes the seat tube closer to the handlebars, so while this trick can be used to reduce the top tube length, it doesn't change the reach, because the saddle then needs to go back 1 cm to get the same KOP position. So in other words, the REACH ON the following bikes are identical:

BIKE STA TT

1 73 52
2 74 51
3 75 50
4 76 49

The problem is that someone might purchase bike 4, thinking it has the shortest top tube, without realizing that it is identical to the other choices. For example, someone may recommend the specialized ruby cuz it has the shortest TT, but it also has the steepest seat tube so it is really not very different from the giants with slacker seat tubes and longer top tubes. For ME, the problem with too steep a seat tube is that even with the saddle all the way back on the rails, my knee is too far forward of the pedal axle. Obviously if you can get set up on a bike with a steep seat tube angle its not problem, which is why there are may happy ruby owners out there.

Toe clip overlap is different, that depends on how the bike is built, both in terms of top tube length, wheel size, head tube angle and fork rake. Some combintations will be problematic and some won't. In general, to get good neutral steering with a 700c wheel you need a top tube of ~53 cm, and with 650c wheels ~52cm. So when the TT is shortened too much, either you have TCO or they decrease the head tube angle and fork rake which makes for sluggish handling.

Writing this made me realize that I have to go custom, to get a very slack STA, and normal HTA and fork rake, I think I could tolerate a long enough TT that wouldn't have TCO with 650c wheels by using a shorter reach bar than I am currently using. But, I have to get a builder to buy into this idea. And if a custom builder tells me it can't be done with 650c wheels, then I could ask him to copy my 19" steel terry isis in carbon (i.e. using the 700/24" combo).

[spokewench]

So... Spoke... is that your TCR1 in your avatar??

Nope, that is my old Bridgestone RB1 - steel lugged frame Way different bike than my new TCR

Don't have a digital camera picture of my giant. Don't have a digital camera. Maybe when I have some extra money when I don't spend it on TCRs, I might have the money to buy a digital camera!

[RoadRaven]

Ahhhh... I was squinting and couldn't work it out... bike is too tiny...

If it was I was gonna ask for a bigger pic, no offence to your Bridgestone

[BadgerGirl]

I was doing the same thing Road Raven. I pulled up your avatar Spoke to see your bike! How funny. I own a TCR C2 and I love it....did I say how much I love it.

I don't have the problem some women have because I am tall. I actually don't have a WSD and wouldn't be able to fit on one. I am 5'11" and have a M/L frame. It is fast and very agile too. Just learned how to go no hands on it! Was worried because it is quick on the turns!

[wiseowl]

Sizing is right on Giant's site:
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-US/...y/compactroad/

Scroll to the bottom. I just got an OCR comp w in xxs, as I am 5 feet tall with 28 inch inseam. I think the XS could have worked too.

[10ch]

For reference I'm 5'8" with a 30" inseam and am riding a compact, small TCR.

[TexanCzexican]

Sizing is right on Giant's site:
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-US/...y/compactroad/

Scroll to the bottom. I just got an OCR comp w in xxs, as I am 5 feet tall with 28 inch inseam. I think the XS could have worked too.

I'm the same height & inseam and I have a OCR 3 in XS....oddly enough the OCR3w in XS felt odd to me I'm a wierdo, lol.

[kelownagirl]

One more with an ocr1. I'm 5-3" and have an XS. Feels good to me. Oh and I have two water bottles mounted on the frame.

[michelem]

I am 5'2"-ish and was fitted on an XXS compact Giant w/650 wheels. It was between that and the 44cm Specialized Ruby w/700 wheels and after months of agonizing, the Ruby won out. The fits on both felt good, but something about the Ruby just felt better - I can't put my finger on it, I just knew . . .