Fit Question (long-ish)

[Biciclista]

of course we're all different, but if you can get on your son's bike and ride it, get on it and ride it! How does it feel? go from there.

[Becky]

My first thought is that at 5'8" and with a ~32" inseam, you're probably not super short-torsoed, so you may not need WSD. My second thought is that a 56cm TT sounds really long if in fact you need ~53cm or so.

Can you ride some road bikes with ~56cm top tubes before you venture down the path of your son's outgrown frame?

[jcc]

We decided to build up the bike this afternoon to see if it fits, and it does!
The only thing we had to buy is new cables and housing, since he had a brand new ultegra group and other various parts laying around the house.
I will be purchasing a new wheel set and most definitely a new saddle, but other than that it's finished! I rode it around for a while and it feels great.

As soon as I figure out how to attach a picture I will.

[Jiffer]

Awesome! I am 5'9" and don't ride a WSD bike. The main difference for me was getting compact handlebars. Not women specific, but definitely better for women or any man who doesn't have big hands. I can shift and brake much better with these than the ones I had before, which were hand me downs from dh, much like yours hand me downs from your son.

My husband, who is also 5'9", which is not tall for a man, decided he also liked my handlebars and switched to the same ones.

The only other big piece of advice is get a professional bike fit, which you probably already know if your son is a Cat 2. It can make all the difference in the world to have the right fit, and if your bike is potentially not quite the right size for you, a good bike fitter can make the right adjustments to get it as close as possible.

Good luck on your new riding career. Haha! I'm 41 by the way.