New bike fit concern

[Eden]

I think for the reasons that a few people mentioned that it does look a bit big - all of the problems would probably be fixable on that frame *but* might not be an issue at all on the smaller one....

I'll admit that it doesn't look *nearly* as big as I thought it would. Glancing at the geometry on Trek's web site, I can see why.... I'm not sure why they called it a 50. Their 47 is more like a 44 and their 50 is more like a 47 from other manufacturers. I can sit and look OK on a 47 - heck I can ride a 47 and be perfectly OK until I hit steep terrain or long distances.

I'll agree with Oak, it really looks like the crank is too long - you shouldn't be pointing your toes at the bottom of the stroke. That will become uncomfortable and tiring pretty quickly, not to mention isn't good for your knees. I do think your arms look too straight. The question is *can* you bend your elbows vs are you just not accustomed to doing it. You should be able to reach your handle bars (in both positions) without pulling your shoulders forward or locking your elbows, both of which it looks like you might be doing, but that could just be newbie jitters too - a lot of new riders put the handlebars in a death grip at first and that causes the same things. Test it out - see if you can reach and ride with loose arms - about a 15 degree bend in your elbows I think and shoulders relaxed. If it's hard to do while moving have someone hold the bike while you experiment.

As far as saddle height and saddle position goes - some rough guidelines - with the pedal all the way at the bottom of the pedal stroke, put your heel on the pedal your leg should be straight, put your foot in the toe clips, you should have a very slight bend in your knee. Move your saddle forwards or backwards to put the front of your knee over the pedal spindle when the pedals are at 3 and 9 o'clock.

Now both of these problems can be solved with parts swaps (change the crank, change the stem) *but* they may be correct in the first place on the smaller frame (the littlest frames sometimes do come with 165's - my Specialized did). Another thing.... if you get shorter cranks that might necessitate moving your saddle back to get a correct knee over pedal position, which means the reach will be a bit longer and it really doesn't look like you could go longer than you are right now - and going shorter and shorter on the stem to make a too big frame fit isn't ideal - better to have the bike that fits in the first place.