So, been searching for a cyclocross bike that was SS/disc/steel without much luck. Closest I've come is the '08 Salsa La Cruz, which is pricier than I want. But I ran across an '07 Bianchi Roger (SS/disc/alum) and the light weight alum w/carbon fork was just too sexy for me to want to pass on.

Here's the issue though, it's a 57cm bike and I tend to ride a 55. I'm still relatively new to biking and have always just ridden the size I've been told to. I'm wondering what, if anything, I'm giving up by grabbing a slightly too large frame (with shorter stem and seat pushed up a bit).

Some notes... the standover is about the same as most 56cm bikes, so a touch high, but not horrible. I'll be riding it primarily as a commuter with some light mountain biking in their also... if I get really ambitious I might enter the rec grade cyclocross races (though I hear disc brakes aren't allowed, so maybe not)

What are your (1) overall and (2) pubic bone heights?

Have you had a chance to ride this bike, or is it a mail order deal? You can pretty much tell if a bike is too big or too small just by setting up the saddle height and going for a ride.

IMO adjusting the cockpit by using a stem as short as 90mm or as long as 140mm is valid, but adjusting the seat fore-aft is not.

A bike that doesn't fit is no bargain.

5'8"... how should I measure the pubic bone height?

My pant inseam is 30" if that gives a feel at all.

The bike is at my LBS. My initial ride was with a long stem, the seat all the way back and a touch high. That was too big, I think the previous owner was a touch big for the frame. The position of the BB relative to the seat was notably to far in front. I moved the seat forward and down and my pedaling position was much better, but I'd say I was 3/4 up the seat rails to get to that point. Am I going to have power issues if my butt is so far forward of the back wheel?

My thought was to go back and have them put a shorter stem on it, then see how that feels... I'm going to ride a La Cruz today for comparisons sake.

30 inseam...
same story here...

I've raced a 55 cross check and it felt too big,
i'm on a 53 Axis and if feels perhaps a little too small but way better then the 55
57 would be way too big uless you've got monster long arms

55 feels about right for me, I like being a touch more stretched out over the bike.

Owned a 54 crosscheck and it felt too small, particularly in the TT. I've never been properly measured out for a bike, just told "eh, you look about this size" and handed a bike.

Found a place that might still sell all frame sizes (probably an old website though), going to see if I can find a 55cm there.

Otherwise I might try and build up a La Cruz... just was hoping to get something lined up before I started my job on Tuesday.

Geometry, for those that have a feel for these things:

http://www.bianchiusa.com/07_roger.html

The Roger appears to be a 1 year wonder, so it's tough to find in all frame sizes. But its dead sexy, I think in the 17-18lbs range... of course that'll do me little good if I can't ride it.

5'8"... how should I measure the pubic bone height?Google it.

My guess is that the 55 would be a better fit than the 57, but does your LBS have an opinion? (I think you are correct to want a second opinion, but am curious.)

I think in the 17-18lbs rangeHave you seen it on a scale that you trust?

Woah. I'm 6' and ride a 56 cross, 57 road. Me thinks the 57 would be way too big, atmo...(32 inch inseam...)

have you looked at a voodoo wazoo? sliding dropouts, a derailer hanger and it's steel :D i picked up a frame and fork from bikeman.com and built up a sweet ride. love the feel of a steel frame... '96 was the last time i rode steel.


rider

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You need to have your shop help you with this, buying the wrong size frame is never, ever a good idea.

You need to have your shop help you with this, buying the wrong size frame is never, ever a good idea.

good advice. typically go down 2cm from what you would ride if you had a true road bike. but definitely consult your lbs.


rider

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I had to buy from a distance, so I brought the print outs of the website geometry charts of a few contenders into my LBS and discussed fit, purpose, needs and price. I then placed my order and it all came together. I am outside the US, so it wasn't as easy as it should be for you. I was afraid the Salsa would be too tall or long, but with my builder's confidence I bought it and love it. Even after it was all together I had some doubts until I settled in and put a few miles behind me. The measurements didn't lie. Kinda like when you chew on one side of your mouth for too long and then switch... at first it feels strange, but then totally natural.

No... I was told 17-18 was the ballpark and my perception backs that up (relative to the geared La Cruz that I weighed today @ 23 lbs)

I haven't looked at it yet, but I may... in the process of chatting them up about a La Cruz build up.

I'm a little wary of buying any bike I can't ride first.

Turns out it didn't matter, the 57cm ended up being a shop bike that was the baby of the owner, so he's not selling.

He says he might be able to get a hold of a 55, if so I'm going with that. Otherwise I'm deciding between building up one of the following:

La Cruz
Wazoo
Las Cruces
Karate Monkey (If I want cheaper or more mtn biking oriented)

Thinking of building up as a 2x1 or something of that ilk to allow for appropriate gearing in mtn biking vs road.

Sure hope you can find a 55cm Roger - sounds like the perfect bike for you! Also, I doubt you'll be able to build something comparable for that price. If this dealer doesn't pan out, I'd call every Bianchi shop in the area to see what they got in stock. Might get lucky!

http://www.bianchiusa.com/dealers.html

Better yet, you could contact Bianchi USA directly. They should be able to tell you more about availability and if/when the Roger was discontinued (pretty sure it was only offered as an '07 model even though it's still on the '08 website).

Bianchi USA
Hayward, CA
Phone: 510-264-1001
Email: info@bianchiusa.co (info@bianchiusa.com)

Good luck!

Paul

just wanted to mention that disc brakes are most certainly legal in any cross race that isn't a UCI (elite) race... so don't let fear of that keep you away from your first cross race.

I think the LBS is a little willing to let me dig my own grave on this ;)

I may go into a diff shop and get them to size me with no input from me. I tend to like slightly longer than normal reaches it seems.

Measurements:
My pant inseam is 30".
If I hold a level between my legs with a little pushing up against my (cough) package I get 32".
Floor to pubic bone I get 33.5"

Anyone know which of those measurements I should use? Also it looks like I should be running a cyclocross bike a cm or two shorter than the road fit by what I'm reading...

i dunno about the smaller/shorter part to a cross bike. Why?

you still gotta pedal it comfortably... the fit shouldn't really be that dramatically different than the road bike, maybe with a touch higher handle bar (unless you are Treefarm, but lets not drag him through the mud again - just using it as an example).

It is sort of like saying "buy a cycling shoe one size too small" there ain't no good reasoning to back it up.

A bike should fit. Bottom line.

Three different LBSs, three different sizes.

Asked 3 shops to tell me my size today and I got 52, 54 & 56 out of them.

The 52 guy was adamant that I'd want a cross bike at that size to have proper geometry. I tried riding one and it felt like a (expensive, carbon) toy. Toe hit the wheel if the cranks were within 15 degrees of horizontal while turning, felt scrunched up and had trouble getting the power I wanted out of it. The other two shops hedged between 54 & 56, basically saying it's bike & ride preference dependent. I think I'm going to stick with a 55 if I can find it.

Rode the La Cruz at 51 & 53 (add 3) and I'm just between them I think.

Anyone know which of those measurements I should use?Well, it depends. Do you sit on your testicles, or on your pelvic bone?

deleted...

touche, sir.

Well, by 33.5" the online thing tells me a 57 is my size... but I feel like the most of the comments I've received from everyone else don't line up with that.

Edit: Ack... can't get this to respond to pretender... ah well.

My pant inseam is 30".
If I hold a level between my legs with a little pushing up against my (cough) package I get 32".
Floor to pubic bone I get 33.5"OK I was being slightly impish in my last post.

Lemond formula says ideal frame size is 33.5 x 2.54 x .67 = 57cm center-to-top for a traditional road bike (horizontal top tube).

This equates to about 55 or 56 seat tube (C-T) for a bike with semi-compact (sloping top tube) shape.

If you really want to do some measuring, go here:
http://www.zinncycles.com/FitIntro.aspx

Follow the measuring instructions very carefully, and what you'll get from the calculator is "ideal" measurements for a traditional road bike. You can directly compare the recommended top tube to the effective top tube from geometry charts, and like above use about a 1 or 2 cm fudge factor for the seat tube measurement on a semi-compact frame.

When I was shopping for a bike, the recommendations I got from the Zinn calculator were extremely close to the recommendations I got from the LBS, which used the bikefitting.com system.

Well, it depends. Do you sit on your testicles, or on your pelvic bone?
:D lmfao

OK I was being slightly impish in my last post.

Lemond formula says ideal frame size is 33.5 x 2.54 x .67 = 57cm center-to-top for a traditional road bike (horizontal top tube).

This equates to about 55 or 56 seat tube (C-T) for a bike with semi-compact (sloping top tube) shape.

If you really want to do some measuring, go here:
http://www.zinncycles.com/FitIntro.aspx

Follow the measuring instructions very carefully, and what you'll get from the calculator is "ideal" measurements for a traditional road bike. You can directly compare the recommended top tube to the effective top tube from geometry charts, and like above use about a 1 or 2 cm fudge factor for the seat tube measurement on a semi-compact frame.

When I was shopping for a bike, the recommendations I got from the Zinn calculator were extremely close to the recommendations I got from the LBS, which used the bikefitting.com system.

Impishness is encouraged... though help with the question is always nice too. Thanks this helped a lot... the results:

Seat Tube Length: 55.3
Seat Tube Center to Center: 53.6
Top Tube Length: 54.9
Bottom Bracket Height: 26.6
Stem Length: 110

So 55 it is... and just found a 55 out in CA that I'm trying to get shipped out here.

So 55 it is... and just found a 55 out in CA that I'm trying to get shipped out here.The Roger, right?

Sweetness. Looks like the 55 will be just about perfect, you can fine-tune with stem, bars, etc etc. The Roger is a really nifty bike. One thing, the stock gearing is high, even for street use but especially for off-road. I'd get a 38t ring or even smaller (if BCD is 110), and maybe even a bigger freewheel too.

The Roger, right?

Sweetness. Looks like the 55 will be just about perfect, you can fine-tune with stem, bars, etc etc. The Roger is a really nifty bike. One thing, the stock gearing is high, even for street use but especially for off-road. I'd get a 38t ring or even smaller (if BCD is 110), and maybe even a bigger freewheel too.

Yeah the Roger.... it was damn hard to find, had to contact Bianchi. The last ones shipped out in February, called all the places they shipped to and finally found one.

Thinking of converting it to a dingle and getting a set of the fattest tires that'll fit... if I want a dedicated mtn biking day just switch tires and gearing. I'll probably get two shorter gearings, though not to small, I live in MN which is flat, flat, flat.

Thinking of converting it to a dingleDo you mean fixed or free?

IMO the best way to do that is with two chainrings in front, for wider gear range, better chainline, and consistent chain length. No need for that chainguard.

That would make a pimpin' bike even pimpin'er.

It's all newish to me, I had explained to me by my LBS. Their solution was a Dingle: two chainrings in front, two in back (on a freewheel I think) with the same chain length but different gearing ratios. Something like 17/19 & 42/39.

I was considering just running two in front, but the Roger doesn't have a derailleur hanger so there's nowhere to put a tensioner except the chainstay. According to the LBS the chainstay tensioners can't cover that much change.

Do you have another suggestion? I'm very open to them... basically looking for anything that gives me a good off and on road gear length.

It's all newish to me, I had explained to me by my LBS. Their solution was a Dingle: two chainrings in front, two in back (on a freewheel I think) with the same chain length but different gearing ratios. Something like 17/19 & 42/39.

I was considering just running two in front, but the Roger doesn't have a derailleur hanger so there's nowhere to put a tensioner except the chainstay. According to the LBS the chainstay tensioners can't cover that much change.

Do you have another suggestion? I'm very open to them... basically looking for anything that gives me a good off and on road gear length.Here (http://www.stat.ucla.edu/~erickson/dingle/) is a review that explains the concept, but with fixed instead of free. The tooth-difference for the chainrings has to be the same as the tooth-difference for the cogs. If it were me, I'd go with the White Industries 17/19 freewheel, and use 40 and 38 chainrings. 40:17 is very useable for roads, and 38:19 is a nice 2:1 ratio for off-road. You don't need a chain tensioner or tug.

P.S. Wait a sec. I don't know what kind of hub comes with the Roger. It might come with a freehub, in which case the White Industries freewheel wouldn't work. I think you could simply put on two different sprockets and fiddle with spacers if it were a freehub.

http://www.bianchiusa.com/07_roger.html

Wheels: WTB Single-Duty, SX24 wheelkit

EDIT: so... yeah, a freehub

OK looks like a freehub deal. I think you'd be able to simply put a second sprocket on the freehub, but don't take my word on it.