You can say, then, that the average American bike buyer uses all of the intelligence that a teenage boy does in thinking about sex--they both make their decisions based on fantasizing over pictures in magazines. David Feldman
> Hi all.
>
> I've had a lot of success with the Riv approach to fitting. I purchased
> an Atlantis from Dale a few months back. The frame is 53cm ct. I can
> get the bars almost level with the seat using a Cinelli XA stem. I've
> got plenty of standover and the top tube length allows me to run a stem
> of size of 10-11cm.
>
> Using conventional frames I can also get the bars level with the top
> tube, but in order to do so I need to make compromises and/or
> adjustments. Generally, I need a frame with a standover of circa 82cm,
> which translates into a frame size of around 55cm c-c. My inner leg
> length with tennis shoes is almost 84cm -- with cleats, around 83cm.
> Hence, on all of the road frames I currently own, I "touch" the top tube
> when I'm standing over the bike. I can deal with this, but it's not my
> favorite feeling. With the larger frame sizes I also run into a problem
> with the top tube length. My lumbar spine is not particuraly flexible,
> and so I to shoot for a top tube length of around 54cm. But 55*54 is not
> an easy combo to find. I normally end up with a 55*55 or a 55*56, and
> thus have to run a stem of 8-9cm. Again, this is doable and I do it, but
> I don't feel like I've got the right amount of weight on the front of the
> bike with an 8 or a 9.
>
> I do think that there is a tendency in American shops at least to fit
> individuals to a smaller frame -- a tendency reinforced by fitting
> methods like "Fit Kit". When I get sized up in a regular bike shop,
> I'm told that I should be on a 53cm ct w/ a circa 54cm top tube. I've
> been fit using "Fit Kit", and the results suggest approximately the same
> dimensions. This size works fine around the block, but on a 40-50 mile
> ride on such a bike I would need to get off several times to stretch my
> bike; afterwards I would require plenty of aspirin and at least one visit
> to my local massage therapist.
>
> An argument has been made that people are going to buy the bike that
> works for them, and that, therefore, no "conspiracy" about sizing could
> persist. I don't agree. I've worked at a shop and sold lots of
> individuals bikes which I would look back on now and say were way too
> small. My co-workers did the same; and when I go into shops now, I see
> it, too. How does it work? Simple. First, you yourself believe that
> sizing small is good. You've been told that by your friends at the
> club, by the sizing methods, by the mags, etc. You are a partisan,
> and you want what's best for your customers -- small. Second, it is
> easy to sell people stuff which they have seen written up in magazines,
and
> what they see written up in magazines is generally the stuff that racers
use.
> Third, test rides are very short. There is no way that you're going to
get a
> sense of what works in 1-2 miles; unless the fit of the bike is
> absolutely atrocious, there is little chance that you'll experience
> anything more that a buttocks alert from the saddle (what most people
> complain about on short rides, color of the bike excepted). Third, most
> people don't ride a lot before they come into the shop and therefore have
> little sense of what works for them and what doesn't. Finally, most
> people don't actually ride their bike much once they buy it. Heck, where
> I worked a lot of people didn't even bring their bikes back for the free
> tune-ups we offered.
>
> Jon Cowden
> Ithaca, NY