[CR]Bike fit, was Q factor

(Example: Racing:Jacques Boyer)

To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org, tsan7759142@comcast.net
From: <marcus.e.helman@gm.com>
Date: Fri, 7 Jan 2005 13:58:59 -0500
Subject: [CR]Bike fit, was Q factor

I think Tom raises an interesting question. I am getting less willing to deviate from what I think is my correct size. I have one bike that is 2cm bigger, and although I can ride it, stepping forward when I stop is something to be done with some care.

Something close to the correct relationship of feet, hands and butt can be acheived on range of different sized frames, yet some bikes seem to fit better than others.

Is it better to have a long top tube, or a long stem? You could get your hands to the same point in space either way. Ditto a long seat tube vs. long seat post.

In any case, restricting oneself to bikes that really fit does put some items in the eBay candy store off limits. I have decided that I lack the time, money and storage space to own bikes, no matter how beautiful or historically significant, that I am not prepared to ride for at least half a day.

Complicating all of this is the fact that even when a bike is advertised as 53cm ctc, it has been measured in someone's basement on Sunday evening, as the guy was composing his ad. His measurement may not have been all that accurate to begin with. I have read plenty of accounts here about bikes that were not the size their new owners expected.

Marcus Helman
Huntington Woods, MI