Buying a new bike, what size...this is easy

[MountainPro]

I went for a 53cm frame but its not because i dont trust your advice. I tried out a 53cm Fausto Coppi bike that a work collegue has and it fitted perfectly. The mail order company said they will change the bike no problem if have ordered the wrong size as long as i dont take it for a ride outdoors. So whether its a 55 or a 53 that i take i will eventually get the right size.

I dont know if it is a semi sloping frame, the description on the site didnt specify but it looks like it is. The full description is on www.bianchi.it but i dont speak Italian.

So Scott, your loaner bike, its not that nice Eddy Merckx on your blog site is it?

Cable pull with the inside lever, cable release with the little thumb thingy

What size frame did you wind up getting? It's important to know whether or not you took my last bit of advice. Is that a semi-sloping frame? If so you can err on the large side.

Road bike cranks are usually shorter than MTB cranks for the same person - 170mm would be the conventional choice for guys your height, 172.5 wouldn't be too big. Spinners tend to like 'em a little shorter, big gear mashers a little longer.

 

[DiabloScott]

So Scott, your loaner bike, its not that nice Eddy Merckx on your blog site is it?

Yup -

Unless you want to ride the fixie or the urbanized MTB. I don't lend the Klein to anybody.

 

[lwedge]

So i have ordered it. Its a different bike that the one i showed earlier. Its a Bianchi Via Nirone Campy Xenon in 2005 Liquigas/Bianch team colours.

The rear stays and forks are carbon and the rest of the bike is alu. Should be a fun Christmas...

here it is...

finally i join the road bike squad...

Nice look'n bike MP. Very good components and a semi-compact frame (not as drastic as Giant's frames) should be a fast one. You won't be able to sleep for a night or two once you get it home and pity the man who scratches the paint....

Lw

 

[MountainPro]

So i have ordered it....

jeez, why does time tick by slow slowly??!!!!!

dum de dum...

nice weather we're having...

oh look, there's one of those things...

dum de dum dum...






hurry up you bastards and post my bike....!!!!

 

[Cod]

jeez, why does time tick by slow slowly??!!!!!


hurry up you bastards and post my bike....!!!!

Which shifters did go go for, Campy or Shimano? Are pedals included in the price? The pedals in the pctures look like Look rather than SPD, but you can easily change them to suit your MTB shoes.

These questions are just a ploy to keep you distracted while you're waiting for Postman Pat.

Best of luck with the bike, you won't believe the speed when you get out there!!

 

[Cannibal2]

I went for a 53cm frame but its not because i dont trust your advice. I tried out a 53cm Fausto Coppi bike that a work collegue has and it fitted perfectly. The mail order company said they will change the bike no problem if have ordered the wrong size as long as i dont take it for a ride outdoors. So whether its a 55 or a 53 that i take i will eventually get the right size.

I dont know if it is a semi sloping frame, the description on the site didnt specify but it looks like it is. The full description is on www.bianchi.it but i dont speak Italian.

So Scott, your loaner bike, its not that nice Eddy Merckx on your blog site is it?

Hey, althought I'm not a campy fan, I hope you went with campy for Sora sucks...Nice ride there mate, welcome.

 

[MountainPro]

Hi Cod, they are Campy shifters and my mtb shoes are spd compatible so i am assuming they'll fit the ones on the bike which are 'VP-R70 clipless pedals'

this is a link to it here...are these spd compatible?
http://www.deanwoods.com.au/store/prod429.htm

fanx

MP

Which shifters did go go for, Campy or Shimano? Are pedals included in the price? The pedals in the pctures look like Look rather than SPD, but you can easily change them to suit your MTB shoes.

These questions are just a ploy to keep you distracted while you're waiting for Postman Pat.

Best of luck with the bike, you won't believe the speed when you get out there!!

 

[MountainPro]

Hey, althought I'm not a campy fan, I hope you went with campy for Sora sucks...Nice ride there mate, welcome.

being an mtb rider, i have had no end of grief from shimano, i found thier cheaper components last a lot longer that their XT or XTR range..

there is another Banchi bike there with a Veloce/Mirage mix group and better pedals and stuff for the same price. Its a cheaper frame though. I hope i made the tight choice in buying a better frame and cheaper bits. These can always be upgraded later. right?

 

[Cod]

'VP-R70 clipless pedals' are only compatible with Look style cleats: your shoes may be able to take either but its a hassle changing over.

As SPD are more associated with MTBs and Look with Roads bikes, shoes tend to be designed to take one type of cleat or the other. There are three threaded holes in Look compatible soles. (sheer poetry..)

Probably your best bet is to put a pair of SPD pedals on the new bike and use the same shoes, that's what I did originally. I kept the Look pedals and then bought new Road shoes this summer and I only use those for the Road bike.

I think you made the right choice with the frame: it's easy to upgrade later to 105 bits and bobs if you need to.
Bestof luck, hope the forecast is good for next week!

 

[Cannibal2]

being an mtb rider, i have had no end of grief from shimano, i found thier cheaper components last a lot longer that their XT or XTR range..

there is another Banchi bike there with a Veloce/Mirage mix group and better pedals and stuff for the same price. Its a cheaper frame though. I hope i made the tight choice in buying a better frame and cheaper bits. These can always be upgraded later. right?

You made the right choice. I currently have 105 components and they have served me well. I just wanted to pass on that I have heard nothing but bad news with Sora. Plus you can’t shift from the drops with Sora, another drawback due to the plastic thumb shifting mechanism. I almost went your route and purchased a superior frame with Sora with the same intention to replace the components later until I cam across a superior frame with mediocre components. Good luck on your purchase. Is this an early Christmas present for you?

 

[jhuskey]

MP: Visualizing you on a road machine in comparison to the MTB I recall a conversation I heard the other day between two individuals.
They were obviously not well versed or practiced in cycling,it fact,they knew less than me.
One commented that a person sittting in an upright position with straight bars had a marked advantage over a person with those curly bars because he could get a much better breath of air.
Imagine the self restraint I had to use as to not grab him by the throat and beat some sense into him.
Oh well, my mistake!

 

[Cannibal2]

MP: Visualizing you on a road machine in comparison to the MTB I recall a conversation I heard the other day between two individuals.
They were obviously not well versed or practiced in cycling,it fact,they knew less than me.
One commented that a person sittting in an upright position with straight bars had a marked advantage over a person with those curly bars because he could get a much better breath of air.
Imagine the self restraint I had to use as to not grab him by the throat and beat some sense into him.
Oh well, my mistake!

I can identify with that. The other day, one commented that he purchased a new TV at the "electical store"...Now that is self restraint....

 

[jhuskey]

I can identify with that. The other day, one commented that he purchased a new TV at the "electical store"...Now that is self restraint....

I think I saw this movie ,it deals with extreme weather and houses blown off concrete slabs.

 

[MountainPro]

Hi Cod,

i'll take your advice and stick my spuds on the new bike, i might save up and get some look compatible shoes or i may sell the pedals on ebay

cheers mate

'VP-R70 clipless pedals' are only compatible with Look style cleats: your shoes may be able to take either but its a hassle changing over.

As SPD are more associated with MTBs and Look with Roads bikes, shoes tend to be designed to take one type of cleat or the other. There are three threaded holes in Look compatible soles. (sheer poetry..)

Probably your best bet is to put a pair of SPD pedals on the new bike and use the same shoes, that's what I did originally. I kept the Look pedals and then bought new Road shoes this summer and I only use those for the Road bike.

I think you made the right choice with the frame: it's easy to upgrade later to 105 bits and bobs if you need to.
Bestof luck, hope the forecast is good for next week!

 

[MountainPro]

i dunno, sounds like a logical argument, mind you higher up you go the thinner the air....

MP: Visualizing you on a road machine in comparison to the MTB I recall a conversation I heard the other day between two individuals.
They were obviously not well versed or practiced in cycling,it fact,they knew less than me.
One commented that a person sittting in an upright position with straight bars had a marked advantage over a person with those curly bars because he could get a much better breath of air.
Imagine the self restraint I had to use as to not grab him by the throat and beat some sense into him.
Oh well, my mistake!

 

[MountainPro]

I can identify with that. The other day, one commented that he purchased a new TV at the "electical store"...Now that is self restraint....

that was months ago...and i think you'll find it was a fridge not a TV.

 

[MountainPro]

that was months ago...and i think you'll find it was a fridge not a TV.

another day gone...still no bike...

i have even cleared a space for it in the garden shed, pre-warned the wife that she may not see much of me for a few weeks and contemplated buying some razors for my hairy legs...

easy now...

 

[jhuskey]

another day gone...still no bike...

i have even cleared a space for it in the garden shed, pre-warned the wife that she may not see much of me for a few weeks and contemplated buying some razors for my hairy legs...

easy now...

My wife would never let me shave my legs.

 

[Cannibal2]

My wife would never let me shave my legs.

Yeah neither would mine. Although I don't think she would have a problem with shaving my back though...

 

[Cannibal2]

another day gone...still no bike...

i have even cleared a space for it in the garden shed, pre-warned the wife that she may not see much of me for a few weeks and contemplated buying some razors for my hairy legs...

easy now...

Ah, just go get them waxed...