Can I ride the Wilier Medium bike?



debzvee

New Member
Jul 24, 2010
6
0
0
Hello,

I am a 5'7" woman and can get a great deal on a Medium Wilier 2006 mens bike. Trouble is that it is in another county! I have spoken to a local Wilier dealer who seems to think I would fit nicely on a medium, of the latest models. I want a Wilier bike but their female bike is a little too expensive for me. Has Wilier always had the same geometry from 2006 until now or has anything changed? IF it is the same then I think I would feel confident to go for it.

Can anyone give me some advice on whether i'd be ok on the Medium?

Thanks so much!!
Debs
 
Chris,

Whenever I hear people ask "will I fit a medium" or "will size 56 be ok" I get a little nervous for them. There is so much more to ensuring you are on the exact correct size/geometry frame. I will tell you from experience that buying a bike that later turns out to be the wrong size/geometry really sucks.

Riding a bike that is the perfect size/geometry is a lot more fun than riding one that is not. I wouldn't buy this bike unless you were certain that the top tube length, seat tube angle and head tube length will allow you to set it up perfectly for your body. I should say set up perfectly without having to resort to super long\short or high rise stems or excessive steerer spacers or saddle shoved all the way forward etc. etc.
 
Hi,

Thanks for your reply. It would be great to know all that stuff that you talk of, but unfortunately I am not furnished the experience to know the correct geometry to suit my body. I would rely on people in the shop and whatever research I can do on the internet. I tried it - it semed to fit ok and they said it looked about right, so I bought it as it was a bargain! hopefully that knowledge will come.

Thanks
Debs
 
If you came into my shop I would try fitting a 52-54 cm bike women's bike to you. I'm leaning toward the 54, but without seeing you, well, you never know.

It looks like Willier uses one geometry for all men's road bikes, and the men's medium is identical to a medium Mimosa. Except for a shorter head tube, this geometry is quite close to a 54 cm WSD Trek. So presumably, the only differences between a medium Mimosa and a medium Izoard are the graphics and the fit components--saddle, handlebar, and stem.

So, if you are comfortable on a medium Mimosa, or you believe you could be comfortable on a 54 cm WSD Trek with a shorter head tube (by 2.5 cm), and you understand that you might end up swapping out the saddle, handlebar, and stem on the men's Willier, there's a very good probability you will be happy with it.
 
oldbobcat said:
If you came into my shop I would try fitting a 52-54 cm bike women's bike to you. I'm leaning toward the 54, but without seeing you, well, you never know.

It looks like Willier uses one geometry for all men's road bikes, and the men's medium is identical to a medium Mimosa. Except for a shorter head tube, this geometry is quite close to a 54 cm WSD Trek. So presumably, the only differences between a medium Mimosa and a medium Izoard are the graphics and the fit components--saddle, handlebar, and stem.

So, if you are comfortable on a medium Mimosa, or you believe you could be comfortable on a 54 cm WSD Trek with a shorter head tube (by 2.5 cm), and you understand that you might end up swapping out the saddle, handlebar, and stem on the men's Willier, there's a very good probability you will be happy with it.

Hello, Thanks for your thoughts on this! I bought the bike, and its wonderful after riding a budget bike to see if racing bikes agree with me and whether i agree with them. I do get sore thumbs around the joing area when riding on the hoods, much the same as I did with the budget bike, but this wore off - maybe it will with this bike too. Could this be a stem length issue? If anything I feel maybe it could be closer as I only have a small bend at the elbow.

Any insights appreciated as You sound like you know a bit about geometry!

Thanks
Debs
 
debzvee said:
I do get sore thumbs around the joing area when riding on the hoods, much the same as I did with the budget bike, but this wore off - maybe it will with this bike too. Could this be a stem length issue? If anything I feel maybe it could be closer as I only have a small bend at the elbow.

Any insights appreciated as You sound like you know a bit about geometry!

Thanks
Debs

Da nada, Debs, and you have to tell us which Willier model you bought. A Cento Uno or a lightly used Le Roi would be the only bikes that would make me consider giving up my Giant.

Anyway, yes, your sore thumbs could be caused by a stem that is too long or a handlebar that is too wide. My guide for roughing in a road bike fit is to (a) level the saddle and position it so your center of gravity is over your feet when bent at the hips in your riding position; you should be able to support your upper body with just your back muscles without the sensation of imminent faceplant. (b) the stem length is correct when your upper arm forms a 90-95 degree angle with your back when your hands are over the brake hoods.

The correct handlebar width is based mostly on the rider's shoulder width and secondarily on personal preference. Most riders are using slightly wider bars than they would have ten years ago. That said, unless you have unusually broad shoulders for a 5'7" woman, a bar that measures more than 40 cm center-to-center is probably too wide.

My estimations on fitting just come from years (decades) of riding, observing how expert riders sit on their bikes, comparing geometry charts, and reading what the experts have to say. These articles, http://www.cyclefitcentre.com/pdf%20final%20docs/foundations_of_positioning.pdf and http://www.cyclefitcentre.com/pdf%20final%20docs/backyard%20positioning_julu_aug_2004.pdf, by Steve Hogg of the Cycle Fit Centre in Sydney, Australia, really crystallized my thoughts about fit.
 
Oh I love it when things get technical! I have a read of that when I get home and check my set up. I am fairly narrow shouldered actually so maybe this could pose a problem with a man size handlebar. I rode home 26 miles last night and it felt pretty good - i'm sure its not perfect though because of the hand pain, so will look into this? Where are you based, anywhere near Norfolk? :)

Well after riding my budget bike for 3 months, which I actually ended up loving as it introduced me to road.racing bikes was from Decathlon - BTwin Sport 1 - full aluminium. However you can understand how amazing it is now riding the Wilier bike. I found it at Winstanley's - they had it heavily reduced prob because its a few yrs old but been sitting in their shop that long. Willier Thor Ultegra 2006, full carbon! I never thought i'd be able to afford full carbon, but at such a reduced rate suddenly it came into my sights! Its wonderful. I took this picture last night, halfway home, stopping for a Power muffin (homemade banana, date and walnut) I've been told off for the suitcase on the back..but i didn't have anything else to carry the muffin!:D What do you think?

 
debzvee said:
Oh I love it when things get technical! I have a read of that when I get home and check my set up. I am fairly narrow shouldered actually so maybe this could pose a problem with a man size handlebar.

Oh, good, after I pressed the Submit Reply button I worried that I might bore you to death. Bike fitting has always been interesting to me, though, because my own fit was problematic when I was starting out.

That's a lovely bike you got there, Debs. You shopped well.

Right off the bat, though, I can make two recommendations. First, level the saddle. You're probably straining your hands, wrists, and forearms just trying to keep yourself from sliding off the nose. Second, unless you have "monkey arms," look into getting a more compact bar, something with less reach and drop. Some bends that might work for you are the 3T Ergosum, the Ritchey WCS Curve, and the WSD bends by Bontrager (Trek) and Specialized. Your local shop can help with your selection.

I'm near Boulder, Colorado, where all good cyclists end up even if just for a week, so message me if you're in the neighborhood.
 
oldbobcat said:
Oh, good, after I pressed the Submit Reply button I worried that I might bore you to death. Bike fitting has always been interesting to me, though, because my own fit was problematic when I was starting out.

That's a lovely bike you got there, Debs. You shopped well.

Right off the bat, though, I can make two recommendations. First, level the saddle. You're probably straining your hands, wrists, and forearms just trying to keep yourself from sliding off the nose. Second, unless you have "monkey arms," look into getting a more compact bar, something with less reach and drop. Some bends that might work for you are the 3T Ergosum, the Ritchey WCS Curve, and the WSD bends by Bontrager (Trek) and Specialized. Your local shop can help with your selection.

I'm near Boulder, Colorado, where all good cyclists end up even if just for a week, so message me if you're in the neighborhood.

It looks like she has her saddle all the way forward on the rails too. Was this done to address the reach issue?
 
oldbobcat said:
Oh, good, after I pressed the Submit Reply button I worried that I might bore you to death. Bike fitting has always been interesting to me, though, because my own fit was problematic when I was starting out.

That's a lovely bike you got there, Debs. You shopped well.

Right off the bat, though, I can make two recommendations. First, level the saddle. You're probably straining your hands, wrists, and forearms just trying to keep yourself from sliding off the nose. Second, unless you have "monkey arms," look into getting a more compact bar, something with less reach and drop. Some bends that might work for you are the 3T Ergosum, the Ritchey WCS Curve, and the WSD bends by Bontrager (Trek) and Specialized. Your local shop can help with your selection.

I'm near Boulder, Colorado, where all good cyclists end up even if just for a week, so message me if you're in the neighborhood.

It looks like she has her saddle all the way forward on the rails too. Was this done to address the reach issue?
 
oldbobcat said:
Oh, good, after I pressed the Submit Reply button I worried that I might bore you to death. Bike fitting has always been interesting to me, though, because my own fit was problematic when I was starting out.

That's a lovely bike you got there, Debs. You shopped well.

Right off the bat, though, I can make two recommendations. First, level the saddle. You're probably straining your hands, wrists, and forearms just trying to keep yourself from sliding off the nose. Second, unless you have "monkey arms," look into getting a more compact bar, something with less reach and drop. Some bends that might work for you are the 3T Ergosum, the Ritchey WCS Curve, and the WSD bends by Bontrager (Trek) and Specialized. Your local shop can help with your selection.

I'm near Boulder, Colorado, where all good cyclists end up even if just for a week, so message me if you're in the neighborhood.

Oh I see nowhere near Norfolk! I actually mean Norfolk, UK which is even further away. Well one thing I do not have is Monkey arms - maybe I should look at those bars - i'll check out the price etc. I guess I could always sell this one on - its seems pretty cool - if you have monnkey arms :)

Very much appreciate the help - I put my seat a bit like that to stop the saddle soreness, but it has a cut out in it, so thinking about it, it does't need to be pointing down - i'm definately gonna put that back up to see if it helps.
 
Do you think that by replacing the stem (I think the one on there is 120mm) to 110mm or 100mm - would get the desired effect without the handlebars being changed? Or is it something that you would perhaps do most of. I do think the drop part of the bar on the Wilier don't come as close to me as my previous bike - and I did prefer the bar that was extended closer to me actually.

I had put the seat forward yeah, when I put it on as I thought it best to be closer than further away on my first ride.
 
debzvee said:
Do you think that by replacing the stem (I think the one on there is 120mm) to 110mm or 100mm - would get the desired effect without the handlebars being changed? Or is it something that you would perhaps do most of. I do think the drop part of the bar on the Wilier don't come as close to me as my previous bike - and I did prefer the bar that was extended closer to me actually.

I had put the seat forward yeah, when I put it on as I thought it best to be closer than further away on my first ride.

Did the shop adjust your setup? You should not need to move your saddle to adjust reach issues. As far as saddle fore/aft position there are two schools of thought. One is KOPS (google bicycle, KOPS) and the other is to set your saddle fore/aft position for optimum balance on the bike. I'm in the latter camp. Remember if you move your saddle back you will need to lower it at well in order to keep your effective saddle height the same. Once you have your saddle height and fore/aft dialed in you can address your reach issue. Hopefully that is in fact a 12cm stem as that will allow you to go down a size or two and not have to resort to something really short in order to get your reach correct.

It sounds like the position this bikes puts you in is new to you and as such you will need to get some miles in before you can truly assess what changes you need to make as you adjust your way to a good setup.
Another component of comfort is using good technique on the bike. That means assuming the proper upper body position (flat back, pedaling technique, etc)

Lastly not all saddles will be comfortable for you. Sometimes you need to experiment in order to find a saddle that is comfortable.

some light reading:
Keith Bontrager on The Myth of K.O.P.S.

How to Fit a Bicycle
 
rich88 said:
You should not need to move your saddle to adjust reach issues. As far as saddle fore/aft position there are two schools of thought. One is KOPS (google bicycle, KOPS) and the other is to set your saddle fore/aft position for optimum balance on the bike. I'm in the latter camp.
Peter White is another of my positive influences in fitting. I think I asserted in another thread that while Hogg and White arrive at similar conclusions, White's approach is to attain balance while Hogg's is about reducing effort and preventing pain and injury.

But, yeah, the saddle should be positioned for balance and the bar and stem should be sized for wherever the hands want to be after the saddle is positioned. And, yeah, that stem does look long now that you mention it.

Debs, you have a combination of a rather long stem and a handlebar with long reach and deep drop. The stem needs to be fitted for the reach of the handlebar, so I recommend replacing the bar first and seeing where that puts you with the existing stem, or working with a fitter and estimating a combination of bar and stem from manufacturer's specs (reach, drop, and width). You will be infinitely more comfortable on this bike after getting the bar and stem resolved.
 

Similar threads