Take Margie Goldstein, who probably stands around 4'11'' and rides horses who are...well...big:
Then there was my first boss, Chris Kappler, who is very very tall. He makes any horse under him look teeny tiny:
Long story short: size doesn't matter.
In cycling, size is (almost) everything.
If your bike fit is off by even millimeters, fugehtaboudit. Standover height, seat height, and top tube length all work together to form YOUR bike fit, which is yours alone. Even the various sizes are differ only by centimeters. A 49 is and never will be a 52, and you can't finagle or fudge something that simply won't fit.
Case In Point #1:
Before my store's Super Sale, I had been lusting over an 09 Tarmac Elite that for some reason has never sold. It's a gorgeous blue/carbon color scheme, equipped with 105, and just looks freaking sexy. In a fit of impulsiveness (me? Impuslive?), I decided to buy it. A 52, it would fit! I knew it would! So what if the top tube was 53.75 cms? That was only, what, 2 cms longer than my current bikes. No problem!
I snuck to the back (shhh!) and swapped out my seats, computers, pedals, etc, and imagined my first amazing ride on it.
That's when Charles, the expert who did my bike fit and has forgotten more about bike fitting than I will ever learn, takes one look and says, "You can't ride that bike. It's too big for you."
Damn. I finagled and moaned and ultimately caved. Swapping everything back, I placed the Blue Tarmac back in its slot on the carousel, and said goodbye.
Case In Point #2:
My blown out knee, literally done in by wrong measurements.
Case In Point #3:
Any adjustment made to your bike fit is best done in mms. That's right, not even cms. MILLI-meters. And even then your body is going to be whacked out after the first ride or two with the new position.
Case In Point #4:
The correct seat height means that your feet, on a road bike, shouldn't really be able to touch the ground. If it's even a smidge too low...well...read Case In Point # 2
That's one of the awesome things about cycling: the precision that goes into everything. That's why good bike fittings cost about 200$, and are WORTH 200$ also. Yes, you can get on and futz with it yourself, but just be prepared to face the consequences.
::hand raise:: Case In Point
In cycling, size is (almost) everything.
If your bike fit is off by even millimeters, fugehtaboudit. Standover height, seat height, and top tube length all work together to form YOUR bike fit, which is yours alone. Even the various sizes are differ only by centimeters. A 49 is and never will be a 52, and you can't finagle or fudge something that simply won't fit.
Case In Point #1:
Before my store's Super Sale, I had been lusting over an 09 Tarmac Elite that for some reason has never sold. It's a gorgeous blue/carbon color scheme, equipped with 105, and just looks freaking sexy. In a fit of impulsiveness (me? Impuslive?), I decided to buy it. A 52, it would fit! I knew it would! So what if the top tube was 53.75 cms? That was only, what, 2 cms longer than my current bikes. No problem!
I snuck to the back (shhh!) and swapped out my seats, computers, pedals, etc, and imagined my first amazing ride on it.
That's when Charles, the expert who did my bike fit and has forgotten more about bike fitting than I will ever learn, takes one look and says, "You can't ride that bike. It's too big for you."
Damn. I finagled and moaned and ultimately caved. Swapping everything back, I placed the Blue Tarmac back in its slot on the carousel, and said goodbye.
Case In Point #2:
My blown out knee, literally done in by wrong measurements.
Case In Point #3:
Any adjustment made to your bike fit is best done in mms. That's right, not even cms. MILLI-meters. And even then your body is going to be whacked out after the first ride or two with the new position.
Case In Point #4:
The correct seat height means that your feet, on a road bike, shouldn't really be able to touch the ground. If it's even a smidge too low...well...read Case In Point # 2
That's one of the awesome things about cycling: the precision that goes into everything. That's why good bike fittings cost about 200$, and are WORTH 200$ also. Yes, you can get on and futz with it yourself, but just be prepared to face the consequences.
::hand raise:: Case In Point
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