Sizing Down Necessary?

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KWalker
Posts: 5722
Joined: Mon Dec 28, 2009 8:30 pm
Location: Bay Area

by KWalker

I currently ride a size 58 Super Six Evo. My saddle is 790mm high and I run a -8 Deda 120mm stem with Rotundos for ~13 cm drop to the hoods (and yes, I can ride an entire crit in my drops juuuust fine- I'm 6 feet 2 with long arms).

I want to switch from the Rotundos to something without as severe of a downward ramp to the hoods. Doing so means I also lose the 20mm of drop from the bar tops to levers, effectively bringing everything up 20mm.

In order to compensate I'd have to either run a -17 110 or 120mm stem depending on the rear of the bars.

At the same time I can size down to a 56 and get that 20mm and not have to resort to a zany stem, but I also worry about the decrease in wheelbase, decrease in front center, and overall stability. The 56 also reduces reach by about 15mm as a combo of the shorter TT and slacker HTA thus requiring a 130 or 140 stem to get the necessary reach, but with reduced handling.

In real life, would it be that substantial of a difference in handling to either make it a bad idea or make it worth it?
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planetect
Posts: 32
Joined: Sun May 04, 2008 7:40 am
Location: Portland, OR, USA

by planetect

Hi,
At 6'-2" a 56cm frame is just too small. It is. Are you are prepared to run a 140 stem? I don't recommend it, and I don't believe Mark above does either. You know it won't handle as well. So what is wrong with 11 cm of drop? You will still be plenty low when in the drops for racing.

JackDaniels
Posts: 110
Joined: Tue Oct 04, 2011 5:15 am

by JackDaniels

I'm 6'2". I have a 56 with a -6 degree 130mm stem. A 58cm frame with a -12 degree stem and a wilier XL (60cm?) with a -17 degree stem. I don't find that the 56 handles worse than the larger frames and in fact I like it better for crits.

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