Help buying bike, geometry charts...

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eyedrop
Posts: 107
Joined: Wed Jan 27, 2016 5:33 am
Location: Prescott, AZ

by eyedrop

OP here! So Ive got an appointment to do the Retul bike fit at a shop called "McDowell Mountain Cycles" in Fountain Hills, AZ using the adjustable Retul Muve! Their website says they use a frame finder program to select the proper bike for you. I did a little research, and the frame finder program only searches for Specialized brand bicycles since that is who owns Retul.

Is it possible to just give you guys the "fit coordinates" and find a bike that way? I dont want to limit myself to just Specialized...

Ill make sure to get:
Saddle Height
Saddle fore-aft
Cockpit
Handlebar elevation
Drop & reach

And the Retul stationary bikes:
Stem length & Pitch
Crank Length
Saddle model
# of spacers and height of spacers

I hope to find a bike that works perfect. I also want to know my optimal frame geometry in case I go custom. Will I be able to do that with these numbers?

I would really like to be able to understand frame geometries without having to input numbers into a frame finder program. Im really interested in bikes like Ribble, Dolan, PlanetX etc..., where I can build the bike up with my choice of components, rather than having to swap out parts off of some pre built bike.

Anything else I should consider asking the fitter? I really appreciate your time guys... This forum is awesome!

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Birdman
Posts: 283
Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2015 4:03 pm
Location: Chicago, IL, USA

by Birdman

Confirm it with your fitter see if it is really Specialized only. Finding the perfect bike should be a big part of the fitting, and it shouldn't be limited by brand. Otherwise what's the point. Unless you got a good deal on the fitting.

My fitter used the Guru system, seems similar to the Retul. My fitter's Guru system has a huge database of frame geometry built in. Once the fitting session was completed, I asked my fitter to virtual fit me on a list of bikes I was interested in, and most of them are not sold by that LBS. My fitter went through each requests and gave me honest advise.

I don't feel bad asking the fitter to virtual fit me on bikes he does not carry, since the fitting session cost me nearly $300 USD (worth every penny!) And I was determined to learn everything that I possibly could from him. He was super patient, we went over the 3 hr limit and he didn't say a word.

Bottom line, find the right fitter for your situation. Negotiate all the details up front so both parties know what to expect.

One last thing. One of the main goal of my fitting session was to find the perfect saddle. The reality is that each store can only fit you what they have on hand. If I were to do the fitting again, I would bring a few of my own that I think might work for me and ask the fitter to fit me on those in addition to the ones they sell.
Cervelo R3 MUD ~ viewtopic.php?f=10&t=136544
Specialized Allez Gold ~ viewtopic.php?f=10&t=134419

grover
Posts: 1302
Joined: Mon Jul 26, 2004 1:06 pm

by grover

The Retul frame finder database has many more than just Specialized. It may be that the store you're using only stores the Specialized data as that's what they sell. Ideally you'd find someone that is less biased in their advice. If that's not possible however then the main thing is to get the stack and reach of the frame size you were fitted to. From there you can compare to any frame and know which size of a particular brand/model to buy. If it's slightly different in stack/reach then you adapt the stem/spacers to replicate the handlebar position.

cyclenutnz
Posts: 854
Joined: Tue Jul 18, 2006 5:18 am
Location: Cambridge, New Zealand
Contact:

by cyclenutnz

@grover - Retul deleted all the non-Specialized bikes off framefinder.

@eyedrop - make sure you get the handlebar XY measurement. And the specs of the bars that are used (drop and reach). With that info we can compare complete solutions, Frame reach/stack is only part of the story.

wingguy
Posts: 4318
Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2012 11:43 pm

by wingguy

As above, the handlebar XY (the position of the bar in space measured horizontally and vertically from the BB) is the most important part of the fit, it is almost always the main factor that will determine which bikes do and don't fit.

Also, if you're paying them for a bike fit but they can't / won't relate the measurements to other bike brands than their own that's a pretty poor show, IMO. You should be paying for a service that benefits you, not one that benefits them.

eyedrop
Posts: 107
Joined: Wed Jan 27, 2016 5:33 am
Location: Prescott, AZ

by eyedrop

Got the fit done! The fitter Jake seemed highly knowledgeable and my experience overall was great! The whole thing only cost me $150 which is totally worth it IMO.

Here are the measurements we got at the end of the day:

Saddle Height: 670 mm
Saddle Setback: -69 mm
Saddle Angle: -4 degrees
Eff. Seat Tube Angle: 72 degrees
Grip Angle: 14 degrees
Frame Stack: 503 mm
Frame Reach: 376 mm
Handlebar Reach: 531 mm
Handlebar Drop: -67 mm
Grip Reach: 646 mm
Grip Drop: -52 mm
Bar Reach: 59 mm
Grip Width: 40 mm
BB to Grip Reach: 577 mm
Handlebar Stack: 554 mm
Handlebar Reach : 462 mm

Stem: -6 degrees x 100 mm
Spacer Stack: 10 mm
Crank Length: 170 mm
Pedals: Shimano SPD XTR-980
Saddle: ISM Adamo Attack
Bars: Bontrager 85/125
Shoes: Shimano XC61

After we got these measurements, he said said I shouldn't have to go custom. We looked at Trek, Cannondale, Felt, Specialized, and Giant aluminum frame geometry. He recommended the 50cm Emonda ALR 4 or ALR 5 with a stem swap and a setback seatpost. Same story for CAAD12, geometry's were very similar to Trek. He also suggested the 48cm Felt F4.

We tried looking at the Ribble 7005 ultralight. They didnt have a stack and reach measurment so he tried using a calculator but couldnt because the geometry sheet was missing some sort of fork measurement.

He only sells Trek Bicycles and Scott and said if I buy from him, he will do a free fitting as well as a free stem, seatpost, and cassette swap (provided the parts are the same or lesser value). He is also a Stages power meter dealer. So I can essentially get everything done in one shot if I go that route. He said he I could buy from someone else but no free fitting or parts swap.

What do y'all think I should do?

AJS914
Posts: 5397
Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2014 6:52 pm

by AJS914

Overall, if you trust this shop, it sounds like you should work with them.

If you've been riding/racing for a few years now, what are you riding now? Did he adjust your current bike with this fit.

cyclenutnz
Posts: 854
Joined: Tue Jul 18, 2006 5:18 am
Location: Cambridge, New Zealand
Contact:

by cyclenutnz

Emonda AlR would be totally slammed -17deg stem and a 3mm topcap
No room to adapt position at all. The results below don't show it as it fell outside the tolerance range.
CAAD10 geo 1mm different from CAAD12 in that size (CAAD12 not in the system yet).
Included Planet-X and Kinesis in search as they have good alloy frames - no matches. Search tolerance 6mm - not much point going for a pro fit and then matching loosely.
The ribble would require lots of spacers on the XS or a pretty good fit on the S with a 100m stem



eyedrop.PNG


I'd note that the bontrager bars used are long reach - there is 10mm that could go on the stem or frame reach
Which would then give you options from Kinesis (Aithein 47) or Fuji (roubaix S)

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