Cannondale size advise for rider which measure 5 feet 8 inches
Moderator: robbosmans
Hi all
I would appreciate a bit of a guidance for a Caad 12 purchase.
I will go for the Caad 12 Ultegra 8000 version with HollowGram Si w/ OPI SpideRing crankset and a set of clincher carbon wheelset in either 50 or 60mm. Down the road, I will upgrade the components and my target would be 6,8kg. for the bike ready to race.
I don’t live nearby a Cannondale authorized dealer, why I will order the bike online.
The Caad 12 share the same geometry as the SuperSix – which suits me perfect as I am interested in a race setup.
I currently ride a Focus Mares which is setup of for tarmac and gravel. It is a size medium, I run it with a inline seat post and a 100 mm. stem. Below is how the bike is setup and the size chart.
I have always thought that the Focus is a size to big a I need a farily short stem and the saddle is puched very forward in the seat post.
I am circa 5 feet 8 inches (~174cm.) whit a leg inseam of circa 2 feet 8,7 inches (~83 cm.).
I believe that I am right in between a Caad in a size 50 and a 52.
As mentioned in the above I am interested in a race setup and would prefer to run the bike in an aggressive setup with either a 10 or 17 degree stem in either 120 or 130 mm.
What would you choose?
I would appreciate a bit of a guidance for a Caad 12 purchase.
I will go for the Caad 12 Ultegra 8000 version with HollowGram Si w/ OPI SpideRing crankset and a set of clincher carbon wheelset in either 50 or 60mm. Down the road, I will upgrade the components and my target would be 6,8kg. for the bike ready to race.
I don’t live nearby a Cannondale authorized dealer, why I will order the bike online.
The Caad 12 share the same geometry as the SuperSix – which suits me perfect as I am interested in a race setup.
I currently ride a Focus Mares which is setup of for tarmac and gravel. It is a size medium, I run it with a inline seat post and a 100 mm. stem. Below is how the bike is setup and the size chart.
I have always thought that the Focus is a size to big a I need a farily short stem and the saddle is puched very forward in the seat post.
I am circa 5 feet 8 inches (~174cm.) whit a leg inseam of circa 2 feet 8,7 inches (~83 cm.).
I believe that I am right in between a Caad in a size 50 and a 52.
As mentioned in the above I am interested in a race setup and would prefer to run the bike in an aggressive setup with either a 10 or 17 degree stem in either 120 or 130 mm.
What would you choose?
I stand 5-7.5" with a 29" inseam, so my 52cm '15 Supersix EVO fits me best.
My longer torso meant using a longer stem. 120mm, if memory serves.
Friends give me crap for not much seatpost showing, but absent going custom, it works fine for me.
My longer torso meant using a longer stem. 120mm, if memory serves.
Friends give me crap for not much seatpost showing, but absent going custom, it works fine for me.
Last edited by Asteroid on Tue Jul 24, 2018 8:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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i am 5'7 with bb center to top of saddle of 705mm. I preferred a 50cm caad10 with 115mm stem and 15mm bearing cover when I had one. I had several 52cm caad10s prior to going 50cm. It really depends on your prefernce and how long legs, torso, arms u have.
+1000, I'm 171cm or ~5' 71/4" and ride a 56cm supersix (74cm saddle height I think) so height can't be taken too seriously when sizing a bike.nathanong87 wrote: ↑Tue Jul 24, 2018 5:21 pmIt really depends on your prefernce and how long legs, torso, arms u have.
There's a program/spreadsheet called Bike-Comparator which is really good for comparing frames and fiddling with stem length (but not saddle height). You need a geometry chart, but you already have those.
You can download it from here <- click
I'll have a go comparing your old bike with the caad12 just for fun and post some pics later .
If your inseam is correct then running a 50 or a 52 with a -17 will result in a huge amount of drop, way beyond just aggressive. (I never trust inseam measurements though, your actual saddle height would be a much more useful metric)Champ5000 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 23, 2018 12:24 pmI am circa 5 feet 8 inches (~174cm.) whit a leg inseam of circa 2 feet 8,7 inches (~83 cm.).
I believe that I am right in between a Caad in a size 50 and a 52.
As mentioned in the above I am interested in a race setup and would prefer to run the bike in an aggressive setup with either a 10 or 17 degree stem in either 120 or 130 mm.
It also doesn't really make sense to target a 120mm+ stem length (why is it you particularly want a 120mm stem?), especially when you're struggling to make your current bike short enough. At 5'8" if you could deal with an aggressively long position you wouldn't need to be running what looks like a 90mm stem with a 0 setback post on a 54cm bike. Why do you feel like you can't get close to running a longish stem on your current bike?
While there are certainly significant variances to be had from a simple height = size chart, a 56cm bike is definitely a bigger bike than you should be riding if you want to get racy.
Okay, I did a bit of Bike-Comparator-ing with the two frames. It's not the be-all and end-all for what size you (the OP) should choose (can you try out any similar bikes to the caad12?), but I find it quite useful for getting an idea of how frames compare.
Something went wrong with the top tube angle of the Focus, but the front ends are fine, and most relevant anyway.
Focus (medium) in red, Cannondale in green (of course ).
Focus vs caad12 sz 50:
Both very similar, perhaps you don't want that though?
Focus (still medium) vs caad12 sz 52:
The 50 and 52 caad12 are both very similar, just a few mm either side of the Focus, but the 52 will probably look better.
Focus vs caad12 sz 54, just for fun:
The 54 is a bit bigger all over, so probably not as good an option.
Something went wrong with the top tube angle of the Focus, but the front ends are fine, and most relevant anyway.
Focus (medium) in red, Cannondale in green (of course ).
Focus vs caad12 sz 50:
Both very similar, perhaps you don't want that though?
Focus (still medium) vs caad12 sz 52:
The 50 and 52 caad12 are both very similar, just a few mm either side of the Focus, but the 52 will probably look better.
Focus vs caad12 sz 54, just for fun:
The 54 is a bit bigger all over, so probably not as good an option.
Meh, it's a little long for a fashionable amount of stem or set-back, but with ~10cm of drop it's racy enough for me. And before you tell me my saddle is too high, I have long legs and am perfectly comfortable on what is a fairly normal looking bike, so it is the right size. I don't want to pollute this thread with irrelevant discussion, so consider the above my final answer.wingguy wrote:While there are certainly significant variances to be had from a simple height = size chart, a 56cm bike is definitely a bigger bike than you should be riding if you want to get racy.
Last edited by themidge on Tue Jul 24, 2018 8:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
What data did you use to generate the front end height for each bike? The Caad has stack in the geo chart, and the Mares has HT and fork length so you can get there for both... but if the spreadsheet just used HT length and an assumption of similar length forks then the output will be way off.themidge wrote: ↑Tue Jul 24, 2018 7:00 pmOkay, I did a bit of Bike-Comparator-ing with the two frames. It's not the be-all and end-all for what size you (the OP) should choose (can you try out any similar bikes to the caad12?), but I find it quite useful for getting an idea of how frames compare.
Something went wrong with the top tube angle of the Focus, but the front ends are fine, and most relevant anyway.
.
.
I'm surprised that the Caad is so short (or rather, so long in the smaller sizes), but yeah, if you want a taller and apparently (I'm not sure I completely trust the spreadsheet) the same length frame as you currently have then perhaps the 54 could work, depending on saddle height.
I don't think your saddle is too high (not sure why you keep saying that ), but I also don't think you've got 10cm of drop.Meh, it's a little long for a fashionable amount of stem or set-back, but with ~10cm of drop it's racy enough for me. And before you tell me my saddle is too high, I have long legs and am perfectly comfortable on what is a fairly normal looking bike, so it is the right size.
Yeah, from the pics it certainly looks like the spreadsheet thinks the Mares has the same length fork as the Caad, which will be introducing a huge error into the result.themidge wrote: ↑Tue Jul 24, 2018 7:00 pmFocus vs caad12 sz 54, just for fun:
I'm surprised that the Caad is so short (or rather, so long in the smaller sizes), but yeah, if you want a taller and apparently (I'm not sure I completely trust the spreadsheet) the same length frame as you currently have then perhaps the 54 could work, depending on saddle height.
Oh yeah, I didn't think of the fork lengths, should be able to fix it though. Will edit my post above.
Edit: Fixed fork lengths above.
Edit: Fixed fork lengths above.
Still a huge error in that comparison. Your spreadsheet has elongated the bottom of the fork instead of the top. Now the BB drop is massively out as well as the stack.
Look, I get that you're trying to help but maybe you should take a step back until you understand all the variables in the geo charts and how they relate to each other?
It isn't my spreadsheet, I'm just working with what's there. The flaw in the spreadsheet is that it works from the BB, so it seems you can't accurately compare things with drastically different geometries (it's better for comparing race bike to race bike, for eg.) because of the BB drops and fork lengths.
Anyway, if I was the OP I'd go for the 52, the 54 seems a bit long.
You introduced it into the thread, and you're using it to make incorrect statements and recommendations to the OP because you don't fully understand it.
That's not a flaw, that's a crucial feature. Bikes have to be measured with the BB as the reference point in order to compare rider positioning. The flaw would be if you can't then manually control BB drop - though if I'm honest I'd assume that the tool does allow for this, but you're not using it properly.The flaw in the spreadsheet is that it works from the BB,
The whole thing is based around the bottom bracket (as you said, it has to be) and as such, to 'manually control BB drop', as in change it to the same as the other frame, would affect the rest of the bike. Indeed, it would be useful if you could see the comparison with the wheels on the same level, but as far as I can tell, there is no such feature (go look at it yourself if you wish, the link is somewhere up-thread). Sorry I made those incorrect recommendations (though even with those slightly dodgy comparisons, I'd still go with the 52), I'm used to using for comparing more similar bikes*.
*To the OP, clearly this is the problem which is making choosing a size more difficult than usual, the bikes (the Mares and Caad12) are quite different and therefore more difficult to compare than two similar bikes would be. If you can, perhaps try going into a local bike shop and trying out some race bikes, they won't be exactly the same as the caad, but they'll definitely be closer and will give you a better idea of how race bikes fit you than a cross bike will.
*To the OP, clearly this is the problem which is making choosing a size more difficult than usual, the bikes (the Mares and Caad12) are quite different and therefore more difficult to compare than two similar bikes would be. If you can, perhaps try going into a local bike shop and trying out some race bikes, they won't be exactly the same as the caad, but they'll definitely be closer and will give you a better idea of how race bikes fit you than a cross bike will.
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