Why does riding a smaller road bike feel better?

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WorkonSunday
Posts: 540
Joined: Tue Jan 16, 2018 4:39 pm

by WorkonSunday

i dont know the science behind it, but i also found using a smaller frame with longer stem suit me best. i feel it's easier to control the bike during tiring climbs. also i found getting into aero/ L-shape arm position on the hood alot easier and i can hold the position for alot longer.

regarding to looks. yes i do agree it does look abit out of proportion. my wife's Colango Concept is in 42s (smallest they offer) the top tube is super steep. BUT it's still not ad bad as some of the larger bikes with huge head tube, to my eyes those look worse lol.

in our stable, we have Colango Concept in 42s, V1r in 50s, A1r in 49s and 46s. we also have a Wilier Cento1 Air in S. the larger bikes are getting used less and less. (i'm 171cm with saddle to BB height 70cm. wife is 159cm with saddle to BB height of 63cm, although these varies if we change saddle with abit more paddings)
Some say pour 10ml water out of your bottle to save that last bit of the weight. Sorry, i go one step further, i tend to the rider off my bikes. :thumbup:
n+1...14 last time i checked, but i lost count :mrgreen:

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onemanpeloton
Posts: 367
Joined: Wed Jul 12, 2017 11:30 am
Location: Edinburgh, UK

by onemanpeloton

As has already been mentioned, if a smaller frame feels better then it's probably because it fits you correctly, and your own bike is too big.

And since we all vary in size, bike size and preference, its not as simple as suggesting that smaller is universally better
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Karvalo
Posts: 3444
Joined: Fri Aug 10, 2018 6:40 pm

by Karvalo

WorkonSunday wrote:
Fri Feb 08, 2019 8:53 am
i dont know the science behind it, but i also found using a smaller frame with longer stem suit me best. i feel it's easier to control the bike during tiring climbs. also i found getting into aero/ L-shape arm position on the hood alot easier and i can hold the position for alot longer.
Well, that means the handlebar position (and/or saddle position) is not the same between the two bikes, so what you've found there is that the bike setup that fits you better feels better.

Not really the same thing as the smaller frame geometry handling better in and of itself.

wilwil
Posts: 694
Joined: Thu Sep 23, 2010 5:47 pm

by wilwil

corky wrote:
Thu Feb 07, 2019 10:47 am
There has been no proven correlation between stem length and manhood length, people are realising this and are much more comfortable going stubby........
:D

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

by AJS914

That's what guys with stubbies like to think. :D

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