Crux size dilemma

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Luca79
Posts: 38
Joined: Thu Aug 04, 2011 8:18 pm

by Luca79

Hi all,

I'm about buying a Specialized Crux, but I seem to fall between size 56 and 58, and both bikes are available very far away from me, so no chance to test them.
Here are my body facts, hoping that some of you can help....

Height: 185cm [6' 1'']
Inseam: 91cm [35.8'']
Wingspan: 189cm [6' 2.5"]

I guess that means long legs, short torso, longish arms.... weird mix :)
Specialized website suggests a size 58, but that comes with a 582 Top tube, 598 Stack and 405 Reach, which can maybe be a bit long also considering the seatpost has a 20mm setback.

Well, thanks for any help you'll be willing to share!

by Weenie


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kgcx
Posts: 66
Joined: Fri Jan 07, 2022 4:16 pm

by kgcx

Depends on your use, but I was in a similar situation and sized down.

I am 5'8" with a 31" inseam and was between a 54 and 52 and went with the 52. This bike is much larger than last generations bike.

There has only been one time where I wish I had gotten the 54 and that was during a really slow cx race where I had a little bit of toe overlap on slow corners.
Other than that one situation I am super happy to have the 52, I use this bike as my road bike/fast gravel bike/cx bike.

Guess this depends on your use, in my opinion if you are only using it to race cx size up and if you want to use it as a mix use bike size down.

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fa63
Posts: 2533
Joined: Mon Feb 19, 2007 7:26 am
Location: Atlanta, GA, US

by fa63

I am 183cm tall with a 86 cm inseam; my saddle height is 77cm. I think you need to be on the 58cm frame; the 56 will have a lot of exposed seatpost and there will also be a lot of drop from the saddle to the handlebar. Not a problem if you can ride that position (I can't).

I ride a 56cm Crux; I thought about sizing up to a 58 as I prefer a taller front end on a gravel bike but the standover height was a bit much on the 58 so I went with the 56 and running the max. amount of allowed spacers with a 100mm stem.

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Last edited by fa63 on Mon Nov 21, 2022 3:36 pm, edited 2 times in total.

NealH
Posts: 548
Joined: Sat May 12, 2007 3:40 am
Location: Ormond Be, FL

by NealH

58 is the right size.

yinzerniner
Posts: 206
Joined: Tue Jun 13, 2017 8:54 pm

by yinzerniner

I'll go against the grain and say go with 56 unless you aren't very flexible in the midsection / don't want to use a positive rise stem, then go 58

Reason why is with your normal arms but short torso you might be on something like a 60mm stem after a fit if you go with the 58.

Honestly best bet would be to do a fit first then see what would be needed to make it work with the crux geometry. As great as the frame is it'll be a waste of money if the geo is completely wrong for you.

LanceLegstrong
Posts: 1145
Joined: Fri Sep 13, 2019 1:35 pm

by LanceLegstrong

Luca79 wrote:
Mon Nov 21, 2022 2:33 pm

Height: 185cm [6' 1'']
Inseam: 91cm [35.8'']
Wingspan: 189cm [6' 2.5"]

I guess that means long legs, short torso, longish arms.... weird mix :)
Specialized website suggests a size 58, but that comes with a 582 Top tube, 598 Stack and 405 Reach, which can maybe be a bit long also considering the seatpost has a 20mm setback.
I'm slightly taller than you, but pretty close. 189cm with 92cm inseam, wingspan 199cm. I went with the 58 and don't think I would have fit in the 56. I have a 1cm spacer with 110 stem. The caveat is that I like a little more upright position than my road bike for racing CX. Not a ton but with a 56 I would have had maxed out the spacers to get a good stack height.
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Luca79
Posts: 38
Joined: Thu Aug 04, 2011 8:18 pm

by Luca79

LanceLegstrong wrote:
Mon Nov 21, 2022 6:25 pm
Luca79 wrote:
Mon Nov 21, 2022 2:33 pm

Height: 185cm [6' 1'']
Inseam: 91cm [35.8'']
Wingspan: 189cm [6' 2.5"]
I'm slightly taller than you, but pretty close. 189cm with 92cm inseam, wingspan 199cm. I went with the 58 and don't think I would have fit in the 56. I have a 1cm spacer with 110 stem. The caveat is that I like a little more upright position than my road bike for racing CX. Not a ton but with a 56 I would have had maxed out the spacers to get a good stack height.
Wow that's a much longer wingspan than mine... with a 58 I would need a crazy short stem to match your position...
From what I could study, a 58 with a slightly shorter stem than stock (100mm in place of the 110) should be a good balanced position for me, but I'm all ears for further thoughts.

And thanks for all the suggestions so far

UpFromOne
Posts: 1181
Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2009 5:23 am
Location: Olympic Nat'l Park, WA

by UpFromOne

Unfortunately the Crux is yet another frame whose sizing leaves alot to be desired.
Esp. when they change the sizing so drastically from one year to the next.

Good luck with this, as the only reason you'd want the 56 is if you're going to be making alot of very tight turns / corrections which might benefit from more agility in the specs.
Sounds like the majority of votes here are for the 58 though.

gorkypl
Posts: 529
Joined: Fri Sep 21, 2018 9:31 am
Location: Poland

by gorkypl

I'd go with 58 for gravel and general riding and 56 only if you needed super aggressive position with 120-130mm stem. I am slightly smaller than you (183cm height, 88cm inseam, 185cm wingspan) and my gravel bike has 598mm stack, 395mm reach with 110mm stem and 15mm setback.
You should be fine on 58 with 110mm stem.

Fuji Cross 1.5 - Shimano 105 5800 | Cinelli Superstar Disc - Record 12s | Custom steel Karamba - Ekar 13s

Luca79
Posts: 38
Joined: Thu Aug 04, 2011 8:18 pm

by Luca79

Checking again the geometry, I found that the handlebar has a short 70mm reach, which may compensate for a slightly too long top tube

gorkypl
Posts: 529
Joined: Fri Sep 21, 2018 9:31 am
Location: Poland

by gorkypl

Luca79 wrote:
Tue Nov 22, 2022 1:14 pm
Checking again the geometry, I found that the handlebar has a short 70mm reach, which may compensate for a slightly too long top tube
I wouldn't call 582mm TT particularily long for size 58 :) especially in a bike that is meant for offroad. My bigger concern would be 44cm wide handlebars, but this is more personal...

Fuji Cross 1.5 - Shimano 105 5800 | Cinelli Superstar Disc - Record 12s | Custom steel Karamba - Ekar 13s

Luca79
Posts: 38
Joined: Thu Aug 04, 2011 8:18 pm

by Luca79

gorkypl wrote:
Tue Nov 22, 2022 1:25 pm
Luca79 wrote:
Tue Nov 22, 2022 1:14 pm
Checking again the geometry, I found that the handlebar has a short 70mm reach, which may compensate for a slightly too long top tube
I wouldn't call 582mm TT particularily long for size 58 :) especially in a bike that is meant for offroad. My bigger concern would be 44cm wide handlebars, but this is more personal...
Do you mean 44cm would be a bit wide for you? Seems to be pretty average these days.

yinzerniner
Posts: 206
Joined: Tue Jun 13, 2017 8:54 pm

by yinzerniner

gorkypl wrote:
Tue Nov 22, 2022 1:25 pm
Luca79 wrote:
Tue Nov 22, 2022 1:14 pm
Checking again the geometry, I found that the handlebar has a short 70mm reach, which may compensate for a slightly too long top tube
I wouldn't call 582mm TT particularily long for size 58 :) especially in a bike that is meant for offroad. My bigger concern would be 44cm wide handlebars, but this is more personal...
Remember though that TT length is not a very good way to determine fitment since it's determined by other variables - namely ST and HT angle - which affect fitment a lot

The OP has a short torso and about average wingspan. Better bike fit numbers to determine sizing are front center, reach and stack. With the 58 you have figures of 630, 405, 598 which are a bit longer than most non-progressive geo gravel bikes.

As such the OP would save themselves a lot of time, money and hassle by getting a bike fit before purchasing anything. Will also save them in the long term since it'll give them baselines for purchasing stems, posts, bars, cranks and pedals based on fit measurements.

Luca79
Posts: 38
Joined: Thu Aug 04, 2011 8:18 pm

by Luca79

yinzerniner wrote:
Tue Nov 22, 2022 4:45 pm
gorkypl wrote:
Tue Nov 22, 2022 1:25 pm
Luca79 wrote:
Tue Nov 22, 2022 1:14 pm
Checking again the geometry, I found that the handlebar has a short 70mm reach, which may compensate for a slightly too long top tube
I wouldn't call 582mm TT particularily long for size 58 :) especially in a bike that is meant for offroad. My bigger concern would be 44cm wide handlebars, but this is more personal...
Remember though that TT length is not a very good way to determine fitment since it's determined by other variables - namely ST and HT angle - which affect fitment a lot

The OP has a short torso and about average wingspan. Better bike fit numbers to determine sizing are front center, reach and stack. With the 58 you have figures of 630, 405, 598 which are a bit longer than most non-progressive geo gravel bikes.

As such the OP would save themselves a lot of time, money and hassle by getting a bike fit before purchasing anything. Will also save them in the long term since it'll give them baselines for purchasing stems, posts, bars, cranks and pedals based on fit measurements.
Thanks, you are right for sure.
On the other side, if needed, with a handlebar reach of only 70mm, and with a 10mm shorter than stock stem, I think I will have that extra length compensated.

by Weenie


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Petz
Posts: 29
Joined: Wed Apr 07, 2021 8:44 am
Location: Austria

by Petz

Just got my size 58 Crux frameset and my measurements are quite similar to yours (186cm, 89cm inseam).
Personally, I wasn't really thinking about sizing down, since the 58 Crux geometry is very similar to my current road bike's geometry, lengthwise (Reach/TT +3mm, but Stack +20mm).
I want my crux just a bit more relaxed, so I will use a shorter reach bar and/or shorter stem. With around 15mm of spacers the bar height should be just fine (on my road bike I got like 25mm).

So, I think if you don't want/need an overly aggressive fit, the 58 will be just fine.

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