Hi

Apologies in advance. It's a bit long winded. I'm attempting to buy a new road bike as I have some redundancy money and have started to work part time. Hence more time to ride and have decided to treat myself. So good so far. Budget is £1000-1200.

However, my quest to find a bike I feel happy that it is the right size is steadily taking me via every LBS in south London and driving me mad. I'm sure part of the problem is the time of year when shops and manufacturers are running out of stock in lots of sizes. I'm 5ft 6in, with quite long arms and legs, but nothing out of the ordinary.

I've test ridden a few different men's and women's models - Bianchi, Cube, Felt. Of the bikes I've tried so far I liked the 2008 Specialised Dolce Comp but a 51cm felt too small. I tried the 54cm Ruby Expert (the shop didn't have a 54 in the Dolce Comp) but that felt just slightly too large. The latest shop I went to were extremely helpful although they had nothing in stock in suitable sizes. However, after much measuring of me, my old road bike (medium men's Giant OCR), and me sitting on a larger sized men's Specialized Roubaix Elite, the verdict was that the best fit for me would be a men's Specialized Roubaix Elite 49cm. I was a bit surprised but assume he knows much more than me about the geometry. I would like to try one but the LBS will only order one if I'm committing to buying it as they say Specialized won't take it back and presumably the shop think they will be stuck with it. This seems a bit unfair to me. I'm very reluctant to buy a bike without having tested it first.

Am I being unreasonable? And is this just the wrong time of year to buy a bike? Any views on the sizing? And does everyone have this problem finding the right size or is just me?

Thanks.

I agree - I too have been told in the past by shops that they would expect me to commit to buying a bike without trying it...which to me just seems like madness! Having said that, if you have a professional Bikefit done, you should be fairly safe ordering a bike based on the measurements (because it's just a case of getting the right size frame and then there are lots of things you can alter/tweak like the stem and saddle position).

Just as a reference point, I am 5ft 4 and have the 51cm Ruby. My friend is 5ft 6 and has the 54cm Ruby, which seems like a good fit. You say it felt too big, but did they try putting on a slightly shorter stem for you or anything like that? (Definitely don't buy it if they've tried everything though and it still feels wrong...but I'm just saying that a few little tweaks can make quite a difference.)

It might be a good idea to look on the net and find out if there are other shops (even if you have to travel some way to get them) which have the 49cm Roubaix in stock for you to try. Then at least you can feel confident about the purchase! Buying the wrong size road bike (as I found out with the first ever bike I bought) is a real nightmare!

You're not being at all unreasonable and finding a road bike of the right size can be a headache! So good luck, and the good news is that once you work out what geometry fits you properly it'll be much easier the next time you come to buy a bike!

Thanks Jumbly and Bry

I did get the bikefit done but most bike shops I go into seems to dismiss it as guidance only.

No, when I tried the 54cm Ruby there wasn't any adjustment other than the saddle height so maybe I should try it again. Assuming I can find somewhere that has a 54cm in stock. Allegedly Specialized don't have any more in this country.

5'6" and you were recommended a 49cm?!  Oh dear...  As an immediate reaction to your description of yourself I'd have said 53-54 (although obviously I've never seen you, that's just going by my experience).

If you're in S.London try Brixton Cycles, they're generally very good and they stock Specialized.  The problem is at this time of year that bike shops have generally sold out of the more popular/common sizes (54/56) and are trying to shift the last few odd sizes (47/49 and 59/61).  It might be worth waiting a couple of months til the 09 models start to trickle through (although you won't get as good a deal as on an 08 model).  Also there's far fewer big events where companies will have demo fleets around now it's coming into autumn (did we ever have a summer??)

You're not being unreasonable at all.  However most smaller shops (as you've found out) are unwilling to get something in that they feel they may be stuck with.  You could try Evans Cycles, they're far and away the UK's biggest Specialized dealer and as such can usually take a few more liberties with their ordering.  Service at Evans Cycles is best described as "variable" though - sometimes it can be atrocious, other times it's very good.  Try Amanda at Evans Holborn, she's excellent.  Evans Cycles on The Cut (Waterloo) has one of the biggest stock of road bikes within the company, probably worth popping in there too.

No matter how good the deal, don't buy a road bike that only "sort of fits".  MTB's you can often get away with a size up or down, road bikes you can't.  See if the shop is willing to offer a proper test ride too, not just a quick up-and-down the street.

Yes, Evans do have do tend to have a good stock, but be very careful indeed - that is where I bought my first bike that was the wrong size (Evans Waterloo). Very little help provided.

I think it's very difficult to put a general size to a person (e.g. 53-54) just based on their height because a) it's not just a question of height and b) those measurements vary from manufacturer, as the measurements are not always taken from the same points of the bike.

Although those measurements from the Bikefit are just a rough guide, they should tell you what size frame you need and then the rest of the details (e.g. stem length, saddle position) can be worked out when you actually try it (they are the 'rough' part of the 'rough guide'.). Although (like I said above) the size may vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, for each bike you're interested in you (and the shop, who should help you) can find the geometry table (on the net or in the catalogue) and compare the measurements with the measurements from your bikefit. It should be possible to work out your size this way. But like you, once you've worked it out, I would want to try the bike before buying.

If you're buying a sparkly new bike, maybe it would be best to wait until the spring when there'll be more choice from the 09 range available...and that way it won't get dirty/salty etc during the winter!