Boardman team carbon Sizing

ShevY

I went to halfords this morning with my cycle to work cheque. I'm 5'10" with a 85.5cm inside leg.

Now everywhere I can see online people with my proportions were getting medium frames. So I was intending to get a medium. The halfords guy was saying to definitely get a large. I dont really know enough to make the call. I ended up thinking the medium seemed small and the large seemed too big.

Can anyone help with the sizing of this bike please?

Murph100

Just from looking at the specs, I would definitely say the Medium would be your best bet, assuming normal body proportions.

I'm almost 6' with a 88.5 cm inseam and it would be the perfect size for me.

The large has an effective Top Tube of 57cm which would be very long for someone of your height, unless you have a really long reach.

The general consensus when stuck in the middle between two sizes is to go with the smaller size and select stem and bars to 'size up' rather than going with the larger size and running small stem etc to size down.

Very interesting to look at the Cervelo Teat Team site and look at the riders profiles, some very tall lads there on some very small frames.

SurferDude41

Hi There,

The boardman is a super bike, for the money.
The only problem are the bike mechanics at Halfords, I use the term loosley. Most of these lads are totally unskilled, and are not able to do even a basic, safety inspection.
If you aren't skilled in bicycle mechanics, get your new bike checked by a good specialist bike shop.

Can you tell me, how high is your saddle. Measure from the centre
of
the bottom bracket, along the seattube, to the top of the saddle.

Also what is your reach? Measure from the tip of the saddle to the centre of the handlebars.

Also handle bar height is a big factor, when choosing frame size.
Boardman bikes have quite short headtubes, as I recall.

Let us know how you get on...

Happy Cycling:)

papac

I am same size as OP and have been looking at Boardmans recently.

I can get fit on either size. Worst case scenario would be a change of stem. (Any off the peg bike might need this.)

The thing to remember is that these are quite racy frames with shortish head tubes.
If you want an uprightish position go for the large and get a shorter stem.
For a racier position (ie lower bars relative to seat height) go for medium.

xz

I'm more or less the same as the OP and I have a Large Boardman, fits me fine, with original stem.

papac

with original stem.

Sorry, should have said maybe a shorter stem.

xz

papac wrote: »

Sorry, should have said maybe a shorter stem.

He could always turn the stem over, to try first, before buying a new (shorter) one

kona

I would go with the large to be honest, It'd be guessing that the best size frame for your inside leg would be around a 56cm.

Boardman Medium is 53cm

Boardman Large is 55.5cm

The X-Large is 57 but it will be far too long IMO.

You can always raise the saddle.......You cant do much with the length. Bring the Display one for a test ride

Murph100

Nope and Yes !

Large according to the Boardman site is 57

I think this is the source of the slight confusion, so lets just forget the whole Medium, Large bit and say 55.5 Effective TT or 57 Effective TT

Medium is a 55.5 Horizontal ( Effective ) which I think would be the best one for the OP to try, but hey, why not ask to try both.

http://www.boardmanbikes.com/pdf/Boardman2010_Road.pdf

Running road bike IMHO from personal experience, with a stem below 100mm is compromising handling, flip the stem if the headtube isn't tall enough to match your flexibility and/or physique, or get a frame with a taller headtube, plenty of choices out there but not quite as peachy as the Boardman tbh.

kona wrote: »

I would go with the large to be honest, It'd be guessing that the best size frame for your inside leg would be around a 56cm.

Boardman Medium is 53cm

Boardman Large is 55.5cm

The X-Large is 57 but it will be far too long IMO.

You can always raise the saddle.......You cant do much with the length. Bring the Display one for a test ride

knipper

Hi sorry to hijack thread while everyones talking boardmans.
I'm 5ft 3 inside leg 73cm.
Was wondering is the small Boardmans 50cm frame alright for my height.
Was googling and depending on the site you read I should buy anywhere between 48 and 53cm frame.
Anyway hoping to buy either the Boardman Team or Comp on cycle to work scheme.
Any help/advice greatly appreciated.
Thanks

kona

Murph100 wrote: »

Nope and Yes !

Large according to the Boardman site is 57

I think this is the source of the slight confusion, so lets just forget the whole Medium, Large bit and say 55.5 Effective TT or 57 Effective TT

Medium is a 55.5 Horizontal ( Effective ) which I think would be the best one for the OP to try, but hey, why not ask to try both.

http://www.boardmanbikes.com/pdf/Boardman2010_Road.pdf

Running road bike IMHO from personal experience, with a stem below 100mm is compromising handling, flip the stem if the headtube isn't tall enough to match your flexibility and/or physique, or get a frame with a taller headtube, plenty of choices out there but not quite as peachy as the Boardman tbh.

But a bikes frame isnt measured by the Top Tube....

Im quoting the sizes of the Seat tube, which is most likely what halfords are quoting the customer. So lets keep things standard here and not confuse matters.

Sizing for Team Carbon according to the Boardman site is:

Seat Tube:

Small : 50

Medium:53

Large:55.5

X-Large:57.5

All taken from: http://www.boardmanbikes.com/road/road_team_carbon.html

kona

knipper wrote: »

Hi sorry to hijack thread while everyones talking boardmans.
I'm 5ft 3 inside leg 73cm.
Was wondering is the small Boardmans 50cm frame alright for my height.
Was googling and depending on the site you read I should buy anywhere between 48 and 53cm frame.
Anyway hoping to buy either the Boardman Team or Comp on cycle to work scheme.
Any help/advice greatly appreciated.
Thanks

The small is the one you want, your best sitting on it and getting a spin (although I cant Imagine Halfords having a Small on display).

Ideally I reckon you need a 49cm , but you gotta go for the closest that Boardman do

papac

Was googling and depending on the site you read I should buy anywhere between 48 and 53cm frame.

That's because frame sizes are seat tube lengths which have only limited relationship to how the bike fits.
The effective top tube length generally accepted to be far better guide to fit.
see; http://www.sheldonbrown.com/frame-sizing.html

You are actually at the height where it starts getting difficult to get a bike that fits.(I know this cause my missus is 5' 0" and has serious issues getting a bike to fit.)

In my opinion the 540mm effective top tube of the small boardman is quite long for you but you might get fit with a short stem. This depends on yourself though-some people are comfortable with a long top tube. I think the majority of people you size would be happier with a tt at least 20/30 mm shorter.

Some reading on bikes for shorter riders.
http://www.myra-simon.com/bike/petitest.html

knipper

Cheers for the replies.
Think I'll order one in and see after a test drive.
Plenty of food for thought tho.
Damn my lack of height!!

Lawr

knipper wrote: »

Hi sorry to hijack thread while everyones talking boardmans.
I'm 5ft 3 inside leg 73cm.
Was wondering is the small Boardmans 50cm frame alright for my height.
Was googling and depending on the site you read I should buy anywhere between 48 and 53cm frame.
Anyway hoping to buy either the Boardman Team or Comp on cycle to work scheme.
Any help/advice greatly appreciated.
Thanks

Kipper, I am 5'3" and have a 52cm. I think I should have gone for a 50 or even a 47cm. I can fit on a 52cm, but am at the inside limits on this bike. I could not increase stem size past 90mm. (I tried a 60cm stem after getting used to being on a road bike, and the steering was too finicky at that length. I had to maintain the utmost attention to where I was pointing the bike as an half an inch or more of wander had a much greater effect than if it were happening on a longer stem.) I am used to the 52cm by now, and have lowered the bars once and will probably take them down another notch, but I wonder if I wouldn't have had more options on a 50cm with a longer stem. Tough to tell without trying it out.