New road bike: fit & integrated seat post (advice needed)

Konkers

Folks,

I’m currently on a 4.5 year old entry level 55cm lapierre. I have it set up so that BB to saddle (along the seat tube line) is 77cm. I would move the saddle forward & back as I go from winter fatty to ……… something a bit better. I’ve not adjusted the height much in the past. Reach makes it a little less comfy than it should be. I have never done a professional bike fit. I did the fitting on competitivecyclist.com last week and came out with the following:

The Competitive Fit (cm): Top tube length: 53.8 - 54.2, Stem Length: 11.2 - 11.8, BB-Saddle Position: 77.5 - 79.5
The Eddy Fit (cm): Top tube length: 53.8 - 54.2, Stem Length: 10.1 - 10.7, BB-Saddle Position: 76.7 - 78.7
The French Fit (cm): Top tube length: 55.0 - 55.4, Stem Length: 10.3 - 10.9, BB-Saddle Position: 75.0 - 77.0


I’ve spotted a 2010 C24T principia with integrated seatpost that is 55cm.
I sent the following geometry from bikeframes.com for an elllipse to the shop. They came back and said that every measurement was spot on except Top tube should be 540 and Head tube should be 140.

BB centre to TT - ST centre 580cm
TOP tube 554cm
HEAD angle 73
SEATangle 74
Wheel BASE 987cm
FR-CE 591cm
BB DROP 70cm
H TUBE 133cm
TT SLOPE 0
S OVER 801cm

The guy I was dealing with said that these are unimportant. Having read up a bit I gather that top tube and BB – saddle height were the two key measurements.

SO I have a couple of questions.
1. I’m not racing or in a club (yet), more sportifs and solo spins around the mountains. I do it to keep fit. Is an integrated seatpost a risk given the saddle height etc adjustments I would make from one year to the next? Can you adjust an integrated carbon seatpost in the same way?
2. Would you trust the measurements from the shop? I don’t want to go down there and start measuring up the bike up on the floor (plus I'm not sure how accurate I would be with my stanley measuring tape). I’ve looked around online and can’t find a geometry for this model and year. Does anyone have this bike from this year in this size that they could offer some assistence re its size?
3. I’ve been out for a short spin (10 mins) on the bike. Not enough to work out where fit is in the bad – perfect range. Is it normal to ask the shop to set it up just as you like it and then take it for a longer spin (30-40 mins)?
Any other advice would be greatly appreciated.:rolleyes:

Konkers

any help / opinions out there

Lumen

There is a small amount of adjustment with an integrated seatpost using the thing that sits on top of it (not sure of the name), but I personally would avoid integrated unless you're quite comfortable/confident with your bike fit.

ISPs are a stupid idea that deserves to die, and buying them only encourages it.

Raam

Lumen wrote: »

ISPs are a stupid idea that deserves to die

You are wrong.

el tel

Integrated seat posts are fine if you are a dwarf, but otherwise your bike might not fit into the boot of your car :mad:

Raam

I know all boot sizes ain't equal, but I'm 6'3" and my bike with integrated seat post fits into my boot OK. The car is a saloon but the boot is a particularly large one. It also fits into this bike box if you take the chainset off.

el tel

Raam wrote: »

I know all boot sizes ain't equal, but I'm 6'3" and my bike with integrated seat post fits into my boot OK. The car is a saloon but the boot is a particularly large one. It also fits into this bike box if you take the chainset off.

I forgot to mention my bike box woes as well!

The boot in my car is small-ish but I can get any of my other bikes in by removing wheels, turning handlebars and taking out the seat post (i.e. with 5-10mins of tinkering). The ISP however makes it impossible so I use a Saris Bones rack instead - it really makes a difference to security and fuel consumption

Raam

el tel wrote: »

I forgot to mention my bike box woes as well!

The boot in my car is small-ish but I can get any of my other bikes in by removing wheels, turning handlebars and taking out the seat post (i.e. with 5-10mins of tinkering). The ISP however makes it impossible so I use a Saris Bones rack instead - it really makes a difference to security and fuel consumption

Put it in the passenger front seat. Tell any passengers to get in the boot.

Lumen

Raam wrote: »

It also fits into this bike box if you take the chainset off.

Your integrated seatpost forces you to take the chainset off when you travel. That is stupid.

(and don't be starting on my creaky travel bike)

Raam

Lumen wrote: »

Your integrated seatpost forces you to take the chainset off when you travel. That is stupid.

(and don't be starting on my creaky travel bike)

yeah, but the chicks dig it.

Lusk Doyle

Raam wrote: »

Lumen wrote: »

Your integrated seatpost forces you to take the chainset off when you travel. That is stupid.

[SIZE="1"](and don't be starting on my creaky travel bike)[/SIZE]

yeah, but the chicks dig it.

I was talking to them yesterday. They said they don't.

Paul Kiernan

Konkers wrote: »

any help / opinions out there

The Principia Integrated Seat Post has 30mm of adjustment available using spacers. It comes with (I think) one 10mm and 4x5mm spacers. So you can adjust with a tolerance of 5mm. The spacers are the same size as standard 1 1/8" headset spacers so you could use these to get a lower tolerance.

The 2010 geometries are available in the 2010 catalogue which is available here.

Interestingly, Principia no longer do integrated seat posts!

BTW, the 2010 ISP models don't come in 55cm size, only 54 and 56!

Konkers

Well lads, When I saw the number of replies I expected lots of wisdom to hit me.

But seriously, Thanks a million Paul. I guess that puts pay to the principa.

What he claims are the dimensions do not remotely tally up with the brochure. What does that say?
Should I confont him or leave well alone.
He also claims to offer a proper bike fit service. HMMMMM....

Paul Kiernan

Something doesn't look right about your bike-fit measurements! Shouldn't the BB-Saddle length be the same for all as that's your saddle height?

I wouldn't give up on the Principia, especially if it's at a good price. No reputable dealer is going to sell you a bike that doesn't fit you. The 55cm measurement doesn't make sense anyway on a frame with an ISP as it's just an arbitrary measurement on the seat tube and is used more as a way of comparing sizes rather than as an actual measurement. What is the price and spec of what you're being offered?

Konkers

Paul,

that's what the website gave in those 3 different styles for one inseam and femur lenght. BB to saddle top on my own bike is 77.5. So its not that far off.
Spec is good, ultegra groupset, ksyrium equip wheelset and it's heavily discounted.
Went back to LBS today to check out how ISP works. Seems straightforward enough. Plus they were explaining the bikefit process and they seem to know what they were talking about. Someone who is road cycling reputable told me LBS guys are all from racing background so that's good too.

Now debating merits of carbon in terms of maintenance. LBS was saying that certain parts (ISP, BB, headset i.e. when nuts and bolts meet carbon) need to be adjusted by tools that can measure torque, so you don't crack the carbon when you tighten and yet to tighten enough. Was hoping to get away from LBS maintenance costs by doing my own. Is this an issue.

It would seem that an aluminium bike with good wheelset, groupset etc is the least risky and cheaper option. But you don't have the bling. Decisions decisions.............

Anyway I'm going to get them to measure me up on Thurs eve. We've agreed that if as a result of the fit I don't fit the principia they will give me the cost of the fit in store credit. All in all I think they are doing their level best to accommodate me.:)

Paul Kiernan

I had a look at that bike fit website. It seems to extrapolate some sizes from others (e.g. it makes the reasonable assumption that a bike with a longer seat tube will have a proportionately longer head tube). Although the different saddle heights can be partly explained by the saddle offset it still leaves me a bit puzzled. Nonetheless it does indicate that there is no one correct fit, one person may have their saddle a foot or more higher than their bars, someone else might have them at the same height. As long as everything else is set up to compensate, they're both correct fits.

Wrt carbon via alu, in general carbon is more comfortable, alu is stiffer. Carbon more suitable to long distance sportives, alu to short, sharp, racing. Now that's a very general statement and there are lots of exceptions. The Principia frame is a step (or two) above entry level carbon and has to some extent the best of both worlds.

Re maintenance, just buy a torque wrench and some carbon paste for total of around €50 and you'll have no problems.

I assume the dealer is Fitzcycles? If so, I would have complete confidence in both their honesty and their ability to fit you correctly.

Konkers

Yeah Paul, Now that I'm not going with it I can that it's fitzcycles. Went down there last thursday night. Got measured up. Really excellent. Got out on the principia for a bit longer, think they were making an exception cos of how much I raved about it. Absolutely sweet deal if you're interested. C24T, ultegra groupset with mavic wheels for €2k. On Bike to Work that would be €1,500. Only probelm was that I felt the fit was a bit tight :mad:. I'm 6 ft, so if anyone is 5ft 10 or so.........need I say more.