Mike Jacoubowsky 10 April 2005 01:24:24 [ permanent link ]
...do they exist? Ideally, this would be a Felt ST-22 Stem but whatever> fits.
I don't know about Felt stems, but Bontrager has 80mm, 26.0 & 31.8, in 7 & 17 degree rises. I'm sure that Dimension (QBP house brand) has them too. Shouldn't be tough to find.
--Mike Jacoubowsky Chain Reaction Bicycles www.ChainReaction.com Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA
Mike Jacoubowsky 11 April 2005 09:47:59 [ permanent link ]
Mike, do you have them in stock? I am in Menlo Park. Also, do you do> bike fitting at your store? This is for my wife - she just got a new> Felt F60. Nice bike, but a lot should be done in terms of fitting.
Don't know if I've got them in stock, as I'm not at the shop right now. If we don't have them, we will by the end of the week, as we just dropped a fairly large order of stems a few days ago, and they should be arriving shortly.
Regarding fittings, at the moment we're a bit backed up, due to the sudden onset (and hopefully continuing!!!) decent weather. Usually the shop that sells the bike provided fit services; this wasn't the case where she got it? I'd check into that a bit more before going elsewhere, since they probably have some idea of why she fits a given size etc., and it reduces finger pointing if there are difficulties.
I just checked the F60 geometry chart; it's pretty easy to see why many women would need a pretty short stem, as they've got rather long top tubes, particularly for the 54cm & smaller sizes. This is especially unusual given that they've got pretty steep seat tubes (74.5 degrees on 54cm).
Guess I should ask how tall she is, which frame size she has, and how it's going to be used?
Mike Jacoubowsky 12 April 2005 02:48:21 [ permanent link ]
Mike, thank you for responding. She is 5"6, and it's a 54 cm F60. She> currently has a 90 mm stem, and when she is riding I can see her> reaching a bit far. Also, she complains about pain in the back, pain in> the neck, and, well, up there (like her legs are rubbing againts the> nose of the seat). Given, she's been on a roadbike only 4 times. Still,> I don't think the 25 mile ride like we did yesterday (parked in La> Honda, then Piscadero-Stage-84-LaHonda) should have felt that> uncomfortable. 50 miles I would understand.>
We got the bike in Menlo Park. They gave us a great deal for the 2004> F60, but they did not have a trainer to put the bike on...
At 5'6" and a 54cm frame, she probably needs a taller stem, not just shorter forward reach, especially if she hasn't ridden much (and is having saddle issues "up there"). Since that bike doesn't have a very high front end, don't be surprised if you need to get something pretty darned tall; a 17 degree might not be enough. 25 degree, possibly even 40 might be appropriate. It won't look like what you & I might be riding, but you've got to throw those notions out the window, especially if she has longer legs and shorter arms & torso (fairly typical for women).
If the saddle's in the right place, how much drop do you have to the bars? This can be found by measuring the distance from top of saddle to ground, and subtracting from that the top of bar to ground measurement. For women, sometimes you need to go nearly level to get comfortable (not for everyone, her mileage may vary). That particular Felt is not designed with women in mind (as I mentioned previously, it's got a pretty long top tube, and you can't "cheat" by moving the seat forward because it's already got a pretty steep seat tube), so short forward reach and tall are possibly the order of the day. Also, make sure the handlebar has a very shallow forward reach. Some bikes have very long forward reaches (the Bontrager Flat Top aluminum bars come to mind), and those definitely complicate fit issues.
Fit is everything on a road bike, which is why it might be best to address these issues at the shop you got it from, just in case it turns out that it's difficult to get things worked out properly on that particular frame. If she can't be made comfortable, it doesn't matter how good a deal it is.
--Mike Jacoubowsky Chain Reaction Bicycles www.ChainReaction.com Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA
