Originally Posted by jasonw,May 1 2009, 07:17 AM

I just got a Surly Steamroller fixed gear for commuting.

Sometimes, it's fun emarrasing out of shape road bikers on my mountain bike. The fixed gear will provide the same novelty value. And yes, it is mostly about novelty value, in addition to being 1/5 the price of my carbon fiber road bike, so Il'l feel better about locking it up.

Originally Posted by muggzy,May 1 2009, 08:23 AM

I have the Surly 1x1.. I use that to pedal around town. Best thing about it is you get on it and go! No worrying about it too much when it's locked up!

Originally Posted by jasonw,May 1 2009, 08:37 AM

Who want's to do a fixed gear race up 17th street in SF(End at Stanyan)???

Originally Posted by Jacksparrow,May 1 2009, 03:08 AM

I agree I rode my sisters new fixed bike and there is really nothing special about the bike its just harder to peddle imo.

Originally Posted by jommel.,May 1 2009, 06:50 AM

My thoughts exactly. I always see plenty of people with fixies at SJSU over by the Event Center. Although I wouldn't mind riding one just to see how it is.

Originally Posted by muggzy,May 1 2009, 12:41 AM

I went through the same thing when i was looking for bikes.. I know on a road bike, i need 53mm TT.. c-c, with @100mm stem. On a mtb i'm about 22.5" to 23" Depending how i want the bike to handle and style (xc hardtail or all mountain FS). I found this out subjectively trying different size frames with many different stems. Hurting myself in the process. But i got pretty close.. I finally went to get an ergonomic bike fitting. Here's a link to some info. Most pro-athletes get this done (base line)and they 'tweek' their bikes for the event they are about to do.. Time Trail, Criterium, Hill Climb, Triathlon, Endurance/distance, etc..

Usually a short top tube will reduce the 'cockpit' length and make the bike feel quicker. Too short and you'll feel like your going to endo when you brake or wheelie when you accelerate. As an extreme example would be a gorilla on a tiny bike. (top heavy) Vise versa, if the top tube is longer it will provide a more stable ride but steering will 'feel' slow. Too long and you'll start to 'feel' stretched out. An extreme example would bike a little kid on an adult bike.

Ideally, the 'cockpit' should be sized to support and spread the load your torso. In general your torso should be a balanced triangle. The points drawn from the seat to the handle bars to your head. This will get tweeked depending on the riding you do. (this is what i was told when i got ergo fitted)

So the Top Tube length is way more important to me than the seat tube height. The seat tube height is more important to me on, say a mountain bike, where i need to get off and on more often. And if i need to 'bail' off the bike, i don't have to worry about finishing the ride as a gal. This is a big peeve of mine when looking for bikes, mtb's usually measure from the seat tube in inches and road bikes are measured metric. Some bike have radically sloping top tubes and they use a virtual TT length! I think they need to standardize the measurements.

For me, I found out I have a long torso, with short(er) arms and legs. (azn build) So finding a bike that has a low stand over height and longish top tube was hard. Most road bikes have 52cm or 54cm. So finding a 53cm TT frame was hard. The stem was non-stock too. the 52~54cm bike usually have 100mm or 110m length stem. I had to find a 105mm length. Then crank length, I'm between 175 and 172.5mm, i opted for the 172.5mm because i wanted spin more on the road bike. On the mtb i have 175mm crank length for more torque/off the seat 'cranking'. (kinda a motor with different rod lengths)

It would be kinda hard to say what size frame would fit you best w/o seeing you on a bike spinning. But I'll try to answer your question, from what you have given. The Fuji bike sized 56mm, has a Top Tube of 560mm. (which was a tad big) A 54cm Fuji has TT of 550.8mm. The Mercier's 53cm, has a TT of 548mm. I think this would be a good starting point. Then you can play with stem length to dial in the fit.

I hope this help out and not too overwhelming. But once you ride on a properly fitted bike.. It feels like a tailored suit. You'll be able to ride longer, go faster and harder without the 'bad' soreness. (back, knees, shoulders, neck) Heh, sound like a Viagra ad!

Originally Posted by stevoe88,May 1 2009, 03:17 PM

Good stuff!


So, when the website says 50cm C-C, it means 53cm in the way everyone else measures their frames (center to top i think) correct? so If my friend's 56cm fuji was too big, getting the 50cm c-c (which equates to 53cm center to top) would be the way to go right?

Originally Posted by an_orange_s2k,May 1 2009, 12:17 PM

hard to pedal and cost at least $500 but to each their own