New boy needs frame help

[kingped]

Hi there.
My name is Peter and I am new to this forum and could do with a wee bit of advice. I am looking for a hybrid, and have a very limited budget ie, the best i can get for as little as possible. Not surprisingly this has thrown up the usual suspects of Carrrera subway 2 or a Specialised globe, unless i go down the second hand road. i have i think found a store with 08 globes for the handsome price of £199.99 but this is nowhere near where i live. Problem is which frame size - 55, 57, 58, 61. I am 5'10" inside leg 32". It does seem to be hard to find globes at the moment that are not centrums, or the (attractive) viennas which are a little out my range...
any advice would be brilliant - great forum btw

Ped

 

[Mortiroloboy]

Kingped as a rough ball park guide I'd say you would need a 57 frame given your size, that is if you are of a proportionate build, any minor tweaks to seat post, 'bar position, will sort out fit.

Ideally you should test ride before buying, but to be honest in your price range I don't think that is going to be an overiding (excuse the unintentional pun) factor.

I'm 5'9" and ride a 56. 55 will leave you with a fair bit of seat post exposed, whereas a 57 will allow you to keep more of your seat post inside the frame.

Don't dismiss the Subway, if you have a Hellfrauds near you pop along and give one a try out around the shop floor. they offer good VFM, just be prepared to do some adjustments, if the 'mechanic' is of the usual Hellfrauds Bikehut standard.

 

[kingped]

hi Mortiroloboy

thanks for the words of welcome and advice. You are right about trying of course - cant seem to source anywhere to try the globe though have test ridden a few in my bracket...mongooses, carreras to get the vibe of the wheel size trade off - been riding a tank/ mtb for years (even commuted 22 miles per day on the b***er - nasty) and now want to enjoy cycling with my kids. Work is slow, budget is tight - but I reckon either of these two may deliver what I'm after.
ped

 

[johnnyh]

The Subway always gets a good rating, and my local Halfrauds has a good bike mechanic, but I know it is lucky dip on that variable.

 

[jimboalee]

Mortiroloboy and I are the same height. My 'Seated height' is 33 inches.

Three independent framebuilders in Birmingham had my Frame size at 54cm.
I have a 54cm Spesh SWorks, its a treat.

Back in 1975, my LBS sold me a Peugeot 531 PX10. They sold me a 57cm !! Its a bit tight on my crotch.

Treat a Hybrid like a MTB and add 1 inch to the gap between toptube and crotch. Sloping toptube.
So go to Halfords and stand astride a Carerra Subway. If you can get all four fingers between the toptube and crotch, that's the one.
Carerra Subways are a little long in the toptube, so the elbow on saddle nose thing doesn't work.

 

[ianrauk]

I have both Subway 2 (18") and a Specialized Globe Comp 08 (55cm).
I'm 5'8" with 30" inside leg.

Both excellent bikes.. Use the Subway for a hack, the Globe for longer rides.

 

[Mortiroloboy]

Hehe, it's not such an exact science is it B) I started out on a 54 spesh allez, I tinkered with bits, shortened the stem, altered the saddle fore and aft, adjusted the seat post height up and down. Then I decided something was wrong and went for a www.bikefitting.com session at a local(ish) shop, who told me I should be (ideally ) on a 56, they made some adjustments to my existing 54, swapped out the stem from a 90mm to a 120mm, stuck my seat right up in the clouds!!!! which initially felt really weird to ride, however I soon realised I was much more efficient, so got a 56.

When I purchased my winter bike I went for medium, based on the sizing info on the bottom of the seat tube sticker which suggested it should be right size for my height.

I mimicked the set up on my best bike, and hey presto, pretty much perfect, although the geometry on the two bikes is ever so slightly different.

 

[kingped]

thanks to all.

went to buy 2nd hand subway 2 (had not been looked after, rusty, front wheel would not spin freely) but had a shot none the less. 20" frame seemed to be comfortable, and I did like the adjustable handle bars. So yeah with the seat post and bars it is not a science - agreed.
Unfortunately I stood at my local Halfords for 20 mins while three bits of genetic trash stood chatting about their mobile phones. I had to approach them, and actually answered all my own questions - not confident on the "good mechanic" front. turns out this online store have no globes after all.......

thanks again

 

[johnnyh]

so where does that leave you?

 

[jimboalee]

I had that Pug all through the eighties and into the nineties waiting for my legs to grow another inch, but no.
I got a fitting session at my friends at Venom, and then two others to confirm the result.
I priced up an exact copy of the 531 Pug with Nervar lugs, Simplex ends and Maillard B/B shell; but in 753R tubing -- £800 B)
Abandonned that idea and convinced myself the height of the Pug's top tube was 'RETRO' stylie

The only true way of sizing without going to a framebuilder is to stand astride the bike.
I had a 22" (56cm) tourer with a seat tube so laid back, the Standover height was the same as a 20.9" (53cm) Road bike.

 

[kingped]

where does that leave me?
well, trawling through gumtree waiting for the right bike (on Paper) and then getting it properly serviced, or
buying from another halfords and take( if needs must) to another mechanic, or
standing in halfords while the staff discuss ringtones......innit though bruv? wtf does that mean exactly?
sigh.
Ped

 

[Royalrider]

Hi Kingped,
I am sure you are aware but just incase you are not! There are different types of Specialized Globe. They get great reviews and in fact I recently bought one for the wife. But at the price you saw them at in one of your earlier posts it certainly won't be the Globe comp with the carbon forks.

 

[ianrauk]

Yep Royalrider..
I think he was refering to the Globe Comp Sport as apposed to the Globe Comp (with the Carbon Forks & of which I have). quite big price difference.

 

[Mortiroloboy]

thanks to all.

went to buy 2nd hand subway 2 (had not been looked after, rusty, front wheel would not spin freely) but had a shot none the less. 20" frame seemed to be comfortable, and I did like the adjustable handle bars. So yeah with the seat post and bars it is not a science - agreed.
Unfortunately I stood at my local Halfords for 20 mins while three bits of genetic trash stood chatting about their mobile phones. I had to approach them, and actually answered all my own questions - not confident on the "good mechanic" front. turns out this online store have no globes after all.......

thanks again

Once in response to a tip on here that some branches of Helfrauds were selling off cheap Schwalbe folding tyres I went to my local branch where the following conversation took place:-

Me - " Hi, I am looking for some Schwalbe folders please."

spotty youth, vacant stare, time lapse- "Er, I 'll ask."

SYVS disappears into stock room, reappears several minutes late-

Er, I don't think we sell folding bikes, er, sorry"

Me - "Hmm, I was after some folding tyres, but thanks for looking anyway."

 

[kingped]

Royalrider and Ianrauk

it was in fact just the bog standard Specialised Globe as opposed to the Comp or Comp sport. I think that this has now been superceeded by the Globe Vienna. there is also the Centrum ( which is fixed speed) or the Carmel which looks more like a cruiser, but nothing that seems to deliver the simplicity and price/ performance of the 08 globes.

Mortiroloboy - I like to think that we may be referring to the same brain - donor, however I fear that these SYVS assistants are ten-a-penny.