Hello, I'm planning on purchasing (Scott Addict) gravel bike.
However the size available are size S and L.
Based on website assistance size guide l'm size M.
I've read the size chart and I should be within the recommended height on both size.
Could someone provide me some insight or experience on choosing smaller or larger size ?
Thank you 🙂
by aaqilykp
15 Comments
Find a bike that fits you and buy that you’re just going to cause problems compensating for a too big/too small frame forever it’s not worth it
Buy the correct size for you. They will try to push what they have in stock on you. Don’t settle for what they have in the store. Go to another shop or brand if you have to.
I’d jump on [bikeinsights.com](http://bikeinsights.com) and load up your current bike, then compare the Addict to see which size aligns closely on stack and reach. From there you can determine what can be make to fit the best. You would be shocked how far apart most companies are on the sizing and recommendations. Reach and stack are the only number i look at when sizing a frame. From there, everything goes haywire anyways depending on handlebar width, crank arm length, stem length, and saddle position/height. My gravel bike is a “56”, my road bike is a “Medium”, my TT bike is a “S/M”, and my mountain bikes are both “Large”. Stick to the geo charts and disregard the stamp on the frame and Mfg recommendation.
additional note my height is 175 cm and leg height 81cm.
Scott frames are big. I’m 165cm, balanced arms & legs size and sportive riding style: Scott’s chart placed me squarely across the XS and S Addict Gravel frame. I bought the XS, and it is still much bigger than my other 2 frames. Especially from a standover standpoint, since you’re combining a top tube that’s a lot more horizontal than most aggressively slopped top tubes out there and the extra volume of gravel tires.
It fits very well and I love it, it just required some fiddling with my position.
Get a different bike then, or look at other stores.
I do ride a bike that’s smaller than what the chart suggests, and I love it, it fits me great, so that may work for you as well, but go try the bike first before blindy buying it.
S may work for you. Or it may not. I’d rather get the smaller one than the larger one.
Even better, get a bike fit done first, the fitter can then suggest the correct frame size for you based on all your measurements and bike geometry.
Sounds like your trying to make an available bike fit you.. I would not do that. I have done that–it’s not a good idea. Change brands or something if you have to, but get the best size for you in whichever bike. And finally, most of us fall “between” 2 sizes, however you wish to measure that. So, the best way to know is climb on one (or 2 or 3) in person. That works.
Ok but how tall are you? That’s a key piece of information.
As others have said, buy the tidbit size for you. However, if you must choose between too small or too large a frame, it’s much easier to make a smaller frame fit than it is to make a frame too big work comfortably.
I’m 183cm and inseam is 81cm. I’ve ridden a 56 for the last 10 years and feel super comfortable. I once visited a friend and rode his 58 Trek Boone for a few hours and I felt like it was way too big.
Just bought one last week. I’m 5’10 with a 32.5 inseam and got a medium. Usually ride a 56, but based on what a ton of posts noted I opted for the 54. Haven’t been able to ride a ton yet (thanks, Covid), but so far it’s a good fit. Only one LBS in town sells Scott, and they had nothing in stock but also mentioned their frames run on the large size.
Hey, I’m exactly your measurements. 175cm height and 81cm inseam.
I tried a Scott Addict back in 2022(I think?) and the medium was too big. The reach was too long to be comfortable without a shorter stem. The ride was nice though.
They didn’t have a small for me to try, but it definitely would have been a better fit for me.
If you have a different shop near you that sells Trek, a bike that fit me really well was a Trek Domane in 54cm.
Feel free to message me if you want feedback on any other bikes. You can get a lot of different bikes to fit you as long as you’re willing to do things that might look weird to others such as a positive angle stem, riser bars, shallower drops, narrower or wider bars, etc. Reach is more flexible than stack in my opinion with carbon forks. You get 30mm of spacers under the stem as maximum for most carbon forks, which means you have a very set limit on what you can do with stack height(how high your bars should go). With reach, you have more options since you have varying stem length and angle, bar reach and height, and hood reach as well, if you’re willing to change shifters for a better fit.
If you insist on buying either an S or an L (of course there are other bikes and other shops but you have your reasons 😀) then I would suggest that it’s easier to “expand” a Small by fitting a longer stem, maybe even a longer seatpost &c. It’s much harder to “shrink” a larger bike because there are hard limits to how short a stem or seatpost you could fit.
Also, consider crank sizes – it’s possible (but more expensive) to buy replacement cranks in a different size, whilst putting up with cranks a couple of mm too short for your legs (because the bike was designed for a person with slightly shorter legs) would just be a slight annoyance for most people¹, but using “too long” cranks (because the bike was designed for a person with slightly longer legs) might even cause knee injuries &c.
Happy riding!
¹ after all, we all tolerate those static bikes at the gym which start from a “one size fits all” basis, they allow an incredibly long seatpost to be selected for a rider with long legs, but the crank length can’t be changed so it’s a short crank designed to not injure a very short rider
Calculate your ideal stack and reach (you can use gpt/claude to guide you).
Then go to your bike’s website to get the reach and stack and then compare if it’s too different from your ideal values.
Whatever bike you want to buy, you should look at the closest values.
Stack values ​​measure the length of your legs, reach measures how aggressive you want to be on the bike.
Don’t buy a bike that doesn’t fit properly. It’s a waste of time and money.
Go try them both or get properly fitted.
Had a few test rides with 2024 scott addict gravels. According to size chart (my measurements are quite similar to yours) i need size M, but this would hurt my private parts while standing and size S fits perfect.
Looking desperatley for a 2025 size S Addict gavel, please tell me if you find a supply <3