I just bought my first gravel bike second hand: a Specialized diverge elite 2020. I‘m just a tiny bit shorter than 170 cm, but the bike available was 54.
What do you think about the position? I‘m not sure if I should maybe switch the stem to a shorter one (80 mm instead of 100 mm)
P.S. it wasn’t easy taking a picture indoors. And pardon my Birkenstocks.
by NoDefinition_
18 Comments
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Following lol. I bought a used bike recently and often wonder if it fits right.
Here to comment on the Birkenstocks.
Never apologize.
Birks > All
I’m thinking try the stem on top of all spacers. Looks like you have one on top of stem still. That will bring it higher and closer slightly. Then try the shorter stem if you feel like you’re reaching still which it seems like you may be just a little due to straight elbows although I see a slight bend.
All I can offer is the fact that I use a 35mm stem, and I really like it. It affects the handling some, but I prefer it. And it was amazing how noticeable a 3.5cm reduction of reach makes (I started with a 70mm stem).
Reach looks a bit too long. Either reduce the stem length and increase handlebar height, or move saddle forward as required.
Seems fine to me.
WifeyPoo is similar in height and also ended up finding a deal on a 54. She ended up with a 35mm stem with something like a 30 degree rise. It made a huge difference in her comfort for longer rides.
You cant exchange it for a 52?
I think it looks about right, and you’ve got a little room to play around in terms of stem length.
Just eyeballing it I reckon you’d probably do well with an 80mm stem flipped upwards, but if I were you I’d buy a few different stems to try and see how you feel.
Stems can be had super cheaply on amazon/ebay/aliexpress and it’s the sort of component that’s pretty hard to fuck up, so I wouldn’t worry about quality.
Just going to hazard a guess, but the 42cm bars that come stock with the bike are probably a bit too wide for you. You’d probably do well to look for some 38/40cm bars with a 12-20 degree flare. That way you can tilt the hoods in a little easily while maintaining some nice wide drops for stability when you’re in them.
As an added bonus, swapping the bars over gives you an excuse to reposition the hoods and experiment with how you like them before you redo the bar tape.
Are you sure it’s a 54? I‘m 167cm and ride a 49.
From your posture, it is clear that the drops reach is too far for you.
To keep the bike, you can:
– replace the steam with a short one and 25/30 degree
– replace the seat post with one that fits the seat without 15 mm to the back
– replace the handle bar with a shorter one (38mm will help, I can not see if your arms are straight or have an angle from this picture)
– make sure saddle high is good and if still need, move the sadle a bit forward
Combined, you should be able to reduce 60 to 100 mm. This might do.
Keep in mind that your arms should never be fully extended or hold your body weight but just handle and relax.
The risk of moving your body position too forward would be that your center of mass is too forward.
Another strategy would be then to ride in a more aggressive position (and not change the post or seat forward position) having a good saddle (SLR shperflow Saddle Italia for example) that lets you open your hips.
You can also try at r/bikefit
Just here to empathize with buying a 54 when you’d fit better on a smaller bike! I recently did the same – there was not much available in a smaller size in my area.
I am also planning on switching the stem out for a shorter one. The comments here have been helpful for me too!
Are you going to be riding in your birks? If so, it looks fine. I would suggest wearing “all” the cycling gear you plan on riding with and then dial in positioning.
You’re really upright. At least you’ll be comfortable in the drops.
no shorter stem and you should post pictures with your feet in horizontal position of the pedals because the angle of your knee and the position of the knee is very important
IMO, a good 20mm too long of a stem. They are 20$ on marketplace, get a few an try them out.
Always better to have a fit with your clipless shoes too, start with the celats all the way back to begin with (bike fit james’ oen recommendation…)
Not enough in one picture to say if it’s a good or not…