9
I think it's likely that the frame is just to large for you. A medium frame is generally too large for a person 5'4" (approx. 162cm) in height.
What's going in is that distance from the saddle to the bars is likely too long, causing you to have to lean forward too much, which is causing your pelvis to rotate forwards also.
When sitting on a bicycle ...
9
There is little research on the impact of crank length on power output in cycling. There are some lab studies, and they seem to show that even for crank lengths significantly shorter or longer than the norm, the metabolic cost to maintain a specified speed or power output in the lab doesn't change. Importantly, some of these studies included lengths ranging ...
7
You should ask the seller for all the information you need about the bike, because a) they should know more than we do and b) if they can't give it to you readily then there is more risk that it is stolen. These things do happen!
Don't tell the seller this, but the name is usually written on the frame. If they can't manage that much then consider walking ...
5
It looks like a 2017 Giant Contend SL2 Disc: https://www.giant-bicycles.com/gb/contend-sl-2-disc-2017.
The picture is quite grainy so it's hard to be 100% sure. Check if it has the Giant Conduct disc brake system to be sure.
Here's the image in the linked product page for the 2017 Giant Contend SL2 Disc:
4
TLDR; cranklength is like saddles, when you find the right one you'll know, but there are no hard and fast rules about the right length.
Crank length is one of those things in cycling that seems to go in and out of fashion. Back in the dark ages, you road 170mm cranks on the road, 165mm on the track and there weren't many bike racers over 6 ft tall. Then ...
3
Most racks that use the common stainless flat stock type upper struts can be made to fit. Planet Bike Eco, Topeak MTX, and many more. Getting them on will require reworking the struts. Usually one must flatten the twisted end of the strut and put the twist back in further up to snake them in on arrangements like this without interfering with the brake cable. ...
3
This is a racing bike. It not designed for a couple of hours of leisurely riding or commute, but long and fast rides and people who are used to such rides. You can extend the handlebars higher and try to install wider tires, but you will still have handlebars way too forward, steering geometry that feels unstable and narrower tires than you need. My ...
3
Regardless of the bar type you wind up with, the main way to raise the bars that much without swapping forks is via a steerer extender, which isn't safe to use with a carbon-steerered fork such as this, especially under a larger rider.
If you want the ability to go very tall, that means a steel steerer. There are some carbon forks with them that would ...
3
In my experience, Continental-brand tyres are neither difficult nor easy to fit when new. They certainly require leverage tools like tyre levers or similar, but they're much easier than a Schwalbe Marathon.
I've fitted both GP4000 and Gatorshell tyres in the last year or so.
Personally I prefer kevlar bead tyres now over wire bead for weight, ease of ...
3
This is a very contentious subject. There's a formula for determining crank length that Lennard Zinn (who knows a bit about these matters) recommends:
crank length (in mm) = inseam (in cm) × 2.16
Note the shift in units. I'm currently riding 172.5s, but going by this, I should be on 175s, which surprises me. I am not going to rush right out and change them....
3
I am not convinced that the frame is too large. To me it looks like your saddle is too high, and trying to reach the pedals and handlebars from that position makes things awkward. Usually the saddle is set just so low that you don't fully extend your knees at the lowest position and don't extend your ankles at all. One rule of thumb is that you should be ...
3
could it simply be that the new rim is a few millimeters wider and the brakes are making contact because of that? If the wheel is seated into the dropout all the way, the quick release will have enough force to fully clamp the frame to the hub securely. Check by unclamping the qr, putting some body weight on the saddle with a shoulder and reclamp the qr. ...
2
I've hat that kind of failure with freewheels with two different causes.
What is happening is that the ratcheting mechanism is failing to engage. In the freewheels that I have disassembed, the inside of the cogs have some "ramps" and the center of the wheel has pawls that engage with the ramps when rotating in one direction but slip when rotating in the ...
2
Daniel is right - it sounds like the mechanism in the back that allows coasting, has failed. This means the chain is driving the cogs forward, but there's no connection between the cogs and the hub of the rear wheel.
There are no good fixes short of replacing the rear freewheel or freehub, depending on what the bike has now. A deep clean and relube can ...
2
I don't think this will help you much, but I own a record bicycle, a mountain bicycle, and this brand was sold a looong time ago in my country (Mexico), I hope that the fact that it was sold in my country help you find which brand produced that bicycle :)
2
I found this question while trying to add some information to one of my previous answers.
Since the question was asked, bike design in general may have become more accommodating of female riders, and of smaller riders more generally.
As a smaller male rider, lever reach was an issue I dealt with as well, although my problem was more reaching the brake ...
2
I had this same question so I did some looking around.
Here's what I picked up --
The simple formula for figuring out which tire works for you. Take the amount of contact area of the tire on the ground and multiply by PSI you have in your tire.
So, the "area" (width times length) of the tire along the ground, multiplied by the psi.
So, 2" of tire down ...
2
I would say your saddle looks a bit too high, but that frame overall looks like a good fit. A smaller frame may have a shorter head-tube, lowering the bars even more! I also agree with the other answers that the length of the bike may be the problem.
I think a slightly shorter stem, somewhere around 50mm would help, without changing the handling too much - ...
2
Does anyone know the model of this bike? Where do I look on the bike to find out?
There are catalogs for Gitane but it does not appear to be one catalog for each year.
Velo Pages 1970 - 1974 (Did they only have one catalog for four years? Seems unlikely but I can't find any other U.S. catalogs)
Gitane USA
From what I can see it's about a 1970 Gran Sport ...
2
This is completely dependent on your body dimensions (the exact shape of the relevant parts) and the exact way you sit and move your legs and the rest of the body. Everyone is different. There is no other way then to try riding in some bib shorts and see if they work well or not. That may even change if you get or loose some considerable amount of body fat ...
2
Both approaches may work if you are lucky. It depends whether you are willing to sacrifice the additional sealant if it does not or whether you are willing to sacrifice the sealant that is already there when cleaning the tyre.
If there is some still some good amount of sealant inside, you can also use tubeless plugs (worms), but they are not permanent, ...
2
Both Topeak and Tortec racks (many, not necessarily all designs) have a fair bit of adjustment from rails that can be slightly bent to fit. I'm sure other brands do too but these are the ones I'm most familiar with.
The Tortec Velocity (I've got the slightly wider Velocity Hybrid) for example has support rails that pivot and slide. They're also aluminium ...
2
The Pletscher quick rack system will attach directly to the seat tube, so no need for the eyelet.
https://www.pletscher.ch/index.php/en/products-en/carriers-en/quickrack-carriers-en
They carry up to 25 kgs, as other racks.
Otherwise, the regular thing to attach the rack can probably be swapped inside/outside or left/right to attach the rac to your eyelets.
2
It seems that from their photos, you have the correct setup.
Structurally, it also makes sense as the longer rear of the clamp supports the part of the saddle that you'll sit on, though it would also make sense to rotate the top clamp to assign its beefier 'claw' to the front, which also undergoes a larger vertical cantilever force.
If you want to be sure, ...
2
Looks like a nice bike - not very old because disk brakes have only been on road bikes in the last ~5 years.
The top tube profile suggests an aluminium frame not carbon fibre, and the thickness of the fork tines/legs suggest they are carbon fibre.
Both tyres are a bit low on air so pump them up before you test-ride it. And you should absolutely test ride ...
1
What year is your Diverge?
Unfortunately Specialized states that for the Diverge 2021
Tyre clearance increased to 47mm (700c) / 2.1in (650b)
So it is quite likely you will have issues (I guess they increased it of more than 5 mm, to make such a claim, and therefore you would be at the limit of the accepted size, which is always calling for possible issues ...
1
Option 2 might work, but only by coincidence. You'll probably need to tweak the barrel adjuster on your 11-speed every time you change your bike between trainer and wheel. And of course, being in erg mode is kind of limiting but might not be a problem for you.
If you want to throw money at the problem,
Upgrade your girlfriend's bike to 11 speeds; or
Get a ...
1
The 11 speed shifter, derailleur and chain will not shift properly with the 8 speed cassette.
As the number of sprockets in cassettes increased, the spacing was made progressively narrower, and chains were made progressively also. Your 11 speed shifter/derailleur combination will not move the chain far enough to shift properly on an 8 speed cassette.
If ...
1
Thanks for all your answers. My motives for posting were somewhat mixed. I did originally purchase the Domane for training in the hills and maybe even some bike touring. It was sized correctly at a bike store but the minute I pulled out my Hobson saddle, they balked and kind of disowned the whole sizing effort. They pointed to regular nosed seats with ...
1
There's a lot of saddle visible behind you - which indicates you're in an "attack" or forward position on the bike. To me it looks like you're going up a hill.
For me, my saddle is much more "under" me - I've just tested and replicating that amount of saddle ledge out the back is extremely uncomfortable. The trailing edge of my saddle is almost still in ...
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