# First Road Bike Coming: BH G5...question..



## twelve34 (Apr 4, 2010)

I got an opportunity at a 2011 BH G5 in red/gray. It should be here in 7-10 days. I am a mountain biker and have never really even been on a road bike.

Because of the deal, I had to order without trying sizes. I am 6'0" tall with an inseam of about 33 inches. I ordered the 58.5 cm bike, the largest they had. Anybody have experience sizing with their bikes? Is this going to work?

I know it is ridiculous to order a bike I have not sized or ridden, but I got the Ultegra complete bike for cost. I had to take the chance.

Also, when you receive a complete bike, what is that going to look at. The store I got it from said they would get it in, assemble it, and send it to me. Does that mean I will be able to put the rest together? I am guessing I may have to get the fork cut???? I am just wondering what a bike showing up in a box looks like.

Any other setup tips?

I know I am going to have to replace the saddle, everything else will do for now. 

Any suggestions/tips would be great.

Thanks.

jim


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## E ! (Mar 14, 2010)

*..*

Probably to big of frame for you.


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## twelve34 (Apr 4, 2010)

*I measured.*

My actual inseam is 34.5 inches. I measured because you had me nervous.

Every size chart I have googled has told me that I should have a 59 to 60 cm frame. I ran through the in depth fitting thing wrenchscience has and their chart says my TT range should be 59.7-60.1. I know nothing is as good as the real thing, I just think 57 would have been too small.

I guess we will see.


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## Hank Stamper (Sep 9, 2009)

I think you're going to be pretty much right on with size. If it's a little off I don't think I'll be anything a stem swap can't take care of. Good luck.


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## mhyman16 (Dec 17, 2009)

For what it's worth, I'm 5'10" with short legs for my height (not sure of my actual inseam) and ride a 54cm G5.

As Hank pointed out, you're probably close enough where a stem change might be all the tweaking needed for a comfortable fit.

You mentioned that you're primarily a mountain bike rider so this will definitely be a different experience for you... I find the G5 quick to accelerate when I stomp on the pedals, very quick and responsive to steering input, and in general just a pleasure to ride. You can certainly lolly-gag on this bike and have a good time but it does reward harder efforts. I often find myself going harder than I'd intended because if feels like the bike keeps wanting to accelerate -- and who am I to hold it back? The downside is that on supposed recovery days I have to really ratchet it back and keep a clamp on my effort.

Anyhow, I do have a couple of suggestions for you or some things to be aware of. If you know all or some of this, my apologies as it's a bit long(winded). Not intended to tell you stuff you may already be aware but if that's the case, no harm done.

This is a really light bike, built up with really light components. If you think that you're going to tinker with your own fit -- seat placement/seat post height, stem height/angle, etc, invest in a torque wrench. In my mind, it's a small investment to help prevent breaking components on your larger investment -- all of the components have a suggested torque rating stamped on it somewhere which you will not want to exceed. In a pinch, less is more as a starting point and for a lot of things you can get away with 4Nm (your stem to steer tube will generally be more). Again, look at the rating on your components and use that as your guide.

For your seat post, some carbon assembly paste will help with slipping (it has grit in it) and will allow you to keep the torque low (4Nm). Your LBS or what ever shop is building it up for you should know that and use said paste. If you move your seat post up and down and you hear a sandy gritty noise, carbon assy paste.

I don't now if they've modified it for 2011, but the 2010 seat post binder clamp is relatively soft and uses fairly short bolts. On mine it was pretty easy to strip the threads in the clamp while tightening the bolts down. Yeah, even while using a torque wrench and just taking a 1/4-1/2 turn on each bolt at a time. I ended up sourcing some slightly longer bolts which gives more of a bite with in the threaded channel.

Seat angle adjustment can be a bit finicky but if your seat has a center cutout, you can use a nut driver from the top through the cutout to help loosen/tighten the front bolt. Using the knurled knob is a pain in the azz but if you have to go that route, tighten or loosen it more than you think you need to and let the rear bolt take up the slack. It should be pretty obvious once you loosen and tighten it a couple of times.

You are correct in thinking that you'll probably want to get the steer tube cut down at some point but, there's no rush. Once you sort out your stem arrangement I'd recommend getting at least a couple of hundred miles on it before you consider having it cut down. Ok, so it's looks dorky for a while just hanging out up there (I still haven't cut mine down and it's been 8 months) but you can't make it longer if it's been cut too short.

I really do adore riding this bike and if it fits you, especially if you're getting it at cost, I believe that you'll be a very happy guy.

Enjoy the new ride!
-Mike


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## twelve34 (Apr 4, 2010)

*Thanks.*

I appreciate the info, the stuff about carbon and torquing my components is something I would not have thought of. Aluminum is pretty forgiving in that area.

I will comment back when the bike arrives.


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## mhyman16 (Dec 17, 2009)

*You are welcome*



twelve34 said:


> I appreciate the info, the stuff about carbon and torquing my components is something I would not have thought of. Aluminum is pretty forgiving in that area.
> 
> I will comment back when the bike arrives.


You are quite welcome.

Actually, carbon can be quite forgiving as I found when I tagged a low hanging sign with my saddle while driving through a parking garage with a different bike on the roof rack. It would seem that the garage's height sign at it's entrance didn't include _that _sign... I heard a noise that sounded like the seat post should have broken, but it had not. In fact, it didn't even crack and I've put over 4k on it since that incident. I think the way most carbon is laid up it has 'memory,' so after it deforms with in it's engineered boundaries, it is able to return to its original position with out having it's structure weakened. Actually, the seat stays on your soon to be G5 are relatively slender so that they can flex a bit over rough terrain and bumps. Not a lot, but enough to take the edge off of the harsh stuff.

From what I've experienced, carbon can handle blunt impact quite well, though it's weakness seems to be most sharp impact and crush force. Crush force and thread pull out is where torque spec is important and that also holds true with aluminum. It's not impossible to way over torque the stem bolts on your alu bars and eventually have the bars break as you go bombing down a hill. Not pretty. Put some weight on top of an empty soda can and it's pretty strong. Put a dimple or crimp in the side of the can (not unlike over tightening a clamp) and it'll crumple fairly easily. In terms of pull out, most fixing bolts are either steel of some sort (stainless hopefully) or titanium. I've seen some aluminum but I think that's the exception. Right. Since aluminum is a softer material than steel or titanium, over tightening those bolts in to an aluminum receiver can lead to pull out (or stripped out threads).

Anyhow, I'd look forward to hearing your report once you get the bike.

Enjoy!


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## twelve34 (Apr 4, 2010)

*Got it.*

Hello. My bike arrived last week and I am loving it. It is bizarre to go from a mountain bike to a bike like this, I cannot get over how efficient the bike is. The speed it hits just coasting downhill is crazy. I feel like I went from a Chevy truck to a Ferrari.

As to the sizing, I have ordered a shorter stem. I am going from the 110 mm stem it came with to a 90 mm. I think that will make the sizing perfect. I also ordered a different saddle, I am going with the Fizik Antares rather than the one it came with. I have a Fizik on my mountain bike and love it. 

I am not sure how I would do the sizing if I had a chance to do it over again. Getting used to a road bike for the first time, I feel like a 57 would have seemed a bit small, but maybe not. I think with the shorter stem I won't really think about it again. 

I did take your advice on the torque wrench too.

Thanks again for all the help.


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## mhyman16 (Dec 17, 2009)

Awesome! I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying it so far. I know for myself that I'm still wow'd by the way this bike accelerates, corners, climbs and descends and often still find myself grinning just because.

Best of luck dialing in your fit. If you get stuck and need another eyeball, there's nothing wrong with visiting your LBS for an actual fitting.

Enjoy the new ride -- if it ever stops raining...


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## Glendog99 (Apr 23, 2011)

Does anybody know how many Wilier bikes are sold in the US in a year? 
I have been riding my Wilier Izoard for nearly a year now (2,000 plus miles so far) and could make a long list of likes. One of the things I particularly like is riding a brand that's not as common yet is known among people that really know their bikes. It would be great to have a figure to share, say, 500 bikes in the US per year - just cause I'm a fan of trivial statistics.
Thanks


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