School me about stack and reach

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2012-08-19 1:13 PM

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Veteran
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Pittsburgh, PA
Subject: School me about stack and reach

First off, what do they actually mean?  

I'm looking for a new road bike, and frankly none of the bike shops in my area seem to think it worth my (or their) while to go through a formal fitting before I buy.  I'm looking in the $1000 range and am looking more at WSD frames.

It seems like stack and reach are the most important.  The things on competitive cyclist says you can take a(torso + arm)/2 + 4, but when I do that I get 73.66 which is nowhere near anything on the websites of the bikes I'm looking at (bikes seem to range in the 30s for reach).

It would seem to me that you could just take the ratio of your arm and torso to your inseam, and find a bike that had a similar ratio for reach/stack or top tube/ seat tube.  Or is there a lot more to it, and if so , what?

2012-08-19 3:32 PM
in reply to: #4369976

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, New Hampshire
Subject: RE: School me about stack and reach
Stack, the height of the bike; Reach, the length of the bike. Both are measured from center of bottom bracket to top of head tube.

Buying a bike and then getting it fitted is backwards... you're the constant and the bike should be the variable... The reason why you should always have a bike fit first is so you can purchase the bike with the geometry that is closest to your ideal. Body measurements is only a part of the bike fit... you also need core strength, flexibility, type of terrain you ride/race, length of your rides/races, current/future goals, current/previous injuries/issues, riding experience, etc. It's a lot of factors that will change your bike fit... for example, you wouldn't have the same fit for a 10k time trial as you would for a 118 mile Ironman bike leg...

WSD can be divided into three camps... manufacturers that design the bike ground up (i.e. geometry change, carbon layup change, etc.); standard geometry, but changes to equipment (saddle, narrower handle bars, etc.); and lastly, no change at all from standard bike, but just slap some pink colors on it and call it a WSD... They obviously not all the same... Plus, you may or may not need (or fit) a WSD bike... Some will, but many won't...

Forget any kind of measurements that an online site gives you... they can't take all the information needed into account.
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