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Bowman Palace sizing

by wombat
Thu, Apr 16, 2015 13:47
5

Hi all,

I know there's a very simple answer to this question ("go to a LBS and try them out"), but living fairly far away from any stockists I was hoping to be able to order a frame online. So..

After riding my Boardman Team alloy bike for a couple of years I'd like to upgrade and build something up myself. After reading the glowing Road.cc review (and many others) I'm really keen on the Bowman Palace for fast training and ultimately racing. The problem is that I'm struggling with their size guide: http://bowman-cycles.com/faqs/

Being about 6 foot 0.5 inches and having an inside leg of around 35 inches I'm at the top end of their range for leg length but on the borderline between a size 56 and 58 for height (and therefore reach). My Boardman has a 57cm effective top tube and 55.5cm C-T seat tube, so sits somewhere in between the two. I find that comfortable with the 12cm stem that it shipped with, but I've never tried anything different!

With a shorter or longer stem I could probably fit either size, but suspect that the 56 would result in me needing to add lots of spacers to compensate for the shorter seat tube and head tube.

I've seen loads of recommendations on the forums for this frameset, but haven't seen many posts from people who've bought them! Is there anyone around who has, and can comment on or offer recommendations for sizing?

Many thanks,

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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5 comments

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wombat | 9 years ago
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Thanks guys.

Struggling to find official stack and reach measurements for my 2012 boardman team unfortunately. Had a go at measuring it but seems very hard to do accurately! Is it possible to calculate it from other measurements?

I think it's about 40cm for reach and 56cm stack. So same reach as the size 58 and same stack as the 56. I think I read that reach is the most important of the two?

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2 Wheeled Idiot | 9 years ago
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If it comes out as exactly between sizes, go for the smaller frame... Better to fit a long stem and have more seat post extension (slightly more comfortable) than have a midget stem and little seat post, also smaller bikes feel a bit more nimble too 1

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matthewn5 | 9 years ago
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Stack and reach are the two numbers you need for comparison, as those are the dimensions you feel when you're on the bike. Search for a geometry chart with them on for both bikes, if you can.

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DanTe | 9 years ago
0 likes

Give em a ring!
The guy who set up the company - Mr Bowman is a real good guy. He answered a thread I put up on another forum about trying to get a fork to fit a Canyon Frame I'd bought and sold me a sample fork he had that might of fitted if the frame wasn't buggered, delivered it to London Bridge on the evening before Christmas Eve just so I could try and get the thing running for two weeks in Spain a couple of days later.
Chapeau as they say in cycling terms...

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wombat replied to DanTe | 9 years ago
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Thanks DanTe,

Didn't manage to get through earlier so left a message. I imagine they're pretty rammed at the moment!

Groupset arrived a few days ago, and seeing it boxed up and not on a bike is a bit painful. Best not to rush into anything though 17

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