Creo SL sizing help needed.

[SHAKEYSTART]

I need some help with Creo SL sizing. I have a 56 C-dale , and have a 55 gravel bike that both fit me well. If I go to Specialized web site, the fit guide says I’m probably a medium, so not too much to go on. I wonder if you nice people could give some input to ease my troubled mind. I got the wife a Creo SL XS, and she loves it, so I think it’s a good choice, just need to get the size right. Of course there are none to demo, so it’s a bit of a blind shot either way. Thanks for your help

 

[eddief]

There should be geometry charts available for your existing bikes. And you can see geo charts for Creo on Specialized website. I can't help but thinking you should be able to come close to matching seat tube and top tube length (or reach and stack even better) from your old bikes to the Creo dimensions. No?

 

[davidceder]

Just purchased two Creos. I am 5"9" and wife is the same. My inseam is 31.5", wife's is 34". So I have more upper body but wife has longer legs. We are all different, but my LBS jumped right on the Large for her but for me we just weren't sure. My buddy has a medium and I just felt cramped on it (he had a shortened stem and the seat was a bit forward) all stuff that leads to being cramped. Decided to order two larges and when I tried my wife's large after it was built we decided that would work for me as well. I just got it last week and too cold to ride so don't know how it will fit perfectly in the long run. I am ok if I need to shorten the stem a bit. My knee is also forward of the ball of my feet a bit and we are working on that. Don't know yet where I sit in the saddle so need to do some riding. I was also concerned about tow overlap with the front wheel. I wear a 10.6 shoe and when clipped in on the medium the toe of my shoe was really close to the wheel when it was turned. Sometimes I ride platform pedals and wanted the extra clearance. (it's not much clearance ) It is usually a c**p shoot between two sizes that need to get dialed it. Even the specialized fit overlaps heights between two bikes. When I measured myself on the Specialized site I measured a medium. I was also worried about exposed seat tube. My old ride was a bit big for me and I didn't have much seat tueb length. I always thought it looked wrong so I really was torn between M & L. I have about 9 inches from the seat post collar to the top of the seat and it looks really right (these are EVO bikes so the drop seat collar sort of breaks things up) My wife's bike measures 10 inches (which is really strange considering her inseam is larger.) Like I said no dialed in yet so things might change. I guess you have to start off with the basic stuff. Height and inseam. Good luck.

 

[SHAKEYSTART]

@eddief you are correct. Problem is some of the measurement line up with the MEDIUM and some with the Large. I’ve had trouble in the past with STACK & REACH numbers alone, but it is a good place to start. I’m 5’10” 32” inseam, and 34” sleeve length as a basic sizing, and as I said, the Spesh site puts me in a MED. In my Levo SL (totally different bike), I’m a LARGE. Anyway, I do thank you for your response.

 

[SHAKEYSTART]

Toe overlap...yes that is an issue with my MED gravel bike, especially when going up a steep incline out of the saddle. Not much you can do with that, but I’d bet you can get enough saddle adjustment to correct the knee over balls of feet, just fine. Thanks for the input.

 

[eddief]

@eddief you are correct. Problem is some of the measurement line up with the MEDIUM and some with the Large. I’ve had trouble in the past with STACK & REACH numbers alone, but it is a good place to start. I’m 5’10” 32” inseam, and 34” sleeve length as a basic sizing, and as I said, the Spesh site puts me in a MED. In my Levo SL (totally different bike), I’m a LARGE. Anyway, I do thank you for your response.

I think unless you are concerned about headtube length (me) and needing to get your bars as high as possible (me old) then you can easily most of the time make up for size differences by raising the saddle via seat post and / or adjusting stem length and angle. I'm 5'11 and my Creo is an XL, but at 70 and in the last 10 years I go for stack height to get my bars up high.

Can you test ride/fit a Diverge at your shop since their geometry specs are similar, no?

 

[SHAKEYSTART]

Test a Diverge...good idea, however the Spesh dealership was bought out by Trek recently, so I’m not sure where to get a ride. As David suggested, toe overlap may be the more critical issue that cannot be resolved, other than maybe going to a 650 wheel/tire. I’m looking into that.

 

[e-levity]

@eddief y.. I’m 5’10” 32” inseam, and 34” sleeve length as a basic sizing, and as I said, the Spesh site puts me in a MED. In my Levo SL (totally different bike), I’m a LARGE. Anyway, I do thank you for your response.

Hey Shakey - I'm close to your size (5'11"/33/33) and ride a LARGE Creo EVO. Fit is perfect.
Like you I also ride a Large Levo SL (and Large Levo and Large Stumpjumper), so I would expect a Large Creo to work best for you.

I did switch to a 90mm stem on the Large Creo as I ride off-pavement a lot and wanted a shorter reach for control at lower speeds. 100mm was fine on tarmac.
There is a small amount of toe overlap even on the Large (not an issue), and a Medium could be more problematic.

Re 650b wheels: these will drop an already low bottom bracket even further. Trail will also decrease for a give tire width.

 

[eddief]

Hey Shakey - I'm close to your size (5'11"/33/33) and ride a LARGE Creo EVO. Fit is perfect.
Like you I also ride a Large Levo SL (and Large Levo and Large Stumpjumper), so I would expect a Large Creo to work best for you.

I did switch to a 90mm stem on the Large Creo as I ride off-pavement a lot and wanted a shorter reach for control at lower speeds. 100mm was fine on tarmac.
There is a small amount of toe overlap even on the Large (not an issue), and a Medium could be more problematic.

Re 650b wheels: these will drop an already low bottom bracket even further. Trail will also decrease for a give tire width.

I have no issues with toe overlap but do prefer shorter crank arms. For cheap, my dealer sold me 170mm arms to replace the 175s that came on the bike. A way to minimize overlap? Perhaps!

 

[Art Deco]

FWIW I am also on the edge between a large and medium on the Specialized chart (different model - a Como) and tried the large step through for a week and couldn't get used to it. Dropped it twice on serious hills and had to return it for a medium diamond frame. No issues since. So too big is way worse than too small for me. YMMV.

 

[SHAKEYSTART]

I have no issues with toe overlap but do prefer shorter crank arms. For cheap, my dealer sold me 170mm arms to replace the 175s that came on the bike. A way to minimize overlap? Perhaps!

Interesting...I just assumed that the Creo came with 170mm. My Levo SL came with 170mm.

 

[davidceder]

I would think at 5'11" you would need at least a Large? Are you trying to decide between M & L or L and XL?

 

[davidceder]

M & L = 172.5 MM
XL= 175MM

Of course 2.5 MM is only .098 inches

 

[SHAKEYSTART]

@davidceder Re sizing, I’m kinda the opposite of you...longer legs, shorter torso. That said, here are the stack/reach of my current rides, C-Dale being the best fit:
C-Dale Synapse (56) S= 590 R= 386
Parlee Chebacco (M) S= 577 R= 373
Creo SL (M) S= 592 R= 379
Creo SL (L) S= 615 R= 384

 

[davidceder]

Funny; your are still in the middle. Both stack and reach can be fixed. I wonder if the Specialized stack spec is with one or three spacers. My wife ended up with three for now I go two. I think it comes with three available. The old way always said "smaller"="lighter" so go that way. I don't think that is true any longer. Of course a smaller bike is lighter but a lot of us are over weight anyway. I like to have a bike under me when I am out of the saddle which is less and less these days.

Is there no way you can find someone near where you live that has one of these? I was lucky my friend has a medium he let me screw with.
Don't know where you live but even a longish ride to a bike shop to test when you are investing 7K is worth it in my book. I had to do a 200 mile drive to try a large.

 

[itsmel]

I'm 6'0" with your same inseam and sleeve length. I have a 56cm road bike (custom built, so fit is spot on) and 55cm gravel bike that's close enough. In test riding the Creo, the large was definitely the right size for me.

 

[itsmel]

One other thought. If you use the Specialized website to find shops with Creos in stock near you ("near" being a relative term), try looking at availability for each of the models. The frame geometry is the same between them all, so if you're testing just for fit, any you find should be okay. Near me, for instance, it's easier to find the E5 and Expert models, and the others are less frequently in stock.

 

[Prairie Dog]

The frame geometry is the same between them all, so if you're testing just for fit, any you find should be okay. Near me, for instance, it's easier to find the E5 and Expert models, and the others are less frequently in stock.

Due to its aluminum frame, the E5’s geometry is different than either the Comp carbon/Expert versions. That made a difference when it came to deciding between the two for my wife. For instance, the standover height is higher on the E5 which wasn’t going to work with her shorter inseam. As a result, she ended up getting the CC over the E5.

 

[jodi2]

@davidceder Re sizing, I’m kinda the opposite of you...longer legs, shorter torso. That said, here are the stack/reach of my current rides, C-Dale being the best fit:
C-Dale Synapse (56) S= 590 R= 386
Parlee Chebacco (M) S= 577 R= 373
Creo SL (M) S= 592 R= 379
Creo SL (L) S= 615 R= 384

5'10'' and 32' seems the oppsite for me, long torso and short legs. My legs are longer, I'm only 2.4 inches taller but 4 inches more inseam. I was between Creo L and XL, but I don't like to long saddle posts and the Creo has a quite short seat tube for a race bike (I guess for the optional use of a dropper post. So I chose XL, but had to change the stem to 90mm to feel comfortable. I can still use a dropper post, but the seat tube shouldn't be any longer.
Your inseam is 4 inches less. I guess you can't project this value exactly to the seat tube length (as this would result in XS-S for you...). But Creo "L" has only 1 inch shorter seat tube, I don't think this is enough for you. You would sit almost on the top tube and surely without the possibility for a dropper post. Creo M with a 2 inches shorter seat tube should be more suited. For the reach you then may need a longer stem, but 100mm is already long for "M" (what's the stem length of your C-Dale?).

In short your torso is L, your legs M at the Creo.
But I would also try to test both sitze before spending so much money!

 

[SHAKEYSTART]

@jodi2 & @itsmel Thanks for your responses, it DOES help...more data=better tools for decision process. Unfortunately the only large is 200 miles away and we’re in the middle of a state wide emergency with a polar vortex crashing down. No water or electricity for many, at least we currently have electricity. I thought 2020 was bad! That said, there is a medium near me, so when I can get out of my driveway I’ll head over there for a trial sitting. In your experience, do you guys think it would be easier to make a medium larger OR make a large smaller?