Fantastic! You have set your heart on one of our mixte frames. But what size do you need?
Though many of the Buena Vistas we sell have eventually been built with riser/flat bars or city bars, it is essential to understand the Buena Vista was designed as a sport touring drop bar bike.
What is a sport touring bike?
Our working definition is a bike that is practical for long distances (10+ miles), riding fast, and allow you to carry a light load over flat terrain as well as hills. The rider is in a relatively neutral position where you can pedal efficiently in a relaxed manner, but can also move forward to put more weight on the bars and front wheel for more steering control and to engage different muscles to reduce fatigue.
The rider is not in a hunched forward, aerodynamic position as on a dedicated racing bike, but neither is the rider sitting straight upright as on a beach cruiser or one of those rental fleet bikes.
Other bike categories that overlap with this type of bike include "all-road", "endurance road", "touring" and "gravel".
Why are there two sizing charts below?
If you build the Buena Vista bike with flat bars AND want to maintain a SIMILAR athletic riding position described above, then you need to usually go to the NEXT SIZE UP. If you don't size up, the typical 9° bend flat bar will bring your hands about 150mm closer to your body than the hoods of the brake levers on a drop bar.
Some people can fit more than one size. Some might look like they are in between sizes. We usually recommend getting the smaller size if you are between sizes. When sizing down you can make up length with a longer stem. That usually works unless you are getting a bar with a lot of backsweep (think Nitto Bosco or Soma Oxford), but aren't going for a very relaxed and upright riding position.
What if you are going for a more relaxed riding position than "sport touring"?
There are going to be some bodies that want or demand more comfort than the typical sport touring ride position affords.
• Perhaps you have limited flexibility in the neck or back.
• Perhaps you find that when you have to put more weight on the grips, you feel more fatigue on the shoulders and neck at the end of a ride.
• Doesn't a more upright sitting position mean I can sightsee and check traffic around me more easily.
Yes it does. So it makes sense some riders want a ride position in between sport touring and beach cruiser.
There are several ways to achieve that goal with component choices and the bike fit process:
1) Size up to the next size and get bars with more backsweep and/or some rise.
2) Size up to the next size and set the bars a little higher than you would the drop bars. Our fork steerers are very long so you can set the bars 30mm to 80mm above the frame.
3) Size up to the next size and get a shorter stem, though we don't recommend stems shorter than 60mm to keep steering optimal.
4) Don't size up. Get a shallow gravel style drop bar. play with stem length and set the bar higher than your optimized saddle height.
5) Don't size up. Go get the flat bar or city bar you want. Sit up and enjoy the view. Most likely it might be harder to stand up and pedal out of the saddle. But that isn't an important issue for everybody. Do look out for whether your knees get close to striking any part of the bar when pedaling (either sitting or standing).
The basic biomechanical pros and cons are:
1) When the bars are farther away from your shoulder, you can more easily put your body weight and muscle onto the bars. That is why a lot gravel bike and all-road bike set ups have their bars a few cms below the saddle height or level. Competitive cyclists almost always have their bars lower than their saddles. But of course it is difficult for regular folks to ride in that position for long periods of time.
2) To allow you to sit more upright, you either bring the bar higher up or farther back or a bit of both.
The higher you sit up the more comfortable it is on your back and shoulders and hands. (Carpal tunnel is a real thing on bikes). But the more upright you are, the more pressure there is on your butt and nether regions, so you may need a saddle with more cushioning on the sit bones. And the more upright you are, the less you can engage your gluteal muscles. You are limited to only using certain leg muscles.
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| Upright position is great for short rides on flat streets. This bike set up is a little small for this person. Grips are very close to her body. Could feel cramped. (Shutterstock) |
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| This gal as her handlebar maybe an inch or two taller than her saddle. And the bar is far enough away from her body she can pedal out of the saddle comfortably when needed. (photo: @wayamaeba) |
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| If you are not out to break Strava records, putting the bars about level with your optimized saddle height is a good starting point for your bike fit. A good bike shop will let you test ride the bike in a couple of different set-ups over weeks, before asking you to decide on one. |
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| Bar choice affects fit as much as it does style and looks. As mentioned earlier the difference between drop bars and typical flat bars can reduce reach by 15cm (6 inches). Alt MTB and city bike bars can reduce reach another 5 to 10cm. |
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| Feel joy. Feel peace. Feel fast. Photo: @clothesincontext |
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