im 5′ 10” with a 32” leg, i ride a 54cm. most of the bikes ive ridden in a 56 have felt a little too long in the top tube for me.

brilliant – that is what I was thinking – the only 56 I have felt comfortable on was the Cannondale Synapse which is a short cockpit bike, and which looks crazy short in a 54.

so you may not need to go as low as you think.

that is what I was thinking – most of the 105 equipped bikes are short cage so I was have to change the cassette and derailleur later anyway, so I might as well try the gearing first.

What carbon forks are you guys using on your equilibriums?

When you brought the frame was it faced or not?

What crank size is the best choice on a compact – 175 (like my mtbs) or 172.5 which seems to be common?

I’m also surprised you found the Cayo too stiff – I did a fairly fast end to end on mine last month and never had any comfort issues. Have the newer models got a bit racier maybe?

On the gearing point, ride whatever you feel comfortable with, if someone sneers at your choice of equipment then they’re the ponce. Towards the end of a long sportive you will probably be more inclined to sit and spin as you tire, so the extra gears are handy. 36/28 got me up Kirkstone pass and I’m no pro (sign says 20% sections, I have no idea how accurate that is).

I would be slightly more wary of the Apex groupset however: I’ve got Apex on my cross bike and find it a *long* way behind the Ultegra on my Cayo in terms of smoothness and ease of use, as well as the hoods being much less comfortable for my hands (YMMV though). Given the choice I’d take 105 over Apex and maybe fit a bigger cassette when/if lower gearing is required.

I think the saddle on the Cayo was the problem – the shop guy warned me at the time of the test.

Problem on the Equilibrium is getting a frameset – everywhere seems out of the 2012 ones and it won’t be until August 10th for new stock – which leaves me a couple of weeks to get used to the riding position and climbing with it, assuming that the frames come in on time.

At this rate I might end up getting a retail build from Evans as they have 10% off atm, and 12 months 0%, which offsets the pain of the extra cost of upgrading a few bits on it, like the brakes and maybe the wheels so I get a few more spokes in there…

And then I get that lovely white finishing kit 🙂

I’m 5ft 10 with a 54 carbon synapse and love it. When I was testing I could really feel the difference between ali and carbon.

I have a 2011 Cayo and don’t have a drama with the saddle but that’s me. Saddles are a personal thing. I put some model b wheels and have conti GP tyres on and it’s chuffing light.
I did 125 miles on it yesterday and it never missed a beat. For the cash I think they’re ace.

For the cash I think they’re ace.

no doubt but I am feeling that the Equilibrium might be a better choice considering it might only get used a few times a year, so my backside might not be ‘road hardened’ – having been cushioned on my Turner for most of my riding, or by mud on the HT for winter riding.

Anyway – going down the bike shop again now for another browse and to see how uncomfortable those Apex hoods are…

Looked at the Equilibrium a bit more and noticed that the standard seatpost has a small layback.

So I put an inline post of mine on, with my usual flite, and the 56 seems only 1cm too long now.

I think that is just my reluctance as a mtber to ‘assume the position’, and when on the drops with the saddle the right height, then the leg angles, the plumb bob line from the front of my kneecap through the pedal axle and the bar masking the front hub are all correct, as measured on the static trainer at Evans in Guildford.

So I bought it – a retail version – as I can’t find a frameset anywhere, and next years ‘might’ be in from August the 10th.

Evans did 10% and 12 months 0% though, so that helps offset the cost of decent wheels and fixing up the 105 bits that are missing, and getting a white flite saddle to match the bar tape…

Good stuff, if it fits, it fits!

One thing I found on mine though was I needed quite a bit of layback on the post (due to the steep seat tube angle) to get in a good position relative to the bb

Another good thing is that it has forced me to clean out the garage so I can get it in next to the other bikes and stuff 🙂

I find it shocking when I look at the height of my handlebars on the two mtbs and then see how much lower the bars on the genesis are!

Think I might replace the bar tape with black to tone it down a bit.