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Knowledge is power, sometimes literally, a few more watts from knowing how to adjust your fit!
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Also, worth noting if you haven’t realised it already… the Rufus Stone geometry charts appear to be listing the seat tube length C2C and NOT C2T
So the 57cm will be more like 58-59cm if measured to the top of the tube.
I say this because my medium is listed as 54cm, but that’s def the C2C measurement as it’s ~56cm CTT
So maybe I should retract my previous ‘size up’ advice as the 57cm RS might actually be bang on your size? But if you can fit on the bigger one then I’d still say size up.
See what the fitter comes back with and check out the numbers, reach/TT length/stack more important than seat tube anyway IMO
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As long as you have (some) stand over I’d always size up for this kind of bike.
My logic being:
The extra wheelbase is beneficial offroad
The extra reach can be accommodated with a shorter stem, on this kind of bike that’ll likely be a benefit too
The extra headtube/stack will also, for this kind of bike be beneficial
The extra ‘bigness’ in the main triangle gives more room for a big bag too if that’s relevant?If it was a tarmac bound race/fast bike I might say size down if you’re on the borderline, but the RS ain’t that kind of bike.
For ref I’m 172cm and ride mostly 52cm bikes for my fast riding, 54-56cm for more cruising/Audax riding. I’m borderline S/M on both my Peregrine and Rufus Stone and went M on both, no regrets but I’m an inverse T-Rex with short legs and longer torso and reach.
I’m sure the fitter will get you the info you need to decide properly for you.
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I'm gonna be honest, as much as I love a 5-vis crank, I don't think it suits that build. You've got a whole different aesthetic (which I also like!) going on with the Spa and I think it's just too much of a juxtaposition.
Just my opinion though, others are available :-)
Now... a pair of black Middleburn RS7/8s on the other hand...or even a silver pair with a black spider and ring, that would look nice to my eyes!
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Geometry wise it is not 100% what I would choose if I was having a frame built, but it's close enough to work for me and it rides extremely well for it's intended use.
My main concern was whether or not I'd manage to run a Brooks (or other leather saddles) with the seat angle being as steep as it is and my preference for a bit more setback than most. I've run into this issue on other frames with 73.5-74deg seat angle before and it's always been very borderline.
Fortunately I've managed to make it work with the RS using an old SR P3 seatpost and running the bars a little higher and close than I normally do on more road biased builds and altogether it's put me in an acceptable place as it's made me a little more upright, which ultimately is no bad thing for a bike like this and my bars have been creeping up on bikes I take offroad for a while now anyway and I think the RS really suits a slightly more upright and 'high bars' config, it's definitely more of an ATB inspired gravel bike than a road inspired gravel bike if you know what I mean?
I'm currently running a 80mm stem, but using bars with a longer 110mm reach, this works for me (I have short legs and a long torso) and gives me a good range of positions and mucho comfort, there is no way I could make this work with shorter reach compact bars though without going to a 100mm stem. I am only running 42cm wide bars as well, if you run significantly wider bars then it'll add 'effective' reach anyway so a shorter stem than you expect may feel spot on.
Ultimately I think if I were to get a bike like this custom built, which I may do some day, I would want the TT to be 10-20mm longer, and the seat angle to be a degree slacker, but that's more a reflection on my proportions than anything being 'wrong' with the RS.
I was fortunate to have spent a fair bit of time on my Singular Peregrine* with a similar build to this before I ordered the RS, and the Peregrine is very close fit wise, it's actually a smidge shorter in the TT so I was sure I'd be able to make the RS work.
If any of that is helpful then great, but remember fit and feel are totally personal preferences and what works for one person may not work for another. And bear in mind I'm 5'7 and riding a Medium, if you're getting an XL then you're quite a bit taller than me and that will affect weight distribution as well as basic things like reach and seat height. If you've got other/previous bikes that you like to use as reference then get the tape measure out and get comparing, otherwise I'd say build, ride, tweak, repeat! I've been mostly a lurker on LFGSS for years so not really familiar with everyone's history and whatnot so I'll just assume you already know what you're doing!
Your intended build spec looks great by the way, I love my Klampers but I've also got some Growtac Equal here in a box to try at some point soon out of curiosity. Now if only someone would make a nice classic looking silver clutched wide range rear derailleur...
- Which is ultimately going to end up a lot more offroad focused, possibly even with flat/swept bars so RS is replacing it in it's previous guise which was very much 'mixed-surface/gravel-light' and was my go-to bike for Dartmoor/Exmoor lanes riding coupled with a bit of 'I wonder where that track goes' offroad adventures and the occasional bit if ill-advised XC when I couldn't be arsed to pedal the MTB out on the road to get to it.
- Which is ultimately going to end up a lot more offroad focused, possibly even with flat/swept bars so RS is replacing it in it's previous guise which was very much 'mixed-surface/gravel-light' and was my go-to bike for Dartmoor/Exmoor lanes riding coupled with a bit of 'I wonder where that track goes' offroad adventures and the occasional bit if ill-advised XC when I couldn't be arsed to pedal the MTB out on the road to get to it.
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was shocked to find out SunXCD had gone out of operation
Yeah it's a shame, fortunately there's still plenty of TA cranks available on the second hand market if you're OK using the pro vis 5 rings.
humble dibs on yours if you ever consider selling...
I actually may have a spare one, give me a few days to excavate the relevant boxes from the loft and I'll let you know
I like their track chainrings too, gives a very clean look :-)
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Oh good find! I wasn't aware they'd made any, might be worth an email to TA to see if they are still in production as easier to get direct from them if they are.
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NW for TA 5-pin is not a thing that exists as far as I'm aware...BUT I do have a 110BCD spider that fits the TA/SunXCD cranks which I have used for 1x setups with normal rings.
There's plenty of nice cranksets for 110bcd rings though, the reason I use, and love, the TA setups is the freedom and ease of using unusual chainring pairings. And I'm got a big old stack of TA rings accumulated over the years.
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