I’m considering buying a Zwift Ride, but I’m very prone to (knee) injuries, so I have to be sure it would be able to have 100% the same measurements as my current cycling bike. This is a form filled in by my bikefitter, used for my outdoor cycling bike: (the words are in Dutch, but it’s essentially only the letters and numbers that count)
The diagram suggests your stem and bars are set relatively low compared to the saddle height - a “slammed” bar setup, is that right? If so, it’s possible that the Ride may not give you as low a bar height as you’re accustomed to on your 49cm frame size, but it’s hard to know for sure because the “stack” and “reach” dimensions are missing from your your bike fitter’s drawing.
You can measure your own bike for those missing numbers. You can use a wall to help.
Stack is referenced from an imaginary horizontal line going through the center of the bottom bracket shell, not the floor, not the wheel axle.
Reach is the horizontal distance referenced from an imaginary vertical line through the center of the BB shell.
Frame manufacturers will not reference a height from the floor because that measure is affected by what size tires you have installed, if the bike is leaning over out of vertical plane, and in Zwift’s case - which trainer brand & model the smart frame in installed on. Stack and reach have become an industry standard in the past two decades so it’s easier to measure and compare your position over two different bikes.
Thanks a lot! The handlebars are as low as possible on the frame indeed (I think that’s what you meant with “slammed stem”?). The drawing itself is a generic one, the saddle isn’t as high as it seems.
I’ve been measuring and remeasuring by bike now, and the asked lengths are as followed:
Horizontal, reach: (1200-740=) 460 mm
Vertical, stack: (863-273=) 590 mm from center to center
Vertical, stack: (878-273=) 605 mm frop center to the top of the handlebar
I’ve seen now that that the stack is indicated with a “D” on Zwift’s drawing, but the upper limits on those measurements are not drawn very carefully. The first drawing seems to measure to the center of the handlebar, whereas the second measures to the top? Which should be correct? As it states a minimum of 600 mm, it’s the difference between spot-on for me (with 5 mm margin) or 10 mm higher than normal…
My “saddle Y” measurement is (895-273=) 622 mm, so the drop I measure is (622-605=) 17 mm to the top op the handlebar (as stated by the bikefitter too). So 10 mm would make a noticable difference in that regard.
This is in the assumption these drawings are the correct ones of course. What would have been meant by “handlebar height min: 94 cm” on their website? That would be a much bigger difference…
Hey @Lander_De_Frene
Thanks for taking time to measure your bike, those dimensions will be useful to reference any time you compare your position on two different bikes.
You are correct that our two diagrams are a little confusing on where the handlebar stack is measured - I have asked for clarification because that ~10 mm will make a difference on smaller bikes. Please stand by…
I checked with our mechanical design team, and the minimum handlebar stack height is 606 mm.
There’s room to improve our frame geometry illustration to more clearly show where those measurements are taken, so our creative team has been asked to simplify it. Thank you for providing this feedback so we can make it better.
Your saddle position will easily fall in the Ride frame’s adjustment range, but it’s up to you if you can accept the 606 mm handlebar stack height vs the 590 mm of your bike for the time you spend riding indoors.
Thanks for sorting this out. As the value is 606 mm now, I suppose this is a measurement up to the top of the handlebar? Or is it really the center and that earlier value of 600 mm just appeared incorrect?
The min handlebar stack height is measured to the handlebar’s centerline. This is in line with the industry standard definition of handlebar stack height.
The standalone smart frame is sold with 2 different feet. This is to give you options to use with different makes & models of compatible trainers to level the Ride frame.
Compare that with the KICKR Core Zwift One bundle - it is sold with only one foot that matches the height of the KICKR Core specifically.
The feet have no influence on your body position over the bottom bracket or handlebars. Body position remains the same, it’s just that the shorter foot tilts the front end of the bike downward compared to the taller foot which raises the front end higher, does that make sense?
Yeah, but with a shorter front leg, you tilt the Zwift Ride forward and down. If you correct the saddle with a higher position, putting it back a bit, an levelling it again, you end up with a possible lower handlebar.
I’ve sketched it (shortening the front feet with ca. 56 mm, just to show the principle and lead to 3° of rotation). You can see the different slope best in the top bar. The small circle at the handlebar is the desired position of the handlebar (as it is on my outdoor bike).
So, the shortest possible feet would help me getting the handlebar as low as possible, but I don’t want to risk breaking the front feet of course, when removing that front piece. I only weigh about 60 kg, but still, I prefer asking your opinion about this…
Yes, the bars will be lower if the floor is your reference point, but the handlebar’s location relative to the saddle and BB will not change, and neither will your positioning of your body’s touch points with the bike (saddle, handlebars, and pedals). This is what I mean by “body position.”
The net effect of switching feet is the bike rotates up or down ever so slightly with the trainer’s rear axle as the pivot point. It’s the same as riding your bike outdoors on a slight uphill climb vs a slight downhill - your body position does not change at all - only the tilt of the bike.
I would advise strongly against using the trainer with no plastic foot inserted. 1) Because it’s not going to achieve what you’re hoping it will and 2) it’s just a hollow oval metal tube with nothing preventing damage to the frame “leg” or to your flooring.
Well, it would be like if you took a descend of let’s say 5% (3°) but braked, stopped and adjusted your bike on that hill so that the saddle is levelled again, and the steer is highered. So it would be just a normal descend on which everything just rotates evenly. As I sketched it in the right picture, the saddle would need to be place a bit more backward too, and the steer would get in the range of possible adjustments.
But I understand the Ride is not meant to be used like that. I’m not really afraid of my floor (I have two training mats on top of eachother atl), but I wouldn’t want to harm the front leg of the Ride…
I guess I’ll have tl ask my bikefitter for advice, if those 16 mm would do harm or not. Or if I would have to adjust the outdoor bike a bit too then, to match the position on the Ride. I hope he doesn’t advice against it as a whole, as I really like the look and convenience of the Zwift Ride.
I’ll be a bit surprised if your bike fitter tells you to adjust the saddle position backwards in order to change the reach, or to make a significant change to an already properly fitted outdoor bike in order to match the Ride. Let us know what you learn!
“Although you would like to make the purchase, I would refrain from doing so. The difference in handlebar height may not seem like much, but if, as you indicate, you want to train on it all winter and then immediately make a problem-free transition to the road bike, then this does not seem ideal to me. Your pelvis/lower back will inevitably experience a different load on that Zwift Ride throughout the winter. Which will therefore not be ideal for a transfer. If you do buy the Zwift Ride, I would regularly ride the road bike to ensure a smoother transition in the spring.”
Sadly enough, I won’t (be able to) buy the Zwift Ride then. With my 1,65 m I’m small, but not exceptionally. I really wanted to buy it, and had the money put aside already, it’s a pitty for everybody really…
If this can be a vote for a smaller version, or a Zwift Ride v2 with lower handlebar positioning options, can you please register it? (but please don’t make it a kids only version with dinosaurs and such, or a women-prefered version in pink…) If it existed, I’d buy one.
Hi @shooj , I agree 100% with you on needing a better frame geometry illustration of how to measure the Zwift Ride (and our bikes at home) to see if we can adjust the Ride to fit both my hubs and me. Left to our own devices, and our best guess on how to measure, it appears that the Ride will fit neither of us (5’1” and 5’10”). So our measuring must be off. We started with one measurement, “Handlebar Reach.” Maybe you could provide us with specifics on how to measure just that for now? We’re very interested in the Ride but the handlebar reach is a deal breaker with our current measurements.
Thanks,
kc
The Ride smart frame should easily accommodate someone who’s 5’10", the 5’1" person’s bike? Maybe. Please measure stack and reach on your own bikes using the article linked upstream.
Sidebar but: you’re referencing imperial units for your own height, so guessing you’re American? The bike industry uses metric units. Please use a metric tape measure if you have one, otherwise please use care in converting fractional inches to millimeters.
