This post is a followup to How to Add Bikes to Bike Insights.
Every once in a while, we come across a bike that someone has added to the Bike Insights catalog that looks a bit… off. Maybe some of the following examples look familiar to you:
I call this one “The Scooter” for obvious reasons. It somewhat resembles a Trials bike, a category we have yet to explore on Bike Insights 🤔
As much as we love Mini-velos, this bike would require some suspiciously short cranks. I have a feeling that something is up here.
Some see this as a sort of Venn diagram and others see a lotus flower. It’s like Rorschach painting.
An upside-down frame or perhaps some experimental aerodynamic frame? This could be a hot new trend for 2020.
The good news is that, while it’s easy to make a mistake when entering a geometry into Bike Insights, it’s usually just as easy to fix. We’re here to help when things go awry, but here are some tips for those who want to first troubleshoot on their own.
Steps to take when the bike diagram doesn’t look right
Edit Geometries
To make it easier to spot data issues, scroll down and click the “Edit Geometries” button. This button will only appear on geometries that you submitted and you must be logged in to your account. The edit screen will show ALL attribute fields, even those that have been left blank.
Correct Units
The most common issue we see is the incorrect unit of measurement being set for attributes. Bike Insights defaults to “mm” but sometimes this needs to be changed to “cm” or “in”. Look for the mm/cm/in buttons in the Edit Geometry page. Beware that some bike geometry tables use a mix of units, e.g. providing stack and reach in millimeters, seat tube length in centimeters, and standover in inches!
Reassign Attributes
Check for any attributes that were misclassified. Common issues are using Bottom Bracket Height instead of Bottom Bracket Drop, or confusing Head/Seat Tube Angle with Length. Correcting this may require transposing values from one attribute field to another.Â
Check the Wheels
First, if the frame looks correct but the wheels look comically small, check the Default Wheel and Tire attributes. In addition to the three predefined wheel sizes (700c/29″, 650B/27.5″, 26″) it is possible to enter a custom Bead Seat Diameter value. Sometimes a user may have intended to enter, say, a 29 inch wheel but mistakenly enter it as a 29 BSD instead. If a custom BSD value was not intended, choose the correct option from the pulldown menu.
Second, make sure to change the Tire Width unit to “in” for tires measured in inches. Otherwise things like Bottom Bracket Height will be calculated incorrectly.
Let us help
If you’re still having trouble identifying the issue, don’t panic! Just click the chat icon at the bottom right of the webpage while on the bike or geometry page and we’ll be happy to assist.
Steps to take when the bike diagram doesn’t draw at all
Edit Geometries
To make it easier to spot data issues, scroll down and click the “Edit Geometries” button. This button will only appear on geometries that you submitted and you must be logged in to your account. The edit screen will show ALL attribute fields, even those that have been left blank.
Check Seat Tube Length
Since many bike companies use Seat Tube Length as the labeled bike size (Size 56cm, 19″, etc…), often it is left out of the bike geometry table! If this is the case, it’s necessary to manually enter in a Seat Tube Length so we can draw the bike diagram.
Missing Stack and Reach
For older bikes which do not have Stack and Reach supplied, we can sometimes estimate these important measurements using other attributes. Be sure to add any other attributes even if they seem less important.
Attributes we can sometimes use to estimate Stack and Reach and complete a bike diagram include:
• Fork Length and Fork Offset. Sometimes fork attributes can be sourced outside of the main geometry table (particularly for those sold individually/aftermarket), providing the extra data needed.
• Top Tube Slope. For bikes with level top tubes, set Top Tube Slope to 0.
Missing Bottom Bracket Drop or Wheelbase
Unfortunately, there is a curious trend of bike companies not providing Bottom Bracket Drop or Wheelbase measurements, perhaps because they are so difficult to interpret without a tool like Bike Insights. We can sometimes derive these values from other measurements, so be sure to enter other related attributes such as Chainstay Length and Front-Center.
If All Else Fails
Let us know if you need help identifying the missing geometry attributes by using the chat icon at the bottom right of the site. If a bike company has not provided complete geometry, try reaching out to them and asking nicely for more information. Most companies recognize that having their geometries featured on Bike Insights is a huge win for them and cyclists alike!
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If you liked this blog post, be sure to sign up to our mailing list below to stay in the loop. We promise not to send you spam!
Also, if you’d like to help get the word out about Bike Insights, give us a follow on Instagram and Twitter to help increase our visibility with other cyclists. Thanks!
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