Compact Geometry is the hot new fashion in road racing frame design, and like good fashion statements look stunning. However, compact geometry has solid performance benefits of smaller, stiffer, lighter frames, making you faster and better looking.

The ‘feel’ of any bike is largely down to it’s centre of gravity, wheelbase measurement and individual steering geometry (the net result of front wheel radius, the head tube angle and the fork rake). Bikes must ride correctly, but also maximise your comfort and power delivery through the correct relationship between the crucial contact areas; The relation between saddle and bottom bracket, and the distance between the saddle and the handlebar grip positions. There is no set geometry to for perfect handling, so many frames look quite different, even if they handle similarly.

The benefits of compact frames

Many manufacturers, offer a wide choice of frame sizes, down to 1cm increments. This is possible only with premium price frames from small workshops whose customers are prepared for high costs and long lead times.
This is impressive, but unnecessary, complicated and expensive, offering little real improvement in end performance and poor value to you the consumer.

Our sloping top tube ‘Road Compact Geometry’ frames are designed to meet riders physical demands, and we offer them in sizes from 48cm up to 64cm – covering 95% of body sizes, in four sizes; small, medium, large and extra large. Fine fit is achieved with seat posts and stems.

Compact geometry

Our Road Compact Geometry frames are lighter, as less metal is used, and stiffer a stiffer thanks to the smaller triangles. Last, but by no means least, our compact geometry frames with their slightly sloping top tubes, look the business too, and let’s be brutally honest, that’s pretty important…

MERIDA Road race frame geometry comparison

Equivalent sizes are marked with identical colors

Real-seat length, from center of bottom-bracket to top-end of seat-tube.

CT	SIZE (SEAT-TUBE Center of BB/top of ST)	48	52	54	56	58	60	63
AH	Toptube Length (horiz.), center to center	525	525	545	560	575	585	592
L	Headtube Length	120	120	130	150	170	185	215
Q1	Headtube Angle	72,5	72,5	72,5	73,0	73,0	73,5	73,5
CT	Seattube Length (center of BB/top of ST) (CT)	480,0	520,0	540,0	560,0	580,0	600,0	630,0
Q7	Seattube Angle	74,0	74,0	73,5	73,5	73,0	73,0	73,0
D	Rear-Base	408	408	408	408	408	408	408
H	BB Drop	68	68	68	68	68	68	68
G	Fork Length	370	370	370	370	370	370	370
G	Fork-offset	45	45	45	45	45	45	45

	Named size in compare to traditional frame-size	XS 45 - 48	S 49 - 53	M 54 - 56	L 57 - 59	XL 60 - 62	XXXL 63-65
AH	Toptube Length (horiz.), center to center	520	530	555	575	590	605
L	Headtube Length for integr. HS	105	125	145	170	195	215
Q1	Headtube Angle	71,5	72,5	72,5	73,0	73,0	73,0
CT	Seattube Length (center of BB/top of ST)	450,0	480,0	500,0	525,0	555,0	575,0
	Sloping TT angle (to horizontal)	-9,0	-9,0	-9,0	-9,0	-9,0	-9,0
Q7	Seatube angle	74,5	74,0	73,5	73,5	73,0	72,0
D	RC	405	408	408	408	408	408
H	BB drop (axle of BB 275 mm over ground)	61	61	61	61	61	61
G	Fork length	370	370	370	370	370	370
F	Fork-offset	45	45	45	45	45	45

	Named size in compare to traditional frame-size	XS 45 - 48	S 49 - 53	M 54 - 56	L 57 - 59	XL 60 - 62
AH	Toptube Length (horiz.), center to center	518	530	555	575	590
L	Headtube Length for integr. HS	120	130	155	180	205
Q1	Headtube Angle	72,0	72,5	72,5	73,0	73,0
CT	Seattube Length (center of BB/top of ST)	470,0	500,0	530,0	560,0	590,0
	Sloping TT angle (to horizontal)	-4,8	-4,8	-4,8	-4,8	-4,8
Q7	Seatube angle	74,0	74,0	74,0	73,5	73,0
D	RC	405	405	405	405	405
H	BB drop (axle of BB 275 mm over ground)	61	61	61	61	61
G	Fork length	370	370	370	370	370
F	Fork-offset	45	45	45	45	45

DETAIL

regular geometry

compact geometry

Technolgy

COMPACT GEOMETRY