Finding the right size for a bicycle can be simple, yet complicated. You don’t have as many choices like with shoes, but it gets tricky when you’re in-between sizes. They say going smaller is better because you can make a small bike feel big, but not the other way around. I experienced this for myself after trying Lucien, Myta’s Blocks Lo-Fi.

I ended up borrowing Lucien after I lent her my Fiido C11 Pro. I didn’t plan on using the Blocks Lo-Fi at first. But since she was fine with me raising the seatpost, I gave it a shot and was surprised by the results.

I usually fall in between a Small and a Medium when it comes to bikes. Lucien is Extra Small (XS), so I never expected this Blocks Lo-Fi to fit just by raising the seatpost—a lot. Once I found the right height, I got to appreciate the bike as a rider, not just as a viewer.

Finding the right fit with Myta’s Blocks Lo-Fi

The idea behind this Blocks Lo-Fi build was to create a neo-retro, all-road touring bike. A randonneuring bike that handled just as well as it looked, and wasn’t picky about the terrain or road conditions.

Lucien was heavily-inspired by my Bridgestone Eurasia. It felt the same, too, with the Ritchey saddle and MKS pedals. The fit was a bit of a mystery to me until I checked the geometry.

The XS Blocks Lo-Fi has a reach of 342.8mm, while my Eurasia supposedly has a reach of 372mm. It seems that the extra reach of the Soma Sutro stem and the Nitto Grand Randonneur handlebars compensated for the difference.

Once the saddle was at the right height for me, I noticed that it was practically level with the handlebars. This is similar to how my other drop-bar bikes are setup.

The minor differences weren’t stumbling blocks

The differences between Lucien and my Eurasia became more apparent once I got on the bike and started riding it. The Blocks Lo-Fi has a shorter wheelbase of 990.8mm (compared to 1,022mm), so it was prone to toe overlap with the fenders when turning.

The gearing was lighter, too, with the 34T chainring on the Sugino Alpina crank, so accelerating from a stop was easier. If ever I needed to go faster, there’s also a 46T chainring, but its not usable for hilly areas like Kapitolyo.

The IRD brake levers don’t feel the same as my TRP RRLs, but they still provided a good stopping power with the TRP Spyre brake calipers. Gear changes were also buttery smooth thanks to the Ene Ciclo bar-end shifters, which is pretty much the same as Rivendell’s.

The Blocks Lo-Fi feels like a steel block

“It’s better to drive a slow car fast, than a fast car slow.”

The idea behind James May’s quote is that pushing an underpowered car to its limits is more fun and immersive than driving slowly with a high-powered vehicle. While this is intended for the context of motor racing, I see how it can apply to my biking as well.

The Blocks Lo-Fi isn’t a high-performance bike and it’s not light by any means. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun with it during a spirited commute, like what I did going to Built Cycles via J.P. Rizal.

Getting the ball to move takes a while since Lucien weighs 14.5kg (with the front rack and without the Leon Denim rando bag). But once I’ve built that momentum, the ball turns into a boulder rolling over lubaks and potholes with the thick 650b x 45mm Panaracer GravelKings. And while Lucien will never reach the speed of light, the semi-slick tires do a good job of maintaining the speed.

Combine that with the stable, albeit sluggish, steering and I felt near-unstoppable. The experience was absurdly fun as if I were pushing a steel block on a cart at high speed.

Bicycles are wonderful machines. One of the things I love about them is that there’s always something new to learn by trying out different bikes.

Riding Myta’s Blocks Lo-Fi showed me how flexible bicycles can be when it comes to sizing. Despite our height differences, a simple cockpit adjustment allowed me to ride her bike with minimal issues.

While I don’t intend on getting another bike soon (like we all say), at least now I’m more confident that it’s easier to adjust to a smaller frame than a bigger one.