Bike Insights Upright/Aggressive Scale

What is the Bike Insights Upright/Aggressive Scale?

The Bike Insights Upright/Aggressive scale is a powerful tool to quickly understand a bike frame’s proportions relative to similar bikes in their same bike category. These proportions vary greatly from bike to bike and can have a profound impact on comfort and performance, so it’s worth careful consideration!

The scale is based on trend analysis of a bike’s proportions relative to similar sized bikes in the same category. We assess the most critical aspects of a bike frame’s size and fit (stack, reach, and head tube angle) and contextualize it in a way that avoids the shortcomings of Stack-to-Reach Ratio.

All else being equal, a more “upright” bike will position the handlebars closer to a rider, resulting in a more vertical seated position whereas a more “aggressive” bike will position the handlebars farther away from the rider and result in a more horizontal, leaned-over position.

Keep in mind that this analysis is relative to other bikes in the same category and is not applicable when comparing bikes of different categories. For example, what is considered an “aggressive” fit on a Commuter bike could still place the rider in a more upright/vertical position as compared to an “upright” Performance Road bike. This is due to these two categories having different baseline fits, with Commuter bikes prioritizing comfort and visibility over performance and aerodynamics.

Also note that the upright/aggressive scale assumes that this bike uses a conventional cockpit setup for the stated category, i.e. it does not account for bikes with unusual stem length or alternative handlebars.

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