bike sizes

[spongy]

I have been cycling for many years and the right size frame or bike to buy still stresses me out .I am just over six foot with a 33 inside leg.
My oldest bike a connondale is a 56,my second bike a felt ar4 is a 58 and my daily hack is a cube 58.I am looking to buy another new road bike and was last week told a 55 would suit me............for gods sake what happened to the good old days when all top tubes were level,and head tubes were massive.....they seemed to fit.

[S10GTA]

I can categorically state a 56 or less will not be enough. I'm 5'10 and ride a 56. You need a 58 or bigger.

[Gizmoish]

Stop looking at the "label" of the size.

Find the geometry of bikes you like on the maker's website. Look for the "effective" top tube size. That tells you how far away the bars are. Saddle height is easier to adjust than reach.

[TheLemming]

To make things worse there's no consistency on which dimension is being quoted when size is mentioned. "It's a 50cm frame" is worthless information without the full geo information, some people quote top tube, some effective top tube, some seat tube....

[Matt_N]

Only way is as above, measure what you've got now, note down the ctc seat tube, ctt seat tube and ctc head tube, then try and match using the online geometries of each manufacturer.

Trend at the mo seems to be down a size then have the saddle right up and a long reach stem.

[TheFungle]

S10GTA said:

I can categorically state a 56 or less will not be enough. I'm 5'10 and ride a 56. You need a 58 or bigger.

Arse.

I'd better return my last three bikes which is disappointing as I'm 6'1 and they fit me perfectly.

[S10GTA]

TheFungle said:

S10GTA said:

I can categorically state a 56 or less will not be enough. I'm 5'10 and ride a 56. You need a 58 or bigger.

Arse.

I'd better return my last three bikes which is disappointing as I'm 6'1 and they fit me perfectly.

But do they

[TheFungle]

S10GTA said:

But do they

Yes

I've tried 58cm frames that friends have and they feel unwieldy and oversized for me, from what I've seen with the larger frame not only is the frame larger but also the stem and bars making for a bike that, to me at least feels huge.

A road bike should feel light & nimble, having a frame too large takes a lot of that sensation away.

[gazza285]

I'm 5'11&3/4" and I'm on two 58s, a 56, a 59 and a 23&1/2". I have been known to ride a 53 as well.

Best advice is try before you buy if you aren't sure.

[DrMekon]

I ride a 58, a 60 and a 61. They all fit. Look at the effective (horizontal) top tube length more than the seat tube. I like bikes in the 585-595mm range myself.

[47p2]

Easier to fit yourself into a smaller frame than one that is too large.

I ride an XS compact carbon, a 52cm carbon, a 54cm aluminium (traditional) 55cm 853 (traditional) and 56cm (traditional)

Best try them before buying as there are too many variables

[Zigster]

I had some (fairly basic) bike fitting at Condor when I bought a Fratello from them.

I'm 5' 9" (175cm) tall and ended up with a 55cm frame. I seem to think I had a slightly shorter stem fitted (it was a few years ago now). I certainly wouldn't want any bigger, but the next size down (a 52cm frame) would have been far too small.

[Bobley]

I'm 5'11.5" bought a 56cm road bike, immediatley shortened the stem from 130 to 90. Then had a pro fit done(fitted 420 bars instead of 440), was told I could've got on a 53 so subsequently bought a 54cm CX bike which works reasonably well for me, though I may flip the stem and go out from 90 to 100mm on that one. One shop tried to sell me a 51cm "small" CX bike. That would've been too small.

I wouldn't imagine the OP needs a 58?

[spongy]

Thanks for all the reply's guys .....this week I got all three bikes together and had a measure up so here goes
1.cannondale size 56 measures 560 from centre of bb to top of top tube
2.cube size 58 measures 560 from centre of bb to top of seat tube
3felt size 58 measures 580 from bottom of bb to top of seat tube.......560 centre to top
the head tube length on all bikes is within 10mm when measured on a horizontal plane.
The bike I am looking at is a vivelo arc rs and the size for a 55 cm frame is very close to what I need I think so it looks like the guy was right.
What makes it worse is im old school and still cant come to terms with the seat post sticking out a country mile.......but I suppose I must move with the times

[DJPetrolHead]

Personally I wud go as get a full fitting and find out what your reach etc is. I did it with my local dealer for £65 and given price of bike I was getting this was small change !!!!

The fitting showed I need to ride a 62cm frame from Trek.... Currently on a 58cm Wilier....

I'm 6ft 6in ..... Supposedly te new bike will make me go faster, longer and climb hills easier..... :-)

[TheFungle]

DJPetrolHead said:

Personally I wud go as get a full fitting and find out what your reach etc is. I did it with my local dealer for £65 and given price of bike I was getting this was small change !!!!

The fitting showed I need to ride a 62cm frame from Trek.... Currently on a 58cm Wilier....

I'm 6ft 6in ..... Supposedly te new bike will make me go faster, longer and climb hills easier..... :-)

Why did you originally go from the 58 from Wilier?

[Dr Imran T]

spongy said:

Thanks for all the reply's guys .....this week I got all three bikes together and had a measure up so here goes
1.cannondale size 56 measures 560 from centre of bb to top of top tube
2.cube size 58 measures 560 from centre of bb to top of seat tube
3felt size 58 measures 580 from bottom of bb to top of seat tube.......560 centre to top
the head tube length on all bikes is within 10mm when measured on a horizontal plane.
The bike I am looking at is a vivelo arc rs and the size for a 55 cm frame is very close to what I need I think so it looks like the guy was right.
What makes it worse is im old school and still cant come to terms with the seat post sticking out a country mile.......but I suppose I must move with the times

As others have said, get the top tube length. This varies with different manufacturers.

You should definitely feel comfortable on the right bike. Once you have the right frame size, you can then tune the fit to perfection and add/remove spacers on the steerer, adjust stem length etc.

There are lots of ways to tweak a bike to fit better.

[DJPetrolHead]

TheFungle said:

Why did you originally go from the 58 from Wilier?

Misguided salesman at Evans cycles!!