Road bikes and Height.

Old Perry

Hi. After hearing that a lot of pros choose to race bikes smaller than is usual for them I'd like to get a real world idea of what size fits people.

I'm 170cm (5.6) and ride a 52 frame, sometimes I do feel a bit stretched and think next bike will be down another size.

what size is your road bike and what size are you.

C3PO

There are too many variances for comparisons to be really relevant - leg length v upper body, bike geometry and manufacturers size measurement differences being some of them! Best solution would be to get a proper "bike fit" done or alternatively try a shorter stem and see how that feels!

Old Perry

C3PO wrote: »

There are too many variances for comparisons to be really relevant - leg length v upper body, bike geometry and manufacturers size measurement differences being some of them! Best solution would be to get a proper "bike fit" done or alternatively try a shorter stem and see how that feels!

I understand this.im not looking for solutions here. I just want to get an idea of averages,out of curiosity, if people want to give specifics on things they sought or changed while buying that'd be great !. I've had a bike fit done and it did greatly improve my comfort in the saddle.

Lumen

52 sounds about right for 170cm.

I'm 183cm and ride a 56. I used to ride 58 but am more comfortable now with a shorter top tube.

You can always move the saddle forward and up a bit to reduce the reach.

TheBlaaMan

185cm ride both 56cm and 57cm in traditional geometry.
Would agree with your suspicion that one size smaller is worth considering, but that the only real way to properly assess the best size is a proper fitting.

Junior

I'm 5 7 and I ride a 54cm frame (Spesh, Scott, Boardman and Orbea) - have you had yourself a bike fit ? I've done two different ones with slightly different results. I wouldn't be going down to a 50cm frame if I were you, the main reason a pro riders a smaller frame is for stiffness and some of them can't get a saddle to bar drop big enough on the correct sized frame.

magicbastarder

i'm a 52 on my genesis, and am somewhere between 5'7" and 5'8" - but genesis are known for their large sizing (in that a 52 in a genesis would often be larger than a 52 from another brand).

not yet

Lumen wrote: »

52 sounds about right for 170cm.

I'm 183cm and ride a 56. I used to ride 58 but am more comfortable now with a shorter top tube.

You can always move the saddle forward and up a bit to reduce the reach.

Or shorten the stem, If its 110 and you bring it down to 90mm it can be all the difference..

triggermortis

Different brands size their bikes slightly differently. I’m 6’0 and my Cube is a 58 and fits grand ( after a proper bike fit). My Boardman is a large and I needed to get a shorter stem to make it comfortable enough. I bought my Rose online and copied the measurements from my Cube and ended up getting a 57, but their site recommended a 55. I can ride the Cube and Rose all day but get tired on the Boardman

Beasty

I'm fearing I'm going to start shrivelling up soon, so planning ahead I've 58cm, 57cm and 56cm bikes:p. Hopefully I won't have to go any smaller than that for a while, but if I do I've a rapidly growing 14yo I can swap with:)

Having said that I'm 1.85m or so, but have a relatively long torso and short legs, which lends itself to a slightly bigger bike (as it's easy to drop the saddle a bit but not so straightforward to lengthen the reach much)

Lumen

Beasty wrote: »

have a relatively long torso and short legs, which lends itself to a slightly bigger bike (as it's easy to drop the saddle a bit but not so straightforward to lengthen the reach much)

I used to think that but now I'm not convinced. Short legs reduce the reach because the seat is further forward due to lower seatpost.

Cee-Jay-Cee

I'm 182cm with log legs (33" inside seam) and have 4 bikes (Felt F5, Felt VR30, S-Works Roubaix, Merida Ride) all in 56cm. I tried a 54cm Felt F4 and felt too cramped on it.

I have a 21" 29er MTB which is XL in size but I have a short 60mm stem on it and it fits me perfect.

Mercian Pro

Having had a bike fit with Aidan Hammond, I sent him a shortlist of new bikes I was considering and he advised me on the appropriate size to go for. It varied quite a bit from maker to maker but the reach and stack were the critical measurements to consider. Once I bought the new bike, I went back to him for some fine tuning and have replicated those measurements on my current bike successfully.

Maybe whoever did your bike fit will be equally obliging OP.

Type 17

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

I'm 182cm with log legs (33" inside seam) and have 4 bikes (Felt F5, Felt VR30, S-Works Roubaix, Merida Ride) all in 56cm. I tried a 54cm Felt F4 and felt too cramped on it.

By comparison, I'm 181cm, but with relatively short arms/legs (31" inside seam) and a long back (when sitting up straight on the same bench as my 198cm (6'6") friend, our eyeballs are the same height) and, according to the Trek road/endurance bike chart, I'm at the top of the 56cm frame range, or the bottom of the 58cm one - I chose a 58, as the head stack is higher (short arms), and my neck discs are a bit "aged", so I don't want to crouch too much.

I did test a 56cm for an hour or so, but found it too aggressive and my neck and shoulders complained towards the end.

So, while your overall height is important, so are your limb/torso proportions, and what posture you want to take on the bike.