5ft 9 riders, what size is your bike frame ?

Ezy Rider

im 5ft 9 and my bike frame is 56cm, im wondering if i should have gone for 54cm or even 52cm :?

navrig

I am slightly over 5' 9" and have a 56cm Ribble Winter Audax and a 54cm Ribble Gran Fondo.

Both are comfy and suit me with no aches or pains.

The 56 is a bit more of a stretch but not uncomfortably so.

I would not like a 52 as I feel the 54 is small enough.

Pigeons in flight

It depends on your body/leg length really. I'm just a shade off 5' 11" and am all upper body - I am therefore quite comfortable on a 56cm top tube. One implication of that is that I sit up more than on a smaller frame - which I like as I have a dodgy back.

Bobbinogs

As per the above, a lot is about your actual make up (torso, arms, legs and overall flexability) and the bike design itself. I am 5ft 10 and ride a 56, albeit that I have dropped from the 100mm stem supplied to a 90. I do ride two other road bikes that are equivilent to 54 and they feel slightly small to ride but very comfortable on the hoods (in fact, when I measured the saddle to bar length I found it was exactly the same as it is now on my 56).

So, I reckon you could be a 52, 54 or 56. Hope that helps

Pigtail

I'm 5'9" with relatively short legs (30.5") and my bike is a 54 cm Allez. LBS suggested a 52 but I thought it was too small and went with a 54. I'm glad I followed my own hunch and went for the 54. Standover height is a bit tight, but everything else feels fine.

Buckled_Rims

I'm 5'8" and both my road bikes are 54cm, my MTB is 18".

At the start of the year I used a bike fitting calculator and was a bit surprised to find it recommended a 56cm frame. But I am a bit long limbed, so I suppose it might be right as I feel the 54cm frames are slightly smallish.

If you're interested, this is the site I used.

http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za/CCY?PAGE=FIT_CALCULATOR_INTRO

It gives 3 different types of fitting. Use it as a guide rather then gospel

CRAIGO5000

I'm 5'10'' with 33inch in-seam and ride a 54cm Allez. The stand over top-tube is nice and clear (old Allez with no swept top tube design)

My 54cm frame is fitted with a longer 130mm stem and it makes the whole bike too big really regarding reach. I'm after a stock 110mm stem and all should be well again.

You can always try and get a really short stem and adjust your saddle fore/aft to compensate for the slightly larger frame you have?

_jon_

I'm just over 5'8" and have a 56cm frame. When I went to have the bike fitted, he actually fitted a longer stem, put the seat right back, and raised the seat-post.

Bozman

I'm 5' 9 3/4"!! 32 inside leg. I've got a 53 and a 54.
I chop and change bikes alot and size seems to vary between makes, well the manufacturers sizing does, a 54 Madone felt small, 54 Viner big but a 53 Look bob on.

thegreatdivide

Here's a bike ridden by a 5 foot 9 bloke (he's got short legs)

http://www.bikeradar.com/racing/article ... enge-30158

Ezy Rider

_Jon_ wrote:

I'm just over 5'8" and have a 56cm frame. When I went to have the bike fitted, he actually fitted a longer stem, put the seat right back, and raised the seat-post.

what was the reason for fitting a longer handlebar stem ? i thought that would have had you overreaching to the point of discomfort.

CRAIGO5000

thegreatdivide wrote:

Here's a bike ridden by a 5 foot 9 bloke (he's got short legs)

http://www.bikeradar.com/racing/article ... enge-30158

The side on view really shows off the amount handlebar rotation this set-up is running. Running on the hoods looks extremely comfy to me and the stem looks very long too just like my 130mm stem. Perhaps I'll rotate my bars up to bring the hoods up and towards me a few more degrees.

Road bikes sure are fun to set-up compared to flatbar hybrids

Garz

5'6" and on a 54, long torso short legs. On other types of frames this is between a S and M. Using stem and saddle can probably use either no problem.

Buckled_Rims

Ezy Rider wrote:

_Jon_ wrote:

I'm just over 5'8" and have a 56cm frame. When I went to have the bike fitted, he actually fitted a longer stem, put the seat right back, and raised the seat-post.

what was the reason for fitting a longer handlebar stem ? i thought that would have had you overreaching to the point of discomfort.

See my previous posting, I had to set back my saddle and increase the stem from 110 to 120mm. The calculation for my body type required me to have a saddle-to-handlebar length of 53.0cm to 53.6cm, but because the frame is a 54cm, it's too close by 1cm so it needs a longer stem.

It definitely feels a racer position and strangely just as comfortable as before.

_jon_

Ezy Rider wrote:

_Jon_ wrote:

I'm just over 5'8" and have a 56cm frame. When I went to have the bike fitted, he actually fitted a longer stem, put the seat right back, and raised the seat-post.

what was the reason for fitting a longer handlebar stem ? i thought that would have had you overreaching to the point of discomfort.

I had made the mistake of making the stem shorter and shorter in order to try and help relieve the pressure that I was putting on my hands when on the hoods. This had resulted in giving me quite a cramped position on the bike. I think the stem was around 60 or 80mm.

During the bike fit, he put my saddle back which in-turn moved my weight back and fitted a 100mm (I think) stem which stretched out my position a bit making it more comfortable and left my arms with the right amount of bend in them. I was surprised when he told me what size stem he had fitted.

He also adjusted the position of the hoods and fitted compact bars.

It seems to be a balancing act, you adjust one thing and it affects everything else. I don't completely understand it myself (hence the need for having it fitted professionally)

It's not perfect as I am still putting a bit of weight on the hoods (I will be contacting him again about this) but it's ten times better than it was.

night_porter

Bike manufacturers do not actually use a standard sizing for their bikes so it would be difficult to be precise but being 5'9" I qualify to tell you what size bikes I use and have been happy to use.

19", 21", 50cm, 52cm, 54cm & 56cm I have used them all and been comfortable on all of them but as I said these were the manufacturers sizes.

The one thing they all had in common was the length of the top tube or virtual top tube if the bike was a compact frame.

The top tube size of all of the bikes was between 55.5cm and 56cm this means that there is only a quarter of an inch difference but the frame sizes would lead you to believe it was greater.

This is why it is so important to check the geometry or better still test ride any bike you are thinking of purchasing before actually paying out the money.

PS
Seat tubes are important too but only to ensure it is not too long for your legs. After all saddles can be raised or lowered to suit easier than top tubes lengthened or shortened.

billysan

Im about 5' 9" and ride a 56cm cervelo S1. Had a 54cm equivilent TT Giant before and felt that to be far too short.

Nobody is proportioned the same, you have to find out what is right for you. Go for a test ride!

bobtbuilder

I'm exactly 5'9" and my Orbea Orca is a 52cm frame. Fits me perfectly even though I have a long body and short legs.

asprilla

I ride a 54 but with a massive head tube, as my legs are stupidly long.

Stupid legs.

Ezy Rider

say I wanted to raise my handlebars a little, ive already got spacers fitted and the hoods rotated a bit towards me. obviously the bars would need a longer post to enable more height being achieved. can i do this or what do i need to buy ?

im asking all this as im getting some discomfort in the left hand side of my neck.

night_porter

If you are concerned about style then the only way to fix it is buy a new bike with a different geometry.

If comfort is your main concern there are a few ways to acheive this either permanently or temporarily.

Permanent - Buy a new set of forks with an uncut steerer tube that is longer than your current one. Pack with more spacers until you get the height you require hten cut the steerer to suit. Not a cheap option but may be worth it if the bike is a keeper.

Temporary - Buy an adjustable stem and raise it as far as you need to get the bars where you want them. You might need to buy a longer stem than you currently have because when you raise it this will also shorten the reach. Once you know the angle you need you can buy a suitable fixed stem which will be stronger than the adjustable one.

Temporary - If your current pains are expected to subside (eventually) you can buy an adaptor that fits on top of your steerer tube and extends it upwards. Then you attach your stem to the adaptor as if it was the steerer. It doesn't look great but if it makes you more comfortable then who cares. I used this one http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/delta-delta- ... prod16189/ as a temporary measure for about six months. It worked for me!

secretsam

It's all down to your shape, but I'm about five-nine and ride a 54 CAAD8, but with saddle relatively low as I have super short legs - 73cm inside leg inseam - but a longer body. It's all down to your shape, I'd try a couple of sizes; next time I might get a smaller size.

Oceanblue

54" Trek

night_porter

Wow you must be really tall a 54 INCH frame???

Ezy Rider

night_porter wrote:

If you are concerned about style then the only way to fix it is buy a new bike with a different geometry.

If comfort is your main concern there are a few ways to acheive this either permanently or temporarily.

Permanent - Buy a new set of forks with an uncut steerer tube that is longer than your current one. Pack with more spacers until you get the height you require hten cut the steerer to suit. Not a cheap option but may be worth it if the bike is a keeper.

Temporary - Buy an adjustable stem and raise it as far as you need to get the bars where you want them. You might need to buy a longer stem than you currently have because when you raise it this will also shorten the reach. Once you know the angle you need you can buy a suitable fixed stem which will be stronger than the adjustable one.

Temporary - If your current pains are expected to subside (eventually) you can buy an adaptor that fits on top of your steerer tube and extends it upwards. Then you attach your stem to the adaptor as if it was the steerer. It doesn't look great but if it makes you more comfortable then who cares. I used this one http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/delta-delta- ... prod16189/ as a temporary measure for about six months. It worked for me!

have you a pic of that thing fitted ?

Harry182

I'm 5'9" and ride a 55cm frame with 110mm stem on ~5mm of spacers, compact bars and layback seatpost with the saddle pushed way back.

Ezy Rider

75mm stem :shock:

is that bike not twitchy as hell ?

night_porter

No sorry no pictures.

One thing I will say is that it has the allen bolt heads on the opposite side to the stem so it just looked like a larger steerer if that helps?

I think I may even still have it in the garage.

Also you need to know that the minimum rise it will give you is 50mm (2") but of course you can add spacers and take it up to nearly 100mm (4").