Cervelo sizing?

Richieboy64

Thinking of purchasing an R5 or R3 frame set and building the bike myself but unsure of which size. I know that I should get accurately measured but for now I'm looking for guidance. I've never owned or ridden a Cervelo, and I'm wondering whether their frames come up small compared to other manufacturers.
I am 5ft 10 and have a 31.5 inside leg. I'm happy to play around with stem length and seat post height etc, but unsure of frame size.
Just toying at this stage, but advice welcome please?

majormantra

Saying a manufacture "comes up small" (or large) isn't particularly helpful - you need to compare geometry charts. You also need to do some reading about how to interpret the charts - most people compare horizontal (equivalent) top tube length but you need to take account of the effect of seat tube angle, as that affects reach.

As a rule of thumb, a 1° steeper seat tube angle is equivalent to approx 10mm increased reach.

greasedscotsman

Richieboy64 wrote:

Just toying at this stage, but advice welcome please?

Don't leave it too long!

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/cervelo-r5-vwd-frameset-2012/

speshsteve

I would think you could go 54 or 56, your right on the edge of the too, I would imagine 56 might be the way to go as your fractionally taller then me. I ride a 54 spesh roubaix and looking at geometries I'm pretty confident I will be a 54 in the cervelo too but I ride with a lot of seat post and a 120 stem.

Steve

meesterbond

I'm 5'10 and ride a 56cm R5 which fits perfectly. I've got a slightly longer than normal torso apparently, so the slightly longer TT is fine.
That said, Ryder Hesjedal is 6'2 and also rides a 56cm, albeit with a pretty extreme drop to the bars.

I'd say that you could get either to fit pretty easily but the 54cm might be a slightly safer bet.

foggymike

My measurements are the same as yours and I've tried both on test rides. I could get some kind of fit on either with some seatpost/stem tweaking but came to the conclusion neither was perfect and ideally I needed a fit in the middle so I went for something else.

Anyway, if pushed I thought the 56 was better as I needed hardly any spacers up front (longer head tube) and there was no toe overlap on the 56 which you get on 54 Cervelos. Also my wife said the 54 looked like a childs bike with me on it!

Crispyapp

Not sure by now this is too late but I am 5ft 9 and I have just bought a 54. It's the first 54 I have ever bought and always normally had a 56 or equivilant of a large. I agree with speshsteve your a touch taller than me and were on the cusp. If in doubt go sit on 1. Or study the measurements online and see how you air but if I was you I'd get a 56.

Richieboy64

Having now looked at geometry charts and comparisons, I have decided on a 56.
Thanks for all the advice guys!

mfin

54. Im 6ft on a 54cm, and 32 leg.

Stu517

Im 5'8, 30 inch inside leg and im a 51 frame.

andylav

I'm 5'9 with a 32 leg on a 54 frame with a 120mm stem and 25mm spacer stack.

Could easily ride a 56 with no spacers and 110mm stem but I prefer a longer seat post to get a better feeling of the bike being under me