bike size

[ibike2]

Are you 5'6" - What size bike do you ride? I have been told 2 different sizes and now am totally confused.

[chicagogal]

I am 5'6'' and I usually fit ~53-54cm frames. However, it really depends on you individual geometry (inseam, torso length, etc). What size are you being told to get? what bike?

[KnottedYet]

Within the same brand, most folks can fit two different sizes. Between brands, two different sized bikes can actually be nearly the same size.

[Owlie]

It's like trying to buy jeans.

My bike is a 50 cm and I'm about your height (5'6.5-7", 32-3" inseam)

[nscrbug]

I'm 5'6" and I ride a 51cm. When I bought my first road bike, I was put on a 54cm Trek WSD...which turned out to be too big for me. I'm pretty sure they were just trying to dump the bike, since it was last year's model...so they "made" it fit me, which didn't work out too well.

[trista]

I am between 5'6" and 7 and ride a 54 cm Trek.

[VeloVT]

I'm 5'6". A 52 is a good place to start for me. I can do smaller with a setback seatpost and longer stem - and depending on the exact sizing/geometry of the bike, sometimes a hair bigger with some adjustments.

I have two bikes right now. One is a 52 with a small amount of setback and a 100mm stem. The other is a 49 with a lot of setback and a 120mm stem. They both fit, although I'm looking for a 73 deg stem (no rise) for the smaller bike to stretch out just a hair more.

Your body proportions, flexibility and to some extent, fitness level will dictate what feels best for you - it's a good idea to try different bikes and to talk to the peeps at the bike shop about what you're feeling.

[jessmarimba]

I'm 5'7" and have a 53 cm that feels scary and too big and I won't ride it. But I'm not all that used to skinny tires or drop bars, either :)

[tiffj]

I'm 5'4 and my CAAD 9 is a 52cm. Fits like a glove.

[HillSlugger]

I'm about 5' 5.5" and ride a 51 or 52

[VeloVT]

I'm 5'7'' and use anywhere from a 54 to a 56. If my legs were shorter in proportion to my height, I'd need a smaller bike, if they were longer, I'd need a taller bike.


I think it's the opposite for most people. For a given height, shorter legs = longer torso = bigger bike, longer legs = shorter torso = smaller bike.

Although the given sizes are based on seat tube length, top tubes are longer on bigger bikes. If you have longer legs for your height, you have a shorter torso, so sizing up for leg height will likely stretch you out too much. Of course you can adjust by swapping out stems and such, but if the top tube is way off and requires an extremely short/long stem, you may end up compromising the handling.

Standover height is not all that important (and if you're 5'6", it's unlikely that any bike that fits you otherwise will be a problem from that perspective anyway, especially since most frames I'm seeing lately use compact geometry). Top tube length is a more important measurement for fit.

[Blue_Fedora]

I'm 5'6.5" with very long legs and very short arms. I find the correct size for me varies between manufacturers. With Jamis, I have a 51cm bike that fits very well :)

[ibike2]

I currently am riding a 54; tried out a man's 48 (which felt very small); and a womens 51 - specialized (which did not feel big small at all)?

The salesperson mentioned that she would put me on a 50-52 womens bike, just by looking at my heighth? I have long legs, arms, and a short torso. I was totally suprised to hear her say that. Now she's got me thinking....

When buying my first bike, they insisted that my bike size was a 54. At that time I would not have known to question anything.

Thank you all for sharing.

[trista]

I currently am riding a 54; tried out a man's 48 (which felt very small); and a womens 51 - specialized (which did not feel big small at all)?

The salesperson mentioned that she would put me on a 50-52 womens bike, just by looking at my heighth? I have long legs, arms, and a short torso. I was totally suprised to hear her say that. Now she's got me thinking....

When buying my first bike, they insisted that my bike size was a 54. At that time I would not have known to question anything.

Thank you all for sharing.

Did she put you on measuring contraption to figure out your size? When I first started shopping for my road bike, the saleswoman had me stand on this thing that measured my inseam (which was incredibly uncomfortable btw), height, arm length... I think that was it? She put all that into her computer and it spit out the sizes for the different brands/models that I would likely fit best on.

[Owlie]

According to the sticker on my frame, I'm borderline for frame size. If you go by the height listed on my license (5'6"), I should be riding a small, which in Giant-land is 46cm. That would be an absurdly small bike for someone my height. Giant recommends the 50cm to those 5'7"-10". I think the reach may be a hair long, but I think the reach on the smaller bike would be short.

[Blue_Fedora]

I currently am riding a 54; tried out a man's 48 (which felt very small); and a womens 51 - specialized (which did not feel big small at all)?

The salesperson mentioned that she would put me on a 50-52 womens bike, just by looking at my heighth? I have long legs, arms, and a short torso. I was totally suprised to hear her say that. Now she's got me thinking....

When buying my first bike, they insisted that my bike size was a 54. At that time I would not have known to question anything.

Thank you all for sharing.

Based on numbers, I was also told by several different sources that a 54 was the right size for me. Tried several different ones from Jamis and from Giant and none felt right. Finally the tech asked me "who told you a 54 was right? Just humor me an TRY a 51 because in looking at you ride and listening to your comments I think the 54 is too big". Bazinga! The guy was totally right and the 51 was correct for me.

Since this experience, I've been very reluctant to buy a bike without testing it out in person first.