Quote Originally Posted by blumensh View Post
That's interesting. I'm 5'3 and ended up with a 44 and my girlfriend who is probably 5'7 ended up with a 48. We both bought Fuji Bikes. I wonder if they run really big or something.
Some brands have weird sizing.. I am 5'7" and have a 47cm Felt that fits me just fine, but I'd previously tried other brands and anything <50cm was way too small. The felt has the "reach" of a bigger frame.

Anyways, my experience with Mixtes and sizing is that the seat tube length doesn't always tell you a whole lot... I have two adult sized ones, a 49cm and a 45cm, and the virtual top tube length is the SAME on both of them (about 53cm).. the seat tube angles are different though, so the have a different "feel" when riding either of them. I also have a kid sized one, with a 45cm seat tube, but the virtual top tube is only 49cm. There's no way at all I could fit on that frame... obviously it's not for me, but it's still small.

I've seen some mixtes with more reach than others, even with similar seat tube lengths.. but I wouldn't assume that just because a frame is a 52 that it will be too big. Figure out what the VTT is, and base your purchasing on that, rather than just the seat tube.