Size question

[Beachmouse]

hi!
Hoping someone can give me a bit of help. I have been riding a 52 Trek older model for a few years, i'm 5'3 and 29 1/2 inch inseam. I have about 1/2 an inch of clearance on the top tube. I'm happy with the size just the arms feel like i'm stretched out just a bit. My LBS did fit me to it when i bought it. Long story short...I got hit by a car 2 years ago, freaked me out, put the bike on the porch and didn't ride it until this past April. Started up again, love it been riding since then.

Fast forward, i've decided to upgrade my old trek with a new road bike, am looking for comfort on long distance riding. I was going to get a Madone but decided on the Domane the 2013 endurance version of the Madone.

My question is this, i've gone to at least 8 different shops, each one says anything from a size 48 to a 52. Understanding that all brands may be different, 48 in this one, 50 in that one etc....my bike shop said definately a 52 no smaller and just bring the stem in a bit.

Ok who do I listen to? One trek shop says 52 the other says 50, i'm comfortable on the 52 it's just a bit long in the arm, just a smidge. Is fitting really just about what that particular fitter likes? Is it better to have the bigger frame and shorten the stem? OR get the smaller and put a set back on the seat post and extend the stem? Now i'm not an engineer but I would imagine when you're adding that much/taking away from a frame you're really messing with the handling.

The longest i've taken my current 52 is 30 miles, I had no discomfort in the shoulder or leg. I've ridden a Specialized 51.8 15 miles and my shoulders were killing me.

My friends husbands who race keep saying oh the smaller 50.

I'm so lost. It's a lot of money not to know exactly what's right.

[zoom-zoom]

Hmmm...I'm almost an inch taller than you with a .5" longer inseam and my Cannondale is a 48 (though that would be comparable to a 50 in just about every other brand...TT is 51.5, IIRC). I would not want anything even the tiniest bit larger. I sometimes wish my TT were maybe a cm shorter, to be honest. I started with an 80mm stem, but steering was pretty squirrely. Went up to 100mm, but that was too much. 90 is a decent compromise, but I'm still pretty stretched-out and my girl bits pay some for that.

[Beachmouse]

Hmmm...I'm almost an inch taller than you with a .5" longer inseam and my Cannondale is a 48 (though that would be comparable to a 50 in just about every other brand...TT is 51.5, IIRC). I would not want anything even the tiniest bit larger. I sometimes wish my TT were maybe a cm shorter, to be honest. I started with an 80mm stem, but steering was pretty squirrely. Went up to 100mm, but that was too much. 90 is a decent compromise, but I'm still pretty stretched-out and my girl bits pay some for that.

Does it matter if the frame is WSD?

[zoom-zoom]

Does it matter if the frame is WSD?

It might...then it would likely have a shorter top tube, but same standover. Or maybe it's taller standover on the same size top tube. Hmmm, I'm not sure--you'll probably want to compare the geometry charts for the men's and WSD bikes in the same size to see how they differ. My bike is a men's frame. Cannondale didn't (and maybe still doesn't) offer any SRAM on WSD bikes and I didn't want Shimano. I'm still relatively short-legged and long-torso'd, so a WSD bike would maybe not work well for me. My first bike was WSD and had more relaxed geometry...I always felt really cramped through the cockpit. Same size bike as my men's Supersix.

[tulip]

Ride as many bikes as you can, and not just around the parking lot for a few minutes. For comparison, I'm 5'-6" and my bike is the equivalent to a 50cm (custom, so not exact). I have long legs and a short torso. Top tube length is critical for me. Your height is one factor, but so are your proportions, core conditioning, arm length, femur length (for cranks)...but really just ride lots of bikes and eliminate the ones that are not comfortable no matter what anyone says. Go with what is right for you. Seemingly tiny differences can make a huge difference, though, so don't necessarily discard that smidge-too-stretched out feeling.

[velo]

Really, in this case, I would go for whichever one feels right to you. My Lemond and my Klein are both 49cm. They both have a top tube of 53cm. They both have 100mm stems. The Lemond's stem is 0 degrees and the Klein's stem is 5 degrees with two spacers. Just those tiny, tiny differences in stem make for two very, very different rides. You've experienced that yourself with similarly sized bikes of different brands, too. I would say to listen to them all, but make the final decision yourself based on what your gut tells you is the best fit. And I would ask them about giving you a 100 mile trial period (or some such) to make sure the fit is right, with the option of returning for another size if you want. My old LBS would have done this, but I'm not sure if that's possible now days. Wouldn't hurt to ask, though. Good luck!!

Oh, I forgot to add... that stem difference on my two road bikes, even though it's tiny, it makes me feel more stretched out on my Lemond. Which is OK, because they're both comfortable to me... just different rides, like I said, but that *could* mean the difference between a comfortable ride or not for a different person.