Hey all, I've been a long time cyclist, but never had a proper CX bike before. I am looking into getting a 2008 Kona Jake for various purposes (the very last purpose is competition, but who knows...) and I'm wondering what kinds of things I should keep in mind when sizing myself to one of these things. I'm 6'1" 200 lbs with fairly long legs, and I ride a 20" Kona mtb. I generally consider myself to be in the 58cm range for my road bikes (thought right now I'm on a 60, barely. I'm fairly sure it is too big.)

In my shop we have both a 56 and a 58 that I can pedal around on. The 58 definitely is a little long with a 57.8cm TT, and a 120mm stem (easily swappable) and the 56 feels not so tall, but not stretched like the 58.

Bottom line, I feel like I could make either one of these work, given the right mindset. I plan on using this to replace my fairly tired commuter (25mi round trip on roads) and definitely do some off-pavement rides, involving gravel roads, and probably even some singletrack once I get used to this thing. Is this the type of bike that I generally want to err on the small side (the 56) or size it like I would a road bike (the 58)?

Thanks for the help...

If you're going to err... err on the side of caution and go smaller so you can have a little room under the boys to soak up impact and let the bike move a little bit... and if you do slip when you're mounting...well...

ATMO which way you go has more to do with your type of riding than the type of bike. And with what you've written, go with the larger frame and a shorter stem and a seatpost that suits your thigh/shin ratio. For non-racing purposes there's no reason to go smaller. The larger frame gets the bars up a little and generally rides a bit smoother. Not as tossable on trails as a small frame, but that really isn't a factor with anything like normal cross tires.

to me it sounds like you should shop around a little and get a brand that fits.........