hi,

I do not live near any bike shops and just today purchased a 58cm cannondale R500. i am worried the bike may be too small and am wondering if i should try and swap it for a 60cm??? i am just over 6 feet tall with a pretty long torso and my inseam is 34.3 inches. any help or thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.

thanks!

I'm 5' 11 1/2" and my inseam is shorter than yours and a 58/59cm bike is right for me.
Since you're talller and have a longer inseam, I can see where a 60cm or larger bike would be better. The problem with sizing, is there are tthree sizes which are the most important, waist down, waist up, and arm length. A longer top tube is needed if you are long in the torso and/or long in the arm length. If both, that creates more of a problem if you are shorter in the waist down, inseam. I have a short inseam but am long in the torso. If the fit is not correct, you are going to feel cramped. Either cramped peddling or cramped bending over holding on to the handles. If you are long legged and short in the torso, most people raise the seat and then now you bending over too much. If you can, you can raise the handlebar or buy a higher stem to raise the handlebar.

interesting....thanks!

..... height and inseam. Top tube length is probably more critical than seat tube length, head tube length helps determine seat to handlebar drop, etc, etc

So with those disclaimers, I'm just over 6'1" with a 35" inseam (cycling not pants) and ride a 60-ish cm frame, but in Lemond it would be smaller, in Colnago it would be larger. I prefer a top tube length of 58cm with a 12 cm stem. If the shop you bought from has both 58 and 60 then you should have ridden both.

Is this your 1st road bike?

yeah...first road bike. unfortunately because i live so far away from any bike shops i had to order over the phone. otherwise i definately would have ridden both. cannondale's site isn't working on my computer right now but i will check in to the top tube length.

thanks

All good advice. But also think about what kind of riding you're going to do. In very general terms, if you're going to race, a smallish frame might just be right. If you're going to ride centuries or charity rides, a frame on the larger side might be more comfortable. No hard and fast rule, but give your riding goals some thought along with your body dimensions.

They have a great sizing program that will assist you in making the right choice.

went to wrenchscience.com and went throught the measurements. it suggested a 59 or 60 CT or a 58 CC. i'm guessing cannondale and most brands measure CC these days???

There's no uniform sizing system out there. You need to pour over all the information available to figure out who measures how. Cannondale has a "size" and a "measured size," which can be confusing. Here's their geometry chart, with the important notes at the bottom.

http://www.cannondale.com/bikes/05/geo-613.html

it is center to top.

Top tube is 57.5

Top tube is the measurement you really want to look at at first.

cool. thanks for all the info...guess i should have done a bit more research before i bought cause i'm beggining to think the 60cm might have been the better choice! guess we'll see...

Do you guys all ride bikes that are too big for you? At just over 6 feet and a 34 inch cycling inseam, a 60cm bike is WAY too big for you. A 58 is on the cusp of being too big.

Don't trust those cycling website fit calculations either. Go get professionally fit on your bike. Ther is more to fit than hard measurements. You have to think about flexibility too.

You also have to think about the seatpost, stem and bar setup, as they can make or break a bike fit.

I'm 6'1" with a 33 inseam and ride a 56cm with 56.5 top tube and my fit is pretty much perfect. I also ride the smallest frame I can while keeping my favored bar/stem/seatpost setup.

I am 6 ft tall and I ride a 56 or 57 in most bikes.

Do you guys all ride bikes that are too big for you? At just over 6 feet and a 34 inch cycling inseam, a 60cm bike is WAY too big for you. A 58 is on the cusp of being too big.


(Quote) I also ride the smallest frame I can while keeping my favored bar/stem/seatpost setup.

Why is the smallest frame the best? An ounce lighter? A tad stiffer? Maybe quicker handling? these may not be traits a person wants in their first road bike.

Don't jump to conclusions so quickly - at 6'1" 35 cycling inseam, Rivendell recommended a 64cm frame. I've been sized & fit by Craig Calfee (60cm Tetra), measured by Co-Motion for a tandem, and fit for a custom steel last year. A 60 fits me in many manufacturers sizes but Lemond would be smaller, Colnago larger because of top tube lengths. There are simply too many considerations for a quick sizing decision.


The biggest problem for bikerduder seems to be buying his first road bike over the phone.

wow, confusing stuff! i've decided to settle on the 58cm.....hope it'll work out!

thanks for eveyone's input!

As long as the seatrails don't touch the frame your golden! :rolleyes: