Touring - Frame size

Am male, 5'10" with 32" inside leg looking for touring bike. Am looking at Dawes Galaxy but not sure what size frame. Also, haven't been cycling for years, why do most touring bikes these days have straight bars?
Thanks, noel

It sounds like you'd normally fit something like a 55 or 56. But you'll need a bike with a relaxed geometry because you have a pretty long torso.

In fact, thinking about it I suspect you're telling us your pants size and not your true inseam.

Go to a bike shop and stand over a bike of about 57 or 58. Lift the bike up from and back. Have someone look at the wheel clearance and there should be about an inch under both wheels.

You need 1-3" of standover clearance and enough length to be comfortable. You can adjust the length with replacement stems (+-2cm).
Flat bars seem to be more reasuring for non-cyclists. They also accept brake levers that work well with long cable-pull and disk brake systems.

I am your exact size (pants inseam = 32"). I ride a 27" and it's perfect. Top tube is the same length. Forget the cm conversion.

I have a smaller 56cm road bike (sloping top tube so it's actually smaller) and it feels tiny. I like my big bike a little better.

http://www.rivendellbicycles.com/html/bikes_framesize.html <- read it. Frame size is critical to get the bars high enough to be comfortable. When I started in this whole thing, bike shop had me on a 58, a 58 feels tiny now. Riding a 62cm LHT and it fits great. My inseam is 91cm measured the Rivendell way.

Noel,
There is no way to guess a frame size based upon your height and inseam. There are too many variables to consider regarding your dimensions as well as riding style. I personally think it's wrong to size bikes based on seat tube length and would have to say top tube length is most important, at least in my book. I had a 62cm LHT with a 59cm top tube and it fit great. Guessing I had about 3" of clearance. I now have a Thorn w/ a much short seat tube, probably by about 10cm shorter, and a 61cm top tube. I haven't measured the clearance but probably in the neighborhood of 6-8 inches. I had to install a shorter stem and the bike fits as well as the LHT. The headtube length is the same between the two bikes so bars are just as high. I like the compact geometry better for getting it in a box which I had a very hard time doing w/ the LHT.

I know this will generate some disagreement but as long as you get the bars, BB and saddle where you need them, what happens in between is not that significant. A folding bike being a good example. Haven't heard anything negative about the ride quality of a bike friday and look at the standover height. The actual top tube length is more crucial (as long as it's not too high, of course). This is where your LBS comes in and hopefully they sell custom bikes. Not that you need one but shops that sell custom usually do a better job at sizing a customer.

Noel - you might find this useful
http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za/CCY?PAGE=FIT_CALCULATOR_INTRO

aroundoz: I completely agree. My 2 bikes side-by-side look comical. My steel commuter is 27". My sloping top tube Schwinn Fastback Pro is TINY beside it. But the effective toptube is almost identical and they both fit me very well.

Furthermore, given all the ways you can tweak a bike's fit, sometimes I think this frame size thing goes a bit overboard at times.