Road Cycling - Is my bike too big?

I've been riding a Nishiki Patriot, I bought it at the flea market for $60. Had to replace the rear wheel which I destroyed at 280lbs. I'm now 237 and falling, and will likely replace this bike when I hit 200.

Anyway, I'm almost 5'8", with a 29" inseam. I think I have short legs and a long torso. I just measured the nishiki, and it's 22.5" center to center, or 57.1cm. I like this bike and have covered a few hundred miles on it. I tend towards the bar flats, as opposed to the horns or the drops, but I do use all three positions. I also like the bars at the same height or higher than the seat

I've shopped for new bikes, and the LBSs I went to tend me towards 50/52cm, but I feel cramped.

How much should I listen to the experts versus what feels best? Should I compromise at 54cm?

I've been riding a Nishiki Patriot, I bought it at the flea market for $60. Had to replace the rear wheel which I destroyed at 280lbs. I'm now 237 and falling, and will likely replace this bike when I hit 200.

Anyway, I'm almost 5'8", with a 29" inseam. I think I have short legs and a long torso. I just measured the nishiki, and it's 22.5" center to center, or 57.1cm. I like this bike and have covered a few hundred miles on it. I tend towards the bar flats, as opposed to the horns or the drops, but I do use all three positions. I also like the bars at the same height or higher than the seat

I've shopped for new bikes, and the LBSs I went to tend me towards 50/52cm, but I feel cramped.

How much should I listen to the experts versus what feels best? Should I compromise at 54cm?

You should ride the size that "feels" the best and most comfortable for yourself. Off the top measurements are not always a good indicator of what will end up being the best for you. I bought a bike that was measured for me. The measurements said that the seat should have a certain height. Took it out on a test run and found the seat was about three inches to low to where I felt comfortable. So much for measurements.

As people will say, a lot of things go into fit and it depends on the bike. I am 5'9" or a bit more with a 30" inseam and I ride a 54. It seems the 57 may be too big and the 52-54 is more in the right range. I would get the lbs to point out what happens to your position on the bike as you go from 50-57 and what is wrong at the extremes. Ultimately, what feels right matters, but you don't want an ill-fitting bike. You might find that you adjust aafter spending some time on a smaller bike.

well, LBS's have experience in bike fitting. They deal with this stuff all the time. Anyway, you can sense if the sales man is just getting you to buy stuff you don't need, so just be alert. ;)

I agree mr. lone ranger, I also think a 57 is too big for you.. I'm 5'6" and ride a 49~50cm frame. A size 52 is I think in the right region for your inseam.

What I'm concerned about is, a 57cm frame will, more or less have a 57~58cm toptube. Add an 80mm stem and total reach would be roughly 66cm. I think, at you're height, even if you have long arms and a long torso, you will still be stretched out very much.

It is normal to feel cramped when going from a too big frame to the right one... But the benefits in comfort and power is very much noticable, especially in long rides (50-100km).

It is normal to feel cramped when going from a too big frame to the right one... But the benefits in comfort and power is very much noticable, especially in long rides (50-100km).

I second this. After a long time of what I thought was good riding, I discovered that my seat was 3 cm too high - according to several fit "systems". So, I lowered it and it felt cramped at first. Now, it seems normal and I feel stronger.

55/Rad

The way you are setting up your Nishiki suggests you need a frame at or longer than 57cm. With relatively short legs and long torso and arms for height, you'd expect to need handlebars that are higher and farther away, just what you are doing with the Nishiki. Middle-aged roadie-types tend to have the top of the handlebars level with the top of the round part of the seatpost. You sound like your handlebars are a little bit higher than that, but really it is the top of the saddle that is low to accommodate the short legs. In short, your bike looks exactly as we would expect for a person who is proportioned as you are.

The trouble I see with going with the smaller frame, which might have a shorter and lower top tube, is that it will strictly limit the stem choices (and put a lot of spacers in your Aheadset stack) you will be able to use to get the handlebars where you want them. You will have to use a very long stem with a lot of upward slope. A 50-52cm is about the right size for a woman of 5'2"-5'4". I have a friend who is 5'8", and he rides a 57cm.

I like to see frames sized so that the way they are fit is in the middle of the range of adjustment of the components. Ideally, the saddle will be in the middle of the rails front/back, and you will use a stem with medium length and rise, so if you need to make changes, you can get a commonly available part to do it with. I like to see just a little bit more than a fist's worth of round seatpost showing (heresy!), less than the amount we see on most bikes today.

What about your fit? Should we change it? Should we put you on a smaller frame? Is your saddle up so high that your hips rock excessively and you get saddlesores? No? Okay, how much round seatpost is showing? A fist's worth? More? If we switch you to a 52cm, you'll have 2" more seatpost showing, the top tube will be 2" lower, and the handlebars will be 2" lower, unless it is one of those compact-frame-sloping-top-tube designs, or we find you a stem that is 2" longer and taller, and a frame that forces you to use a really long, tall stem might have poor handling because there might be too much weight on the front end.

If nobody can show you and describe in words that you understand with ideas that make sense to you, why it is that your current 57cm DOES NOT fit, I would be very hesitant to switch to a smaller frame. You would be giving up the long, high top tube you need to fit your long torso.

check this out.
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/frame-sizing.html
I am 5' 9" and I ride a compact frame of top tube 54cm and a trditional frame of top tube 56cm, but both seat to handle bar is 64cm and seat to bottom bracket is 71cm. I feel very comfortable in both of them but one is very "racy" and one is a "cruiser" due to the different wheel base length.

When you get down to around 200 you might feel slightly less cramped as well. A wider handlebar might make you feel a bit less cramped as well.

My height and inseam are the same as yours. I ride a 50cm frame with a 120mm stem.

We can plot a graph and write a formulae as a GUIDE ONLY for frame sizes using very basic parameters eg 1) height vs seat post centre to handle bar centre and 2) height vs top of seat to bottom bracket centre.
Mine is 5'9" (175cm) vs 64cm and 175cm vs 71cm
blwyn is 5' 8" vs 62cm?

I'll throw my $0.02 in here, since I'm close to the same height and leg length as you. I'm 5'10" with a 30" inseam. I started out riding on a 58 cm frame. In a year of riding it, I found I could never get the fit quite right. It just felt ponderous and "too big". Then I hopped a buddy's 53 cm frame. It felt really strange and "too small" at first. But ultimately, I bought it from him. After tweaking the stem length and seat fore/aft position, I found I could get in a comfy position and the bike just felt so much more responsive and a part of me than my 58 ever did.

I have one frame that's a 53cm that I run a 130mm stem on. The other is a 54 that I have a 115mm stem. The distance from the back of the saddle to the bars is identical, as is the seat position behind the bottom bracket. Both bikes feel great to ride.

I'd advise you to take your time frame shopping. Look at a lot of different brands, with an eye especially towards top tube length. You can find 53 or 54 seat tubes with 54/55 top tube length. LeMond is one brand that has longer top tubes, for example. Wrench Science www.wrenchscience.com (http://www.wrenchscience.com) has a large selection of frames and an online sizing guide that can help you. Good luck.

I think the "buy what feels right" is the worst advice you can get as far as fit goes. Unless you are experienced, what feels right could be totally wrong. This is true for most sports.Especially if you are already used to an improperly sized bike. Standard sizing measurements will work best for 99% of the people. These take into account torso length, and other variables.

I would do one of the online sizers first. This will give you a good starting place. It will also let you know if the LBS "expert" is really an expert. Some are, some aren't.