bobbyl1966

Hello how are you. Is see in your photos you have cannondale road bike. I have one too looks like your bike. How do you measure the frame. I measure mine from the center of the crank to the seatpost. Is show me 58cm. But when i measure from the center of the crank to the top tube is show me around 56cm. What is the correct measurement

stromeur

First pic : 30 years ago I was riding a pink custom made Marinoni 70 cm of seat tube , that was when no 400 mm seat post was avalaible . I actually ride a custom made 65cm Marinoni cyclo cross style with obviously 65cm seat tube , center to top . 60cm top tube ( very little slope ). The stem is a 35 deg rise 150mm long . I lived in Montréal , then to visit Pépé Marinoni is easy for me .

mjrLV

5'10 1/2 and a 56cm. Fits like a glove.

purple jelly

6'5", 210 pounds, long limbed. Like 7 foot wingspan long. I ride a 60cm Kestrel Talon, and a 23" size XL Giant Escape 3. I love them both, but never have been officially fit to them. I adjust them differently. Relaxed for my commuter, little more aero for the road bike. I'm a bicycle rider, not a bicycle... measurer guy. But I bet a professional bike fit would help some. I just don't want to pay for it, when I could be buying upgrades or bike bling or whatever. We all have long lists of wants I'm sure. I just watched a few videos on it, and did my best, minus the meticulous measuring. I'm a big fan of eyeballin' it.

FarHorizon

I'm 6'2" and I work best with a 58cm road-bike frame. My legs are short & my torso long for someone my height.

56cm bikes don't have long enough top-tubes for me. I can ride them, but I need a foolishly long stem.

60cm bikes don't have sufficient stand-over clearance. I can ride them in bike shorts with the package tucked up in the front, but I don't dare dangle.

With MTBs, compact frame geometries, etc. Who knows? I've never found a single one that fit me well.

BigC_82

I'm 6'5 and 195lbs. I have new CX: 2015 Raleigh RX 2.0 62cm and 2003 Raleigh M40 22in.

LarRig

I'm 5'10.5" with a 33" inseam. I ride a 54cm Cannondale CAAD 10. I feel like my frame is slightly small for me even though the shops that I went to before buying all recommended a med./54 frame. The top tube is 54.3cm with a 110mm stem. I tried a 120mm stem but I felt too stretched out so I went back to the 110mm. As far as the seat height is concerned, the seat post is only about halfway exposed, i.e. it's not nearly maxed out. I do feel comfortable on the bike and regularly ride 40-60 mile rides with no comfort issues so I guess the fit is good I just tend to obsess about it.

walksomemore

I'm 6'0" w about a 34.5" inseam but not a hugely long torso. Did Competitive cyclist and the Cobb saddle site guidance as well. Really, all these questions depend on the bike, geometry, and even manufacturer. The one consistency seems to be my ETT preference at about 570 (565-575). I then adjust seat tubes, stems, height to accommodate. I need my saddle to be about 30.5" - 31" from ctr of bb, saddle nose about 2 in aft of BB ctr, and do the old 'elbow-to-fingertip' routine to figure saddle-to-bar reach. Seems to be a great start, then tweak depending on perferred position (the 520 is sort of more upright touring with drops, the Masi is eddy fit go-fast, etc).

Masi Premiare Carbon Roadie - 56 frame (575 ETT)
1990 Trek 520 - 58 frame (575 ETT)

But it's all a bit of an educated guess 'til you get it dialed in exactly. I am still tweaking the Masi after a few thousand miles....

But bottom line for me, I look for a 57 or so ETT and go from there.

Of course, according to a local lbs, I fit whatever they are selling that day....

Ronno6

Well, I was 6'6" from my mid teens until Father Time and gravity caught up with me.
Now I am more like 6'4". Inseam went from 36" to 35",
My first quality bike was a 27" Fuji Royale.
I then went to a 63cm Colnago, w/300mm seatpost and 130mm stem.
In '86 I discovered Cannondales, and it was all over from there.
63cm racing frames , again w/300mm seatpost and 120-130mm stems.
For touring, I have a few 27" frame Cannondales. 3 have canti's,
one a 126mm rear dropout spacing, one a 130mm and one a 135mm.
The last is a T-1000 from 1993. I didn't even know they offered a 27" touring frame after '89 or so
til I stumbled onto this one.
At any rate, I have had to "stretch" the 63's to fit.
The 27's are just perfect!
And I do have one 66cm CAAD3 'Dale.

myth001

Wow, most of you guys are all tall. I'm 5'5.5" and rode a 52cm Trek, but that felt too big for me. Now am riding a 50cm Dogma, and it works alright. The next smaller size is 46cm, which seemed like too much of a jump. I wish they had a 48cm for Dogma, and that would've worked perfectly for me.
The Trek had a longer reach, and I didn't feel comfortable. But the compact geometry of Dogma works perfectly for my arms.

mapeiboy

5'8" , 30" inseam . riding a 52 cm Colango EP .

Ronno6

Cannondales are measured using a different top point than traditional frames.
Due to the seatpost clamp being above the top of the top tube, they are measured
from the center of the crank, up the seat tube, to a point 1cm above the top of the top tube.
Few people really understand this method, but that is the way a Cannondale rep
taught me back in 1986.

The Cannondales back in the late 80's actually included the frame size in their serial numbers.
And, to confuse things more, race bikes were measured in cm, whereas touring bikes were measured in inches!

Go figure...

bobbyl1966

Thank you for your answer. Is comfuse me that measurement. My bike is means is close to 56cm? I know is 58cm. I say that because i have other road bike is old steel frame have horizontal top tup is straight where the seat post start that bike is 56cm. Is happens i see in craiglist local one cannondale same my bike but is say 56cm. I wanted that bike from photo the frame looked same as mine just the difference i see is was. is has different wheels brifters and triple crank. My bike have the old downtube shifters and double crank. But i lost that bike someone else buy

Ronno6

bobbyl1966,
See of you can locate the serial number. That may tell the story depending on the year your bike was made.
Do not get too concerned with the size. What matters is that the bike fits you properly.

tarwheel 

I think this thread might be useful for someone buying their first bike or riding one that doesn't fit. However, proper bike fit depends not just on height but age, flexibility, leg-vs-torso length, and riding style. It is ridiculous for a young, flexible cyclist who is riding fast group rides to critique the bike fit of cyclists who are commuting, touring, riding on MUTs.

That said, here are my parameters. I am 5'11" (180 cm) tall with a 33" (83 cm) standover height and 75 cm saddle height (BB center to saddle top). I ride with handlebars the same height as the saddle. Most of my riding is commuting, touring, roads and greenways. I'm 61 years old and have been cycling more than 40 years. I typically ride 8,000-9,000+ miles a year.

I've got 5 bikes with top tubes ranging from 56-57 cm, and they all fit me well. I have tried to ride bikes both larger and smaller but was never comfortable on them. Seat tube lengths are irrelevant, IMHO. My bikes with longer top tubes tend to have more relaxed seat tube angles (72-72.5). The ones with shorter top tubes have steeper angles (73-74). All of my bikes have 10 cm stems. Head tube length is important to me because I run my handlebars fairly high. Here are my bikes with critical dimensions:

- Waterford RST-22, sport touring, 57 top tube, 57.5 seat tube, 18.5 head tube, 72.5 STA.
- Soma Saga, touring, 56.5 top tube, 56 seat tube, 16.5 head tube, 73 STA.
- Bob Jackson World Tour, touring, 57 top tube, 57 seat tube, 13.5 head tube, 72 STA.
- Ritchey Breakaway Cross, cyclecross, 57 top tube, 55 seat tube, 16 head tube, 73.5 STA.
- De Bernardi SL, racing, 56 top tube, 57 seat tube, 16.5 head tube, 74 STA.

bravofixie

Im 4 feet 11 1/2 inches. I ride a 46cm.

300# Gorilla

6'4" 250# I have a 62cm Cross Check, a Genesis 32 Ultra, a 26" Schwinn Super Sport and a 25" Schwinn World Tour. The Super Sport has been converted to single speed and has the lowest bottom bracket height of anything I have run into, I sit lower on it than anything else.

bmthom.gis

5'11", 32" inseam.
A 56 fits me best. I also ride 58 (older road bikes) and commute on a 53 that has been converted to flat bars

bobbyl1966

. I ride 56 cm road bike. Other road bike i have is 58cm. That bike is too tall for me? Or 2cm is not make much difference

bouldergeek

Very interesting to imagine all of these different types and fits.

I am a flat six feet (6'0") and tend to ride a 58cm in most manufacturers. I had a Specialized Allez years back and only the 56cm fit me. I have a Rocky Mountain Team Scandium classic geometry road frame in 58, and it is nearly identical to my friend's Colnago 59cm.

My main road bike is a Serotta Nove in a virtual 58cm compact frame. Newest bike is Fuji track bike in 58.

I do tend to go with shorter stems than stock on most of my bikes, so I might have a shorter reach. Legs are 33". I tend to replace 110 or 120 stock stems with 90 or 100s.

I also prefer a 175 crank, and can feel it when on shorter.

Joe Minton

6'1", 35" inseam, long arms (37" shirt size). Cannondale Synapse 61cm. 120-130mm stem (not sure yet). 79cm seat height. 8cm setback for seat nose/BB center.

I heartily endorse the (Bike Fit Calculator | Find Your Bike Size | Competitive Cyclist) online fitting tool. After messing around with fit for the better part of a year, I tried the fitting recommended by the cited website. It turns out that I had pretty much come to the same fitting dimensions the CC tool recommended. I could have saved much time and $$ if I had used their tool in the first place. At a minimum, the CC fitting tool presents a rather good starting place.

Joe

mountaindave 

I'm 6'2" with long legs (37.4" inseam) and I comfortable ride 62cm c-t bikes. Top tube lengths are ~58cm on both.

Using the Bike Fit calculators, I am supposed to have a 63-70cm (depending on style) seat tube and a 55.5-57.1 cm top tube!! You tell me where I am going to find a 70cm bike with a 57cm top tube!!

tangerineowl

5'10.5"/34.3"inseam. 45yrs/130lbs.
Ride a 543mm ett frame, 165mm headtube.
Next bike will be a 535mm frame; most likely a Izalco Ergoride.

The taller headtube suits my steady, half-day or so rides.

PIPO_VV

I'm 5'8" with a 32.5" inseam and long arms and ride a 56cm, feels great. Bought a 51cm (fits like a 54cm) 5 months ago and after jumping back on the old bike, the new one is up for sale.

KraneXL

Corn fed? Some information is better than no information?

Hopefully the manufacturers can glean something from it. That, or just for comparison sake?

Anyway, 6'4 @ 190 with 36" inseam -- 62/24.4. Cannondale's 2XXL (Jumbo) apparently now discontinued? Maybe we should send them a link to this thread?