yater

I've been talking to the lbs and also talked to surly (for about 30 minutes) about long haul trucker sizing and haven't come up with the right size yet. I'm right between a 46cm and a 50cm. I'm about 5'6"-5'7"? and my inseam (with pressure) is 31.5 and 29" without (pant size). The 53cm TT on the 50cm frame is pushing the limit for me and I'm afraid the 75* seat angle may not give me enough forward adjustment to get over the pedals. On the 46, I'd have some rearward adjustment if necessary via setback seatpost and saddle adjustment. Is anyone here my size or close to it? What frame do you ride??

brianmcg123

Yay.

NoReg

"Nevermind. He called me back and offered a deal on the frame and the headset installation. I'm happy now"

They screw you till you walk away. Now you're doing business.

GeoKrpan

Go to your friendly neighborhood bike store, get on some bikes, and note which top tube length feels best to you. If you are going to be using drop bars ride bikes with drop bars. If your going to be using flat bars ride bikes with flat bars.

yater

I've been riding road bikes for years. I'm looking for LHT specific geometry information.

greenstork

Where are you located?

You have two options. You can either go through your local Surly dealer and have them measure you up. You may get a sales rep. who is knowledgeable about Surly bikes and fit, or you may get a 22 year old who doesn't know the difference between a top tube and a downtube.

The other option is to visit a physical therapist who specializes in bike fit. I live in Seattle and there happens to be a bike fit specialist who sized me up for a custom frame. He essentially matched me up to a standard geometry bike and then tweaked the headtube and TT length. While you aren't looking for a custom frame, a bike fit specialist would at least be able to point you to the appropriate standard geometry fram. Note: this is a costly route.

I wouldn't trust anything anyone on this thread tells you about what bike size is right for you. You can't really fit a bike over the internet, particularly based on comments of people who may or may not have any experience in the area.

I'd try to find a shops that have a few Surlys built up already and see how they fit you. This is challenging since most bike shops I've visited don't build up framesets.

yater

I just talked to the lbs again and we decided to go with the 50cm based on my other bikes' geometries and a little guess work. They agreed to eat the shipping if the frame didn't fit and get me one that does....can't beat that. The "fistfull of seatpost" fit would be more likely with the larger (50cm) frame. I hope to dial it in from there.

Cyclist0094

You said you talked to Surly for 30 minutes, WTF did you discuss? just because someone is the same height or inseam doesn't mean that their choice of bike size is right for you.If you have been riding for years you should have a bike that fits you now.

Get a protractor, a yardstick and 2 large pieces of poster board taped together .Take the dimensions off your current bike's frame from the center of the bottom bracket and plot them on the poster board.Also draw out the profile of your stem and the seat post including the location of the clamp. Draw out the pedal circle also so you can check the KOP position.

Then take the advertised Surly dimensions from the 50 cm( the 50 is closest to your inseam )and plot them over the lines from your current bike. if the lines are close enough to compensate with seat posts and stems you are in business. if not, go up or down a size to get one that is close.

There isn't a good ice cream bar in Mindenville NY

brianmcg123

If you are going buy the "fistfull of post" then the 52 would be your size. By your measurements you would still have about 3cm of clearance on the top tube.

Obviously you would need a shorter stem but that would also depend on how high you get your bars. If you are going for level witht the saddle, you may even need a longer one.

Here is some interesting reading about sizing.
https://www.woolywarm.com/right_panel.php?id=2

roadfix

I'm 5'7" with about 30" inseam and I built up a 52cm LHT for myself a little over a year ago. I still get a fistfull of seatpost using a Brooks saddle. Crankarms are 170mm and I'm running a 90mm stem. My Nitto Noodle bars (recent switch) sits just about even with the saddle with this frame size without resorting to adding several headset spacers.

brianmcg123

Here is what my Trucker looks like. I went with the "fistful" sizing a, la, Rivendell. Bars are actually about 2cm higher than the saddle here.

PC220365.jpg

This is a 56cm. I have an inch of clearance over the TT. I am still dialing in the fit, that is why the steerer is still uncut. Currently I have the stem flipped back over so that it is parallel with the top tube but with an extra spacer under it. I think it looks better that way. (sorry no pic of that one.)

yater

Very nice...man these are cool bikes. My xt wheelset is black but it'll have to do until I wear it out/finish school. I plan to go with the XD600 crank and un73 BB. I'm still trying to decide between dura ace barend and dura ace downtube shifting. I already have a set of shimano 550 brakes. I can't wait to get started on this thing...and I really can't wait to load it up and take off on it.

About the sizing...I'm pretty confident that the 50cm will be the best size for me. The 53cm TT is as long as I wanted to go. Thanks for the suggestions.

brianmcg123

Fixer,

I like your build. I wish they had still had the green when I got mine recently. I was going to build it up with all black components like yours and then on the top or seat tube get some stickers that said
M*A*S*H* 4077th. Like an old army jeep.

NoReg

"I wouldn't trust anything anyone on this thread tells you about what bike size is right for you. You can't really fit a bike over the internet, particularly based on comments of people who may or may not have any experience in the area."

I don't really agree with this. I would not recomend a frame here because I am not in the size range, but I feel I know most of the issues for at least half the people who are in my size range. In a given distribution you get people who are right on the bubble. Then it's a judgement call. But there are also an equal number of people who are going to fall near a given size. That should be obvious.

Three other things:

1) if you go the bike fit or expert local LBS guy, they will still put you in the wrong bike at times, no different than here. I have been misfit several times by LBSs. They either: didn't know enough; were stearing to stock they had; or trying to be supportive; Or I didn't take their advice. sometime they give advice and it just dosen't cut through. Then you realize afterwards what they were saying.

2) To fit off the internetl it helps if you are normal, a fits off the rack type. If one is weird in one's body proportions then fitting is hard, in a way that would be obvious with a test ride. Though I have been misfitted with a test ride.

3) What a bike fitter does in large part is fit the stuff beyond the frame. Any joker should be able to get close relative to frame size. We are not doing the dial-in of pedal position here, seat angle etc... just the back bone.