deepakvrao

Hi Guys,

I had asked for help here a while ago in deciding between a 52 and a 54.
This is for a Surly LHT.

I live in India with no chance of a test ride so am asking again for help
for my wife.

Loving my Surly so much that I am planning to get one for my wife. We are
touring France in September. So, need some help again with sizing.

She is 5'3.5" [161cm] tall and her PBH [Cycling inseam] is 31.5" [80cm].

She currently rides a 47cm Bianchi Womens road bike. I am attaching the
geometry specs, and she is very comfortable on it. The seat tube angles are
very different between the Bianchi and the Surly.

I was thinking more in terms of the 50, as it has a 53cm ETT which is
23mm longer than her current road bike. Her current saddle to bar drop
is 1.5", while the LHT will be set up so that the bar is level. If the
bar is higher by about 1.5" how much do you estimate that the reach
will be reduced by?

Would you suggest the 46 or the 50cm?



Regards,

Deepak

onbike 1939

Whichever size you choose, do remember that Surly measures their frames differently from other manufacturers. The measure from the centre of the BB to the point where the top tube meets the seat tube, rather than to the top of the seat tube.

aggiegrads

Deepak, I highly recommend that you review the LHT forum on Google groups. They maintain a list of users with key dimensions and frame sizes.

It sounds like she has relatively long legs for her height. Be careful of sizing the frame based on standover height. Check the top tube lengths to make sure that they are equivalent.

Check here.

Edit: It looks like you probably already know about the Google spreadsheet. If it looks like standover height will not be a problem, make sure that she is comfortable in the cockpit.

deepakvrao

Thanks aggie. Posted there too. Finally will pick up from a LBS in the UK so she will probably get a chance to try it.

KDC1956

Let us know what you get for her.

kayakdiver

Does she like riding with the saddle higher than the bars? Both my road bike and touring bike are set up this way. I would hate riding a bike that had bars higher than the saddle. Just because it's a touring bike doesn't mean you have to set it up like others. If she's comfy now.. shoot for the same or close on the LHT.

If she's not.. forget what I wrote above.

deepakvrao

^^^Thanks. Very valid point. Never thought of that. was just assuming that as its a touring bike, it should be set up like touring bikes normally are.

My road bike has about 2.5" saddle/bar drop and my Surly has less than an inch. I like the slightly more upright position for touring.

kuan

I think for longer and slower rides that I like a more upright position. On my road bike I have a 2" drop between the top of the seat and the top of the handlebars. On my LHT they are about even. I like being able to sit more upright on longer rides. So yeah. Just don't cut the steerer.

river_patch

I agree with Kyakdiver's and aggiegrad's posting, both very important points.

If it helps, I'm female, 5ft 5 inch (165cm), I have a long torso/ arms, and my PBH is the same as your wife's. I test rode the 56cm LHT last year with the 700cc wheels (SOH 812.2mm). I'm not crotch shy, and was o.k. riding the 56cm, although I wasn't certain I'd be o.k. with the height after a long day in the saddle and with the bike loaded. There wasn't a 54cm LHT for me to test. I ended up buying a 54cm Fuji Tourer, which took just one bump for me to get used to the stand over, and I'm o.k. on it with my gear and after a days work and long commute. My point is, take into account your wife's comfort with variable stand over heights when choosing, and if she's not crotch shy, she'll get used to the 54cm, and may appreciate having a larger frame on which to put stuff on. Remember Surly also measure their SOH from ground to the centre of the top tube, not the top. I think the top tube length has already been covered in the above posts.

deepakvrao

Thanks all. Today she rode my 54 LHT and had no problem with standover [just touching], so I figure with 4cm SO on the 50cm, she will be fine. I think the reach of the 50 should also be fine.

ddez

Look at the 52 as well,it will give her slightly higher bars versus seat looking at there website geometry. Still a little better SO too.

deepakvrao

Actually guys, she finally went with the 46. even the 50 had a longish reach and it already had a 75mm stem, som did not want an even shorter stem. The 46 fits great and we had a great 2 weeks in Wales and the Cotswolds.

I also measured her height wrong - its 5'3", just for others who might come across this in a search.