I’m looking to replace my destroyed 55cm Lemond Zurich. It was probably closer to a 56 - 57cm since Lemond measured their bikes a little differently. I liked the fit of the relaxed sloped top tube geometry, except I had to raise the seat pretty high. I also had to put on a shorter stem since I felt a little stretched out over the top tube.
My problem is I’m 5’11” and have relatively long legs (87.5cm) and long arms, but average trunk length. When I look at some online bike fit calculators they have me on 59 – 60cm bike. That just seems way too big.
I’ve test rode a few bikes at some lbs. One store put me on a 54cm which felt too small. At another store I tried a 56cm and it was much like my old bike, but I could see that I was going to once again need to raise the seat really high and shorten the stem. I plan on trying out some other sizes, but since funds are limited, I would also like to open up the possibility of shopping for used online, which means I can’t always test ride first.
So I guess I’m wondering should I try to stay with a smaller frame (56cm) to keep the length of the top tube low and not worry about the how high the seat is or should I go with my leg length and feel a bit stretched out on the top tube or am I not looking at this issue the right way?
Is there anyone here with a similar body type who can offer some guidance?