Originally Posted by
cale
Keep in mind that ride quality is inversely related to tube length, the shorter you go the worse it gets. You can't replace the flexibility and resilience with stem length. My former steel stead a 57cm (56cm using more modern methods) had a long top tube and 10cm stem to serve up a comfortable all day ride. It just plain fit.
If you're on the fence, go with the smaller frame. That's the usual advice. It is certainly good for lighter riders that will benefit from the climbing weight. In this case, I'd argue to allow yourself a 10cm stem and see where that puts you. If you're thinking 56cm w/12cm stem, that sounds neat and tidy too.
I don't exactly know what you get towards performance with the Wraith bike but it sure is a looker. If you can talk your way into one, who am I to talk you out. I'd get the M/L and go with the 10cm stem. If you're looking at your riding calendar more than your fantastic new bike, I think the Soma Smoothie is a solid value. I'd be even tempted to look at what's available for around $300 and leave myself $150 for a nice fork.
Edited to add: Oh Oh Smoothies on sale for $400.
https://www.biketiresdirect.com/prod...hie-road-frame
Yeah, I've seen Smoothie frame as low as $359 and they are plentiful enough that they show up used on ebay fairly regularly. The Wraith gives you Columbus Life tubing which I understand is about as good as it gets these days as opposed to Tange Prestige on Soma ( still pretty good). Wraith is hand built and welded in US as opposed to hand made in Taiwan like the Soma. The Wraith is just over 3 lbs which rivals carbon, the Soma is just over 4 lbs (also still pretty good). The Wraith has the integrated headset which looks cleaner and probably won't run into many others on the road with the same bike. Wraith cones with a high end fork such as Enve or Whiskey . $1350 with free shipping so its a lot more than the Soma but still less than a Gunnar or other high end steel and half as much as a lot of the high end custom steel frame that run $2500+. So its expensive but also cheap when you consider what you get for the money. It would just be a shame to make that kind of investment and not love the fit. I emailed the owner as they advertise free fitting to see what he suggests. ...but I'm also cheap and aplvmy other builds have been used frames that I got deals on so I may go with the Soma to be practical. I do commute every day and do another 40-80 miles per week for fun and this would end up being my only bike as I've downsized so I want something I love riding