Originally Posted by
wrk101
Learn to IGNORE stand over on sizing. Get a top tube length that fits you and you will do fine.
Also, vintage bikes tended to take bigger jumps between sizes. Many brands went 2 full inches between sizes, which equals 5cm! Your target is way too narrow. And I don't see 52cm ST very often at all. Much more common is the 21 inch frame size, which is 53cm. I've owned well over 600 bikes, probably 100 were 53cm seat tube. I don't recall ever owning a single 52cm seat tube bike (sure, they are out there, but not very common). I find a lot of 23 inch seat tube bikes, some 21 inch, some 22 and 24 inch (some manufacturers went 22/24/26 inch frame sizes). Then a handful of 25 inch/25.5 inch and 19 inch. I've had three 18 inch (really rare).
Seat tube sizing by most manufacturers measured center to top.
And on TT length, realize you can play around with stem length to compensate for too long or too short TT. Sure, you want to be close, but a 2cm range is only about 3/4 of an inch.
FWIW, my inseam is 30 inches and I ride a 56/57. I pretty much have negative standover on every road bike I own, but I have a long torso and arms. I have a dual sport motorcycle with a 36 inch seat height. Talk about a stretch!
Size via TT length and you will find plenty.
Thanks, most helpful. As you can see I'm new to this. Took up cycling a couple of years ago. I will be 50 soon. I would like to get something like I had as a kid. I used to have a Puch Pacemaker and an Eddie Merckx branded bike (from research this probably was a falcon). We are talking around late 70's. Obviously they were junior size bikes then, but I hope to get something from that era, probably something cheap and cheerful, a winter project, and try to learn about restoration on it. That Bianchi is pretty low end, but could be made pretty, will never be made fast!!