I just got around to doing the sizing chart on wrenchscience and here are the results:
Your Handlebar Width is :: 38cm Center-to-Center
Your Overall Reach is :: 63.69cm Center-to-Center (TT+stem)
Your Frame Size is :: 48cm Center-to-Top / 46cm Center-to-Center
Your Recommended Saddle Height is :: 62.8cm
I clicked onward to the frames they have that would fit me and there were only a few titanium and carbon options. All too expensive for me. Originally, I had been searching for a steel frame (maybe a mid-90's+ italian/japanese, lugged) but at this point it looks like aluminum may be my best bet size-wise. Anyone think this Lemond might fit me anyway?
49cm Lemond Zurich on Ebay
If the 2006 size chart for sloping top tubes holds true for the 2003 then it would go something like this:
So c-c on the 49 is actually only 45.3cm? That would be just about perfect based on the wrenchscience info. The effective TT c-c would be 52.5 which also seems right on. So maybe i'm not going to have to stay away from steel.
Anyway, i'm a thoroughly confused bike noob now
and it seems i'm going to have to just hop on a few of these bikes to get a more accurate picture of what size frame i can handle. As long as i get the effective TT length right, will it really matter if i can't comfortably stand over it?
I do have 165mm cranks of my mountain bike so i'll probably get the same for whatever road bike i end up with.
Thanks again all.
Originally Posted by rjtokyo
Hey JRider. I'm almost exactly the same size and proportions as you and I have 2 road bikes that fit me very well; both are 700c. One is a sloping top tube, and the other is level.
First, standover height is almost meaningless in relationship to how the bike actually rides. If you check out the geometries of some of the best frames (DeRosa, Pinarello, Look, Colnago, etc), I doubt they even list the standover height. What's more important is top tube length, seattube angle/setback, headtube angle/trail. I suggest having someone help you take your body measurements and run them through a good fit system like they have at Wrench Science (the fit system link is on the right side of the page):
http://www.wrenchscience.com/WS1/default.asp
Then use the results and compare them to frame geometries you can find on various manufacturers websites; see which geometries fit your body proportions best. Also consider your preferred riding style. For example, I ride in the drops quite a bit and prefer an aggressive TT (time trial) type position, so I like bikes with steeper seattube angles (74-76 degrees), like the Felts (in a 50 c-t size).
On the question of sloping top tube or level, that also isn't going to make much REAL difference in the way the bike rides. Either way, what matters is the shape of the triangle formed by the saddle+bottom bracket+handlebars. If you prefer the looks of a level top tube better, but you don't like the looks of having a very short seatpost, you still have options. For example, my Bertoni's (level TT) seattube is 49cm (c-t), but the bottom bracket drop (bb's vertical distance from the horizontal plane between the two axles) is only 6.0 cm instead of the more common 7.0 cm. Fits me great and still looks good IMHO.
Anyway, all this to say you've got plenty of options in 700c sizes. Test riding as many as you can before you buy will also give you a good idea of what will work.
Cheers! - RJ