Originally Posted by
adlai
I'm six foot but I ride a 56cm frame. Recently I've been thinking about 54cm frames.
Reason is because I feel like I have a short upper body and a long lower body, thus my torso length is more in line with a shorter person and my height is a result of my leg length. When I rode a 58cm frame I always felt like I was reaching too far to get to the handlebars. 56cm does feel a lot better.
Anyways, is it common for the recommendations to be off due to different body types?
Proper sizing varies with body type and other factors. I am 5'-10" and the frames I have fit best on are 48-50cm, which is way smaller than any rule of thumb I have ever seen. In fact, conventional wisdom put me on larger frames (and made me miserable) for many years until I got a proper bike fitting.
If you feel too stretched out and your saddle is in the right position, first look into a shorter stem. Otherwise if you want to new bike look for one with a shorter reach.
As mentioned earlier in this thread, look at the actual frame stack and reach numbers of the bikes, not the stated frame size in cm.