Originally Posted by
cormacf
Thanks! I seemed to recall an old 80something 520 fitting me pretty well, and maybe one of the 600 series--though I had no idea what I was looking for, and my 15 year-old body could forgive more things than my 50 year-old version.
With the straight top tubes of the day, probably a 52 or 53cm -- definitely no more than a 54. I'm 5'9.5", but my jeans inseam is 30 on a good day. The best-fitting bike of the era that I ever personally owned was a cheapo Peugeot Saint somethingorother hybrid that was 53 in the seat tube and 55 top.
i'm 49 and 5'6. my pants inseam is also 30", but my pubic bone height is 32.5". so, kinda long legged for my height, i suppose...haha. anyway, i like to ride bigger frames so i can get the handlebars up high enough without really long stems or tons of spacers. mostly that lends itself towards traditional diamond/level top tubes frames, but even sloped top tubes...vintage or modern. my "newest" bike is an early 2000's giant fcr3. it's a woman's large hybrid frame, but i switched it to drop bars and the 56cm effective top tube is just right since the stack height is pretty tall compared to what i'd technically fit in a men's size....which'd be in the medium range.
i don't see how you don't feel a tad crowded on smaller frames that you exampled. longer stems? lots of seat post height and offset? lots of drop from saddle to bars?
my largest frame is a 57cm top tube 58cm seat tube. i have to use pretty short stem and shorter reach bars, but i like it. still have a fistfull of seat post showing. french fit....lol