Originally Posted by Kontact

At 163cm, I am often the shortest guy, but there are other males my height and a ton of women who are shorter. Especially if you aren't typical white or black males. Most most Asian and Latino men average less than 176cm. If you look at the basic charts offered by many cycling brands, they usually suggest something more or less like 48 for 5'2", 50 for 5'4", 52 for 5'6, 54 for 5'8", 56 for the most common US male height of 5'10, 58 for 6' and 60 for 6'2". These are basic recommendations that apply to men and women, but lacking other information are useful guides to why manufacturers produce the size range they do.


In your specific case, you reflect exactly what I said in my commentary - you have a different fit need because you have long legs and short torso - so it should be no surprise that your needs include the shorter top tube of an otherwise small frame. Especially if you want the bars low for racing. But you aren't the average shape, so using your fit needs to guess about other people doesn't work that well.

In the OP's case, maybe the first guy selected 54 because the added stack is important for his body, like a lack of back flexibility. Dunno. But the bike isn't otherwise too long and standover height doesn't matter. I would have guessed 52. But 47**********?


As far as Scott not offering enough setback - setback isn't negotiable. If you can't get your saddle in position with a post swap, then the bike is never going to fit you.