Foxman

I currently own a 4.5 madone 58cm. I am 5'11 . After buying bike I went to get a professional fit and the fitter said he would have never put me in a 58. He was able to get things close, but never felt comfortable reaching the hoods. Always grasped a few inches back from them.

I went to get test ride a Domane, seller said just looking he would put me on a 56. So I test rode one of them first and still felt like I was reaching for the hoods and felt more comfortable further back on the bar. They happened to have a 54cm trek Domane 5.2 and they set me up on it and it felt almost perfect, seat needed to be raised a little more, but said I would need the larger mast for that. I didn't feel like I was diving into the bars ar all, and I felt comfortable on the hoods.

They also had a Giant Adavanced 0 in a m/l and again on this bike it felt like I was having to reach for the hoods

I have seen quite a few posts that say 5'11 to 6' is not normal on a 54 cm. then others say get what feels right, am I missing something, or is it that simple?

Should also mention the dealer thought it was odd that the 54cm felt better.


What do you guys think?

trailangel

5' 11"... 58cm!
Dave Moulton's Blog - Dave Moulton's Bike Blog - A Different Thought on Frame*Sizing

Foxman

58 does not fit at all

ltxi

"If the shoe fits, wear it." is actually good, practical advice. I'm a couple/three inches taller than you and my nominal working road bike frame size has always been 56/58. I tend to prefer 58, but that's just me. 54/56 seems perfectly reasonable to me at 5'11". Irrespective...everyone's different/body proportions can have an effect/folk often tend to see "normal" mebbe one sigma, perhaps two, off the center of the bell curve. If it feels right and works well/right for you who cares what anyone else thinks.

Wheever

It's all about torso and arm length. I'm 5'9.5" ish, and my 52 Domane is the most confortable bike I've ever ridden. The saddle is clamped about 3/4 of the way forward, and I'm running the stock stem. Depending on your proportions, and if they are like mine (long legs, short torso) 54 seems reasonable. (I also have to run the long mast topper, because my seat height is around 73-74 cm.)

FYI: when I went from 54 to a 52, i was so much more comfortable that I was able to happily double my mileage, without undue pain or aches afterward, whereas on the 54, my back and arms and neck would start to hurt after 15 miles--even though the saddle to bar drop on my 52 was greater.

Fldaves

I was just looking at the Domane 5.2 just the other day. I'm 6'1" with very short legs(29 inseam) but have a proportionately long torso. When I first started racing 25 years ago I was measured out for a size 55cm frame and rode mostly 55 or 56 sized bikes for years. Yesterday when I was testing the different Domane's I felt most comfortable on the 58, which was very surprising. It was a bit tight on the step over but once on and riding it felt like I was on a custom built bike and everything was perfect right out of the box. I will however say that the 56cm bike's seat post was too short to fit my needed height but then again I would have never tried the 58!

oldbobcat

While I respect Dave Moulton's opinions, and have even used them to support my own fit ideas, I don't slavishly accept everything he says as fact. A 58 cm frame with a sufficiently short top tube (say, 56 cm or less) for a 5'11" rider with sufficiently long legs (say 85 cm or more), but at a glance I'd probably send this guy out on a 56 and ask for some feedback. The 54 Domane raises my eyebrows, because Domanes run short in the reach department and tall in stack, but I'm not looking at how he sits on it. I'm inclined to say, do some A-B-C testing with the 54 and 56 Domanes and a Medium Giant (don't know whether you're talking about a TCR or a Defy). I've ridden M/L Giants, a TCR and a Defy, and they feel like 57 to me, larger than most 56s and smaller than any 58 I've ridden.

oldbobcat

You'd probably be happier with shorter cranks, not the 175s that the 58 is equipped with. 56 comes with 172.5s, and 54s with 170s. With your build, I'd start with 56 with a 120 or even 130 mm stem. Stems are for swapping.

I'm surprised that you found the seat height of the 56 too short. The Trek catalog says the max seat height for the 56 is 81 cm, which is probably a stretch. But I've seen 56s with the standard short cap easily accommodate 87 cm of leg length, which goes over the top tube of a 58 quite easily.

2702

Ditto! I ride a 48cm at 5 feet 6 30 inseam. My back is arched up on the 48cm and I like it that way. Heads up riding position and quite comfortable. All online fit guides says I should be on a 52cm but all that size feels uncomfortable to me.

Mr Grinch

FWIW, I'm 6'3" and ride a 58 Domane 5.2. I feel a bit overextended at times and could probably do with a 56. A shorter stem didn't help a whole lot so I went back to original to get the handling a little less aggressive.

Foxman

Got back home finally and measured my current madone for saddle height its at 81cm, which is 3cm higher than the max for a 54cm and right at the max on a 56. My inseam is around 34-34.5 inches(measured with book all up in on my crotch ��) Which doing some calculations with basic fit I should be at about 76.5-78cm, which would fall into range of the 54cm on the high side.

All I know for sure is when I rode the 54 cm, my reach for torso and arms felt exactly right, and the bike felt like it really wanted to get up and go under my legs.

oldbobcat

77-78.5 cm is about right for 34-34.5" leg length, the upper end if your feet are big. Your shoes and pedals will make a difference, too. Like I said, the 58 is too long, my first stab would be the 56, and if you were really set on the 54, we could make it work. But I am a little surprised your knees aren't hitting the handlebar when you stand up to sprint.

Foxman

Well after all this I spent some more time test riding sizes, and ended back up on a 58 cm.

Got a great deal on this 2015 close out, $2300.

My new Domane:

McBTC

Oftentimes the OEM stem will be 2x as long as you'll want if more comfort is desired... which is easily corrected by going to a shorter stem with some rise. It has a setback seatpost so that's 20mm of offset you can eliminate right there by going to a straight post. Where the hoods are mounted on the bars also can make a lot of difference in the reach.