54 or 56 Trek? Help!
 

So I was pretty set on a Trek 5200 so I got fitted and all my measurements pretty much pit me on a size 56 frame. I think he measured shoe size, inseam, arm length at 45 degree angle. On paper it pointed me to a 56, but I also tried a 54. We used a 9cm stem on the 56 w/ 7 degrees and a 10cm w/ 17 degrees on the 54. The saddle on the 56 was a bit short and pushed a bit forward and the 54 looked pretty normal (maybe a little high). On both I failed the "cover up the front hub" test as I could see the hub in front of the stems on both setups. I don't think this is a critical test though.

Anyway, I test rode both and they felt almost exactly the same to me! The only difference was I could definitely tell that the point where the front tire makes contact with the ground was closer to my body than the 56 when I was up in the pedals.

Which would you guys go for?

A 9cm stem on a 56cm bike is pretty short. They usually ship with something more like 11-12cm. I have a 9cm stem on my 56cm bike because I have pretty long legs and needed the short stem to get the closest to the right fit.

In the end, you want to make sure that the reach to the bars is reasonable with your saddle in the right location, height and fore/aft-wise. If the reach is correct on the 54cm without the saddle to bars height difference begin too great, it might be the way to go. It's really had to say without seeing you on the bike.

Ya I'm so torn cause I feel fine on both especially since the LBS matched the two rides up almost identically. I'm fine on the 56 with a longer stem, but I'm not sure if it's proper form or not.

Oh this is my first road bike btw.

Hard to say without seeing you on the bike. I'd probably lean towards the larger frame, but that's the way I personally go usually. As far as stem length, being your first roadie I suspect you'll eventually go to a 10cm on the 56 if you get that, or at least drop the rise a bit. Mainly due to getting more flexable on the bike. I've discovered I'm spending much more time in the drops lately on my bikes than I did last year (which was my first year on a roadie).

Just for the hell of it, give the bike fit calculator on Wrench Science a try. It should give you a top tube length + stem length measurement that you can compare to the setups you're looking at. It'll also suggest a standard frame size but the top tube length is the most important. It's still just a ballpark but a pretty comprehensive one. You'll need someone to help you with the measurements.

http://www.wrenchscience.com/