I'm 5"9 with a 30inch inseam. My LBS suggests I should fit in a 51 frame but I strongly feel I should be 54. Anybody have any input on this? I currently ride a Trek Madone with a 56 frame and had to get a 90mm stem to compensate for the long reach but everything else is ok.

Thanks in advance.

Do you want an aggressive or a comfort fit?

I'm you size and I was "heavily" recommended to get the 51 and thanks God I did... the 51 works perfect for me .. 54 may be too big... with the 51 just be careful with toe overlap but is a better frame to ride with,get the 51!!

I'm almost 5'10" and I ride a 54 Orca.

I'm 6' and mine is a 57.

Doesn't mean a thing to you but I thought I'd add it to the mix.

I'm going to try riding the bike today and get a feel for it. Maybe I'm just used to my frame since it's bigger. From the picture you can't tell but in real life the frame looks small. I could barely fit my 24 oz bottles.

I have the Onix which has the same geometry, I'm 5'8 with a 31" inseam and am on a 54. I have it set in a comfort position which works fine for me, and when I want to be more aero I ride in the drops with no problem. I switched the stem to a 90mm and am very comfortable on mine as the 51 I tried just seemed a bit small.

I'm 5'7", 30in inseam and my Orca is a 51cm frame and I love the way it fits. The only thing I don't care for is that I can't fit 24oz bottles on the bike and had to drop down to 16's. I'm thinking 20's will fit though.

I'm 5'8" with an inseam of 32.25" and riding a 54. The top tube was a bit long for me and so I had to replace the original 110mm stem with a 90mm and use a Thomson's seatpost with zero setback. I'm comfortable on it now and can do centuries with no problems.

If I have to do it over again, I'll get a size 51 though.

Okay, that all-black Orca is ridiculously hot... And I am usually not a fan of all-black CF bikes.

6 ft 33.5 inseam ride a 54cm ( I did ride a 57cm 2008 Orca for a while ) but when I was getting my newer frameset I opted for a tighter fit and glad I did. I do have some serious drop and needed a longer stem but that's why I changed sizes. I wanted that drop. I wouldn't ever think that I would be in a 54 but Orbea doesn't leave alot of options when it comes to sizes.

I'm 5 ft. 11.5 inches. I ride a 57cm 2006 Orca (the older design). I find the top tube measures a tad longer than I would like, and I have migrated down to a 100mm stem, and am even considering a 90mm stem.

I straddled a new 57cm Orca in a shop and I found the top tube even a tad higher than mine, based on the curve of the top tube. For that reason, I would probably be fitted for a 54 cm Orca with the new design.

That having been said, and that you feel you are debating between two sizes, I will say I think Orcas are designed a bit on the long side and are not conventional in thier sizing, so release from your mind any concept of what frame size you THINK you should be on. Get fitted on both the 51cm and the 54cm (including the proper stem and crank length) and go with the one that feels more correct, and that gives you the most flexibility for adjustment, when you test ride them both.

+1, but I am on an Onix. I believe the basic geometry is similar; my 51 has a 53.5cm effective TT.

Well it was a hard decision to make but got the 54. I had the 51 and just felt too small. Test rode the 54 today and felt much better even with the 110mm stem but got the 100 and feels like butter. I will get a final fit on the weekend.

the length of your thigh bone combined with arm-length are the big determiners for what size you should get. There are many "average" people out there, but there are more people out there that don't fall neatly into a frame size based on height and inseam.

For instance: I have long femurs in relation to my arm length and torso size, so at 5'11", I ride a 54 cm Specialized and Orbea, and a 55 cm on a Lemond, but need a 56 cm Trek to be comfortable. It all depends on how the bike fits you. Test ride it, and see what feels more comfortable. You can always get more agressive. Just bend your arms, and go lower. No problem.

Funny you should mention this. I'm 6'2" and ride a 60cm. The shop who fitted me asked if I wanted an aggressive which would of put me at 58cm but I went for the comfort. So in other words that may be the case with the OP.

The geometries are exactly the same. All Orbea road bikes use the same geometry.

When I sold, we found that people were usually happy on an Orbea a size smaller than they usually road. For example, I ride a 62/63 usually, and I am very happy on my 60cm Opal. My wife's tri bike was even more extreme, because of the time trial/tri size factor. My wife usually rides a 53/54 and they recommended she get a 48cm. This was back when they just came out, so there were none to try, so we had to go off of the recommendation of the dealer. 48 just sounded so small, but it fits great.

Of course, if you've been riding and know what you like, and it feels right, then go for it. I'm glad you were able to try and were happy with the 54cm!

This is how I feel and that's why I chose the 54 even though I have not been fully fitted but I felt more comfortable on the bigger frame. I had to make a decision today since they only have one of each size.

I did feel more comfortable on the 54.

First of all you are a lucky son of a Gun !!! the new 09 Orca is just too beautiful !!!,your LBS told you 51,mine told me 51, I'm telling you that the 51 will fit you better,it will be more maneuverable than the 54 frame,now is your decision if you like a bigger bike then go with what you "think" is right and .... crank the s#$% out of it... and don't worry everybody will tell you "that is some hot nice bike" !!

I'll tell you I rode both,51 and 54 first I said this is bike maybe too small they told me that Orbea Geometry is a bit different than other bikes and blah blah blah then I rode the 54 again and honestly was kind of big,I've being riding my 51 for some 7-8 months now and fits like a glove,I can go 80 miles and feels like butter and turning is amazing, I know the bigger the frame the worst to handle specially when you are 5.9" but is up to you,as a matter of fact in the near future I will put together another bike and will be on a 51 Opal frame,but in any case you will have a heck of a nice bike,I see you have Ultegra I hope is the Ultegra SL group.

I rode both myself and felt so much more comfortable on the 54. I thought about the handling and did circles and tight figure eights and found both were awesome.

Today I took a quick ride and the bike is amazing, it does everything that good. I can't wait for a real ride this weekend.
And yes the group set is Ultegra SL. I wanted to get Sram Red but could not justify the price increase.

I know how you feel when you ride an Orca, they are just too beautiful the shape of the frame is a marvel almost no flexibility yet comfortable bike to ride,the Ultegra SL will be good enough,I've had the previous Ultegra group and was happy, DA is just smother and a bit better looking aahhh and some minimal grams lighter but this new Ultegra SL is lighter,enjoy your bike Man ..

Thanks Bro! A friend of mine told me the new Ultegra SL is going to be the new Dura Ace since Dura Ace is coming out with a updated product. I believe he said SL is 50 grams heavier and did not justify the extra cost.

Exactly Shimano is preparing something special ... I believe is going to be carbon but we will have to wait to see how it works,knowing the quality of a Shimano product I'm sure will be a big hit.