A quick sanity check, my wife has been on a 49cm Bianchi for the last 5 years. She took time off the bike to have 2 kids (1 and 3 years old) and I'm about to buy her a new frame. I'm not very impresses with the local fit guys and I still happen to have her old wrench science fit info. She actually a bit lighter now than before #1 but less muscular and less flexible but her other dimensions remain the same (has a bit of back pain now). now). Anyways, I've always in the back of my mind thought that a 50cm TT was a bit short for her given her 67" height. Here are her specs:

Height: 170cm
Sternum Notch: 140cm
Inseam Length: 72.5cm
Arm Length: 61cm
Shoulder Width: 38cm

Recommended frame info:

Frame Size Center-to-Center: 47
Frame Size Center-to-Top: 49
Handlebar Width: 38
Overall Reach: 68.25
Saddle Height: 64.02

I plan on taking her to my fit guy next time I'm back home in TN but for now I'm just trying to see if getting another frame with a 50cm TT seems to be a bad idea from others who may have similiar dimensions. She felt fine on her Bianchi but required a good bit of spacers to get her bars up to where they need to be with a positive angled 110cm stem. The new frame will have a much more generous HTL. Thoughts? Size seem off?

JR

Is there a reason you want to buy the bike now, before the fit? Since you say the new frame will have a longer head tube it seems like the same TT length she had before would be fine. Being a little bit more upright should help with the flexibility and muscular issue to start. You can always take out spacers and flip the stem if she wants it more aggressive later. This is all based on the old bike fitting her well though. Someone who knows what they're looking for really needs to see her on the bike to be sure.

Well it really has to do with the fact that the new frame is a NOS item that I'm getting for about 30% of MSRP and the fact that TT length is fairly close to her current ride based on her old fit. I guess when shelling out for a new frame I was just needing some reassurance. In fact most everyone I know in the 67" range rides a bike w/ a 50-52cm TT plus a 100 to 110 stem. Given that me wife is "leggy" we've always leaned to the 50cmTT. The new frame has a bit more seat tube (less post showing) and a taller head tube (will likely need 5mm of spacers vs. 35mm) than her current frame. It just seems like a no brainer. The HTA is a bit different as is the recommended fork rake (she probably could have used one with a bigger rake anyway) but that should not be too much of a problem. Another advantage I see is that she'll likely be able to use the stem in a - rise situation given the 50mm differnce in HTL.

Is her inseam length really 72.5cm (28.5in) if she's "leggy"? I am 5'7" with more like a 32+inch inseam. I ride a 54cm bike with a 110mm stem. I can ride a 52cm, but it's not comfortable. If I didn't have shoulder problems, I'd probably increase my reach so I could sprint better (I feel like I can't get over the front end). I'd say she needs a smaller bike than mine due to her inseam, but 49 does seem small. However, I've been told that Bianchis tend to fit a bit bigger than the brand I ride. Maybe her bike is more like a 50 in other brands, which really isn't bad. She might be able to go to a 52. That could help her have less saddle to bar drop if she needs to take some strain off her back.

Thanks for the input. I hesitated to use 49cm when refering to the size as it really doen't mean anything these days with sloping top tubes. If I recall correctly her Bianchi has a effective 50.8cm TT with 8 degrees of slope with the new one having 50.2cm of TT with 9 degrees of slope. I rarely look at "sizes" anymore given the variances b/w brands. What makes the new frame so attractive is the taller HTL to reduce the saddle to bar drop. So given the choice b/w a 52cm TT with a 130ish mm HT and a 50cm TT with a 165mm HT I feel confident I can get her comfortable with a 110-115cm stem and the correct setpost offset to get her knees in the correct spot.

she is 170 cms in height??if that's the case clearly a 49 frame looks like too small for her to start with, and somebody pointed also that looks like she has long legs. Another Reason to think that she is using a pretty small frame, that size is for a person who is like bettini maybe. At the beginning of the lecture i thought she was like 165 cms or something but she is a tall girl.

Can you post a picture of her bike? How big are those bikes ramjm??54's 55s? if thats the case let her use one and use that as a starting point. She shouldnt be so far from the those sizes.

Have fun

All are "54's" but fit completely different. My Lynskey is a custom with a 54.1cm TT the Look has a 54.5cm TT and my Titan has a 55cm TT. I use a 110, 105, and 100cm stem respectively. She has ridden my Lynskey and felt too stretched and low (I'm 69.5" btw). I don't think a 54cm TT is ideal for her, if the new frame had a TT length of 51 or 52cm I probably wouldn't be stressing about it as much. The new frame will have the following specs:

TTL: 50.2
STL: 49 (9 degree sloping)
HTL: 165 (standard)

vs. her current:

TTL: 51cm
STL: 46cm
HTL: 110cm (integrated)

In some repects the new frame is "larger" except for in TTL where it's close to what she's used to. As I said above she's using a 110mm stem in a positve rise now (which actually decrease overall length, no?) and I'm hoping to be able to flip the stem down given the generous HTL and the theoretical much reduced saddle to bar drop. I guess the only way to tell is to mock up the frame and she if a solid fit is possible (Don't want to use longer than a 120mm stem), if not then the amount I spending on it (NOS Serotta Nove Carbon/Ti) should be easily recoverable.

I'm 5'5.5" with a 31" inseam and I ride a 49cm bicycle. I also have a 50cm bicycle, but it isn't quite as comfy as the 49. And I need a very short top tube.

It is interesting, because of her height i dont see her riding such small frame at all... maybe a 53 but not a 49 at all... the other thing is that she might got used to be "crushed" in such small frame, thing i have a seen with people riding the wrong stuff all their lifes and then with the right fitting they dont get used to it at all... Hope you can find a bike for her

Thanks for the input it has really helped me think this through. That said, too be honest when she is on her bike she doesn't look crunched at all. The only thing I've noticed was the extreme slope of the compact frame. If we use the well argued Torso + Arm/2 - 6 inches forumla I get 67.5 cm + 61 cm/ 2 - 15.24cm (6 inches) or a TT length of 49cm, pretty close to the Competetive Cyclist Recs. A 53cm (I'm assuming by 53 you mean a 53cm TT) would be too long IMO.