epicycle

I'm about to pull the trigger on my first road bike, hopefully tomorrow. I'm a bit concerned about fit though and was hoping you guys could help me out. Unfortunately the bike I'm looking at buying is only available online. The frame size is for a Lynskey Cooper Ti and is a size ML and runs 55.7 top tube and 78.8 stand over.

I'm 6' 2" tall and my inseam is 31.5" (80 cm), my torso is proportionally longer than my legs compared to most 6' 2" males.

I've rode some 56 and 58 top tube bikes and both felt "fine" and not dramatically different to be honest. One was a Trek Madone 5.2 (the 58) and the other was a Cannondale Synapse C5 (56). I also rode a smaller Lynskey (I think a 54 or 52) to get a feel for the Ti.

Being so new to this I'm sure I'm overanalyzing this but still being a nerd it's in my nature. I don't want to get to small of a frame which is what I'm really worried about. I used the online fit calculator over at Competitive Cyclist and it spit out that I should be in a 58.2 - 58.6 (the first time the numbers were 55.3 - 55.7 but it's hard to measure yourself) top tube length. That's a difference of 2.8 cm ~= 1.1". That doesn't seem like it's off that much to me but maybe I'm crazy. What do you think? Close enough? Is this something I could adjust to by changing my head stem length or seat position? Worst case it's just a little less aggressive a seat position right?

The other thing I'm obviously worried about is having too long of a seat post. The calculator says I should have a 73.2cm from BB to seat measurement which on this frame means I'm going to have 21.2cm of seat post exposed, does that sound like a lot for a road bike? Will that leave enough in the frame to stabilize my large frame?

Oh yea, my riding style so far has been pretty relaxed, I don't see myself doing races but do plan some group rides with the local bike group. I also usually do 2-3 rides per week myself usually around 30~ miles but sometimes upwards of 50. I'd also like to do some centuries soon as well but need to get my form and fitness up a bit more.

Sorry if this is too much info or too many questions. I just don't want to make a bad purchase that I regret later or get a frame I have to try to sell to get properly sized before I can ride. If there are any other number you need please let me know.

Thanks for the help.

Unagidon

Strongly suggest getting fitted before buying the bike. I found the competitive cyclist measurements to be quite aggressive, so if you're young, flexible, and sporty, maybe those measurements work. Being middle aged, short, inflexible and not so sporty, didn't quite work for me.

So go get fitted. And consider not only top tube length but also "reach" and "stack" (go check out Cervelo's website or Neuvation's website) for more details.

epicycle

I'm not opposed to getting fit, I just can't find a shop that will fit me for under $200 and doesn't just sell stuff down my throat. Whenever I ask them simple questions they all seem put off by anyone who has even a minor set of questions about sizing or fitting. They also don't seem to want to do it / schedule it when they remotely think I'm not buying one of their bikes.

Maybe I'm going to the wrong shops but I've gone to one every weekend for the past 4 weeks to try different bikes.

ciocc_cat

Frame size also depends on your riding style and intended use of the bike. There's a good article on frame sizing/measuring from Rivendell Bicycle Works at
Bike Fit.

Unagidon

I think the suggestions here are quite reasonable.

https://www.neuvationcycling.com/bikefit.html (suggested sizes for their bikes)
https://www.neuvationcycling.com/bikegeometry.html (their bike geometries)

When comparing bikes, not many publish reach & stack. Trek, Cervelo, and Jamis does. Don't know about others. But I think those numbers are best to compare bikes with. The top tube numbers sometimes don't mean much because the seat tube angles are all different.

But there must be a shop in Chicago area that will do cheaper bike fit...