6'4" considering a 58.5cm Salsa Vaya. dumb?
 

the problem with Salsas is you can't really try one before you buy since so few shops carry them, so i'm forced to buy online and guess how i might fit. i'm 6'4", but i'm all leg and arms, and my torso is pretty narrow. the Vaya's two largest sizes are 58.5cm and 60cm, so there's not much size difference between the two. i'd go for the 60cm just to be safe, but they're all sold for 2011. would i be dumb to try to squeeze onto the 58.5cm? couldn't i just jack the seat up another inch, and swap the 5deg stem for 15deg or something and have essentially the same fit? ideally i'd like to have the top of the seat level with the top of the bars. is that possible?

fwiw, my rides will mostly be road, 35-60miles, 2000-4000' of climbing.

It's really hard to judge size by height alone.

Use a size calculator if you want to be sure. Competitive Cyclist has a really good one.

Maybe go get sized at your LBS, remember the bike you sized on, and compare geometry when you get home.

I'm 5'11" and ride a 57cm Vaya. The tops of my bars--which I never use--are a little higher than my saddle. That's with an un-cut steerer and a +17 stem.

I am 6'3, and ride a 58cm Specialized Allez Comp. It depends how much of your height is on your torso, legs, arms.

I'm 6'3" ... well, actually 6' 2 3/4" ... well, it depends on what time of day I'm measured. Taller first thing in the morning and all that. My 34" slack inseam is pretty constant though.

Anyway, I suspect that 58.5cm would marginal for you. My 58cm Kestrel fits pretty good ... my 60cm Trek is a tad too big. Just last night, I put the Trek on the trainer and was playing with the adjustments, (just installed a new, differently shaped handlebar and it has a much different feel than my old bars). Felt I was reaching just a tad bit. Slid the seat forward, and still too far away. Finally, I rotated the seat post 180 and it now feels great. Looks stupid, but fits well and is a lot more comfortable now.

If I were you, I'd opt for a 60cm, but if you can't wait for new stock, I have heard it said that it is much easier to make a slightly smaller frame fit someone. (size it up), than it is to make a slightly larger frame fit someone, (size it down). Do as Jaytron suggested and run through the CC on-line fit calculator. You'll need a buddy to help you, it will only take 10-15 minutes total. Then, pull up the geometry of the frame you are interested in and see if it will fit. With today's sloping geometry frames and such, it is no longer accurate to say that a 59cm frame from manufacturer "A" will fit exactly like a 59cm frame from manufacturer "B". You really have to know your own personal measurements and then look at the geometry charts.

Yes. Dumb.

Buying a bike without having a proper fitting is pretty silly, especially if you have a body that is not on the bell curve.

I'm 6'-4" and have a 60 cm Madone and a 59 cm Lemond. The Madone is more comfortable for many reasons but the fit is right. I have a 34 inch inseam.

Yeap, dumb. :innocent:

Nothing more important that fitting well. You're too tall for 58cm...

Yup. I'd hesitate to get sized at a shop before buying a bike somewhere else since it just feels kinda rude, but at the same time, my LBS could order a Salsa bike (last time I checked, anyway) and it would work out that way.

About Competitive Cyclist's fit calculator (or any other online bike size calculator) -- DO heed their advice and have someone else measure you. It's very hard to do it accurately by yourself.
http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za...LCULATOR_INTRO

Mmmmmm...maybe. If the OP is all limbs like he says, his torso might be short enough to work right on a 58. He'd just be a bit higher above the bike than I am on my 58 (I'm 6'1"+). He could avoid a crazy-deep saddle-to-bar drop with the right stem and spacer setup, too.

Sizing by just height alone is a mistake.

As an example, I am only 6 feet tall but my frame size is 64.

Get properly fitted.

FWIW - I'm just about 6'1 and ride a 58CM Salsa La Raza and have come to realize that I am on a bike that is too small for me. My bottom bracket to saddle is 83CM and with a head tube of only 155mm it is causing my upper back to hunch over when I am in the drops. Good thing about the 58 Vaya is the head tube is 200mm, so you want have a crazy saddle to bar drop like I do, but that alone wouldn't fix the fact that I still need a bit more toptube lengnth....

It is hard to judge. The top tube length could be more critical here than the seat tube length. I'm your size and ride a 61cm C'dale roadbike with a 58 cm top tube, 30mm offset seatpost and a 110 mm stem. I have a long torso & arms However, I don't see a 58 working for you, but I'm no specialist.

I am your size, and ride a 58cm frame with a 55.5 Eff Top Tube (granted its a flat bar road bike). The geometry your looking at doesn't look awful, a 60cm only gets you 3mm more reach, so length doesn't look horrible. The 72 deg seat angle works in your favor.

I would think the big issue is your handle bars could be significantly lower than your seat. I have an almost 5" drop on mine. Your goal of flat seat to bar may be outside of possible.