I am a novice at biking and buying bikes. I just bought my first value road bike in a Long time from bikesdirect.com. I used some online charts to arrive at the size of 58cm for my road bike, which I now have learned is the "center to top" seat tube length.

So I got my bike and put it together, it's great, beautiful, I can't wait to start riding. First ride it feels a little big. So I started researching and using some calculators, they all say about the same thing: inseam x .67 which for me turns out to be 54cm.

I am 6 feet and 32 inch inseam, a 54cm bike just seems to small. I really don't want to try to repackage the bike, ship it back, and wait multiple weeks to go down to a 56cm for example, if it's not really that important.

What would you recommend?

Thanks a lot!!

What makes you think the bike is too big? 6ft on a 58cm bike seams ok to me...

Anyway, it's the danger of buying a first bike online... One thing you could have done is to buy the bike 2cm shorter than what you thought you needed. A shorter bike is ok you can get a longer stem move the saddle back, etc, but a too large is very hard to fit...

Yeah I don't really have any reference to know if it IS too big, it just feels like slightly larger than I was expecting. Maybe it's the weight. It isn't extremely light and the gear ratio is high, so it's not quick. I plan to get a quicker gear ratio soon.

But I do have an inch of stand over clearance from the top tube, which is what all the basic charts recommended. I'm just freaking out because all of the in-depth articles on frame sizing seem to indicate slightly smaller than what I got.

How do you mean larger? Do you have to reach forward more?

Depending on your body you can do either 56 or 58.

Yeah reaching too far forward to grab the brakes is one of the things I noticed. Maybe I can get a shorter (in horizontal length) stem to bring the handlebars back a little?

Get the legs on there to the point where you feel comfortable. If it's the reaching forward then yeah.. stem will fix that. What's on there currently? 120?

Also over time you might become more flexible.

Id rather have a smaller bike that to large. might be some trouble packing it back up, but like you said...this is your first value road bike in a while. if you feel like your settling now, its only going to get worse as you ride more. You spent good hard earned money on it, get one that fits you right.

I am confused. First you say the 54 feels big then you say it is small but you want to go "down" to a 56.

If your 6' you should be riding a larger bike like a 58 or 59. The new sizing with those stupid sloping TT frames makes things confusing which is why you should go to a bike shop.

Is 32" your pant inseam or cycling inseam? For someone 6' with a 32" cycling inseam I would expect the opposite on a 54cm road bike (too little reach stock.) If you have a 32" pant inseam (closer to 34" cycling inseam) that could explain the reach issue. In that case, IMO, saddle-to-bar drop would probably be more of a comfort issue than (too much) reach on a 54cm frame. Reach is much easier to resolve than trying to raise the bars up on a frame that's too small.

I'm 5'9" with a 32" cycling inseam and to fit on my 54cm road bike I run a 90mm stem with short reach bars (approximately 30mm shorter reach to the hoods than regular bars.)

Don't change the gears (cassette and chainrings) if you're going slow, probably only worthwhile if you're having problems climbing uphill or keeping up with your buddies downhill...

Have you been riding a drop bar road bike? In general they are fit to put your upper body in a more aggressive forward angle than the setup of most hybrids or mountain bikes. Maybe you're not used to that? You can flip the stem up to bring the handlebars up and closer before you go to a shorter stem. Good luck!

To clarify, I have a 32 inch pant inseam, and I bought the 58cm bike.

I am considering shipping it back and going with a 56, but at this point it might be more effort than it's worth if the 58 will fit me as I get use to it.

Sounds like it's right.
I'm 6', 31 inch trouser inseam, so, I should fit a 58cm frame also.
I am most comfortable on a 57cm frame, but a 58cm can be made to work comfortably. 54cm would be a small cockpit for six footer, unless you had really short arms.
It's more than just the frame size.
Standover, top tube length, reach to the bars, and crank length can all come into play.
Where does it feel too big?

https://www.peterwhitecycles.com/fitting.htm
https://bicycling.about.com/od/howtor...Frame_size.htm
https://veloweb.ca/bike-fit/

The 58 might not be too big. Your inseam should be measured by standing stocking footed with your feet about 8" apart. Then take a book and plant it firmly between your legs as high as it will go up against the pubic bone. Then measure the height of the top of the book from the floor. Do this several times and take the average measurement. I suspect your cycling inseam is more than 32". Also, if this is your first drop bar bike, you're probably going to feel a but stretched out at first, At least I did. A shorter stem made a world of difference. I'm 6' with a 34.25" PBH (pubic bone height). I'm riding a 58 with a 80mm stem and could be fit to a 56 as well. This is on a touring bike which has a longer top tube, so the 58 with a shorter stem might be just right for you.

Pants Inseam doesn't mean anything.
Bike Inseam:
https://veloweb.ca/bike-fit/

My first bike years ago was a 58. The LBS sized me right between a 56 and 58. I always regretted getting the 58 and every bike since has been a 56 and one is a custom with a very extensive fit process. I'm also 6' with a 32 inch inseam.

You might try a search here. Someone once did a survey of posters height and size and 56 was most common for 72 inch height.

I think that's a good plan, a 560-570mm effective top tube length is probably ideal for your height and inseam.

If you want opinions on bike fit, it's best to post pics of you on your bike.

Yea...which bike did you order? 58cm is equal across all bikes...not even on bikesdirect.com

Post some pics of you on it.

Bob

I am 5'6" and those fit calculators put me on a 52, I had a Redline 52cm but I just feel hunched over on it and did not care for the longer stem and the twitchy feeling that resulted. When I bought my current bike the LBS owner said 52 was not a good choice and put me on a 54. It's hard for me to think of a 6' guy on my bike. You could go see what size a decent shop would put you on and determine from there if you should send it back or maybe just get a good fitting done.