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Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

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Old 10-26-12 | 06:21 PM
  #26  
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I'm 5'-8 3/4" and I usually ride a 56cm as a max (roomy) size, but I can ride down to 53cm with no problem, as long as the stem height (with longer forward extension) and seatpost/saddle are adjusted correctly.
Usually, most people have a range of sizes they can work with as long as the compnents can be adjusted to compensate as you go up or down a size or two.

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Old 10-26-12 | 06:47 PM
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You need a fitting, not advice from the internet. And if you can afford it buy new and get the warranty, used bikes have no warranty.
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Old 10-26-12 | 10:27 PM
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My Moto B is 58 and while I rode it for years, it's too tall for my 32" inseam but I've long arms, long feet (13AAA) and torso (I'm 5'10") so it worked. My 'Nago is 56 and fits much better though it sure feels smaller.
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Old 10-27-12 | 09:47 AM
  #29  
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54.

For me, it's easier to get comfortable on a frame that's one size smaller, than one size larger. Just raise the saddle and get a longer stem. Also, the smaller frame will weigh less and probably be a little stiffer.
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Old 10-27-12 | 12:25 PM
  #30  
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Originally Posted by type36
32 is pants inseam, please educate me on the difference to cycling inseam.
Cycling inseam measure floor to pubic bone. Pant inseam tends to be 1.5-2" shorter than cycling inseam. A 32" pant inseam makes you situation more difficult since it means you have really long legs for your height. I don't think you'll be able to fit a 56, the reach will be too long. So I think you may have to get a relaxed geometry 54 and run a riser stem to get the seat level with the bars. Don't even consider a 54 with less than a 160mm tall head tube.
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Old 10-27-12 | 02:29 PM
  #31  
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6'3'' on a 56cm... bike fit is more important than the marked size.
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Old 10-27-12 | 05:21 PM
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Thanks, great info. My LBS has a red 54 Synapse 7 which really knocks my socks off, but after riding the 105 components on my SL1, the Sora stuff doesn't shift nearly as well. If the red bike had 105 or Ultegra stuff, it might be here already....
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Old 10-28-12 | 09:52 AM
  #33  
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Yeah, Sora is hard to justify buying if you can get anything higher.
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