I bought a 56cm steamroller last year as my 57cm Kilo was a bit big and I didn't like the toe overhang. The surly has been better with the toe overhang and I prefer it to the Kilo but it's also a bit big. Especially along the top tube as I feel I'm really stretched out holding the bar. I've realized I probably need a 53-54cm frame even though most things I've read suggest I should be riding a larger frame (5'11/31" inseam)

I'd love to find another steamroller frame but I only like the gray color which seem to be a tough find and the new price for a frame is as much as I paid for the whole bike. I'm wondering what else I should be looking for, I'd like to keep the price under $300 and am only looking for a steel frame and fork.. I have everything else.

I've looked at the Leader 722ts and Jamis Sputnik so far and both seem good but I'd like to know more on their fit and quality of ride compared to the Kilo and Steamroller. I don't need to go much smaller, an inch less along that top tube and height would be just about perfect. I'm also a big guy so I need something solid, another reason I went after the surly.

So.. Any frame suggestions would be very helpful, apologies for the long winded explanation, just want to be sure I'm covering everything

Have you tried finding a really short stem? Grabbing an old junky 60mm stem from the parts bin at a bike shop for like $5 just to see what difference it would make. Saying the top tube feels too long doesn't give a lot of detail, and instead of buying something else without knowing how it will change your ride and ending up spending another $300 on a frame that isn't what you want, you should experiment with what you have first.

Sorry I should have mentioned that.. I did shorten the stem to 70mm and went from risers to bullhorns recently which helped a bit but the bike still feels too long. Like I said if it were about an inch shorter on the top tube and height it'd be just about perfect. I'm not sure what else I can do with this frame.. Trust me, if I could I definitely would!

pics of you on the bike? Those are not posted often enough and can be helpful.

Currently..


Last summer..

..

Ahh missed the you.. I don't have any pics of me on it. All I can say is I feel like I'm stretching for the bars, I've tried a slightly smaller frame and now a shorter stem and still having the same problem. After a long ride I'm really feeling it in my arms and back so something isn't right.. I feel safe in the assumption the frame is still too large, perhaps I have short arms.

So... any thoughts on frames?

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury:

Exhibit A:


https://www.cyclesmercier.com/geometry_tt.html


Exhibit B:

https://www.jensonusa.com/product/siz...teamroller.gif

If the surly chart is accurate (correct year?) then the toptube on the surly is only 7 mm shorter. Not really a difference at all. Maybe you should get a frame that is more than just nominally smaller?

Tbh, we have about the same inseam and height, but I'm comfortable on a 50cm kilo. 57cm sounds way big. Can't even stand over that thing if we have the same inseam.. are you sure you're the correct size?

See...that's what's weird. I'm the same height with a little longer inseam and comfortably ride a 58cm leader 722.

If you need a frame with a short top tube in relation to its height, a 722 isn't the bike for you either (unless you get a 51, which is ridiculous).

I think mine might be a few years older.. but yeah as I said there wasn't much difference between the two frames in terms of sze. I felt at the time based on what I was reading on sizing that anything less than 56cm would be too small. Obviously I didn't do enough homework and assumed since I only wanted something slightly smaller that the 56cm steamroller would do.

The frame is too big, I don't really want to get hung up on that and waste anyone's time. I mainly want to know what frames any of you would suggest for my burget and circumstances. Especially anyone who's had a steamroller and kilo in the past..

Bikes are total voodoo man.. lol

That's what a friend of mine said.. He's around 6'1 and comfortably rides a 53cm but it's an older bike and I know sizes can vary quite a bit. The stand over on my surly seems better than the kilo but again... only slightly and it's definitely up in my business when I don't lean it a bit getting on and off. I can deal with the stand over as I just keep the post lower but the top tube is by far my biggest problem with the bike

Well as you've posted, you like a bigger frame. You also may have longer arms or torso. I just need slightly smaller frame. I could go shorter in both stand over and length but it's the length that's causing me problems. I'd hope a 53 or 55 would suffice...

I think you need to get yourself to a bike shop and get fitted.

Yeah I may do that.. I'd still love to get some thoughts on comparable frames though. There's a few decent shops around here but they all carry a lot of the same stuff last I checked

^^I've got a 49 st x 53 tt Surly Steamroller in the For Sale section... I ride a 54cm road frame and it fit me swimmingly.

With track bikes, depending on how you set them up; frame size feel is variable. Bullhorns / Riser/ Drops all make that tt feel very different. Also, your limb length changes which manufacture's frames feel right. The Surly was great for me due to the long tt and short st. I've got monkey arms and midget legs.

I dunno some of you ride such small frames! I'm 6' 2.5'' and I ride a 62cm Mark V. The problem with Mark V is that the top tube is longer in ratio to the seat tube. So the top tube is 59cm and the S/T is 56cm c-c. I would have preferred to have a 59cm or 60cm S/T to bring the handlebars closer in level to the seat.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but going for a smaller frame (I'm thinking drastically smaller like from 60cm to 57cm) could also result in a greater seat to handlebar drop depending on the length of the S/T. I know most people on these boards say go for TT to get the right fit, but then you can end up like me on a frame where my saddle to bar drop is much too much (I also have long legs). I've recently shortened the stem, and inverted it so it's angled to get it more comfortable.

I guess the point of all this was just to say that keep saddle to bar drop in mind as well when considering fit. I know that saddle to bar drop is perhaps more open to adjustment through varying the angle of your stem, but no one wants a ridiculous 40-degree stem on their bike if they can help it.