Another Novara Randonee sizing question?
 

I've been reading through a lot of the Randonee-related threads here but haven't found exactly what I'm looking for. I have a chance to get a good deal on an Extra Large / 59cm 2007 Novara Randonee, but I'm not sure if it will fit me. I'm 6'0" and I usually ride a 58cm road frame, I have an older 58cm Univega Gran Turismo that fits well.

I test rode 56 and 58cm LHTs and the 58 definitely felt like it fit better and that's what I was considering getting before I found this good deal. I've seen some notes that the 59cm Randonee would actually translate to a 62cm LHT.

Does anybody here have the 59cm Randonee, or has test ridden one and can compare it roughly to LHT sizing? The geometry charts look like the 59cm Randonee has roughly the same top tube length (58cm) as the 58cm LHT (58.6cm).

If the 58 LHT fits alright (from a quick test ride) would the XL Randonee be way too large? Any advice is appreciated!

According to Novae all XL frames are sized to fit riders between 6'0" and 6'3". Are your bodily proportions typical of a a 6'0" adult?

Being that I am a female of 5'6" and a 32 inseam, I am able to go by the bike sizing (S, M, L, XL) but have found it does not work for all. I am a medium in size and on some bikes can go large or small. I suggest you go to REI and size yourself based on similar bikes so that you know approximately where you stand in sizing rather than guessing. If you don't want to do that, you can always go competitivecyclist.com to size yourself. http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za...LCULATOR_INTRO

When I had my fitting done (road bike) I was told to not go over 54cm (male, 5'6", 29" inseam), but I test rode a 56cm bike a couple months ago and it felt just fine.
I think it all depends on your proportionality. Measure the top tube lenght and compare it to the 58cm LHT, if they close, you can just switch stems to make it fit.

All these numbers flying around are giving me a headache.

There is not necessarily any correlation between what one manufacturer calls a '59cm' and what another manufacturer calls a '59cm.' There are different styles of frame (traditional vs. sloping/compact for example), different measuring techniques (c-c, c-t, virtual c-c), and these are only talking about the seat tube length... a different manufacturer or even a different model from the same manufacturer will have different top-tube length and different head tube lengths as well as different head and seat angles, stem lengths, seatpost setbacks, bottom bracket drops, etc, which all affect the fit.

There are two ways to determine if a bike is right for you - measure an existing bike you know is comfortable for you and compare to the one you are considering buying, or try the bike out.

In general, though, if Novara is calling their 59cm an 'XL' size, then it is likely a sloping top tube, which means it likely fits like a traditional level-top-tube bike of 3 or 4 cm more - like a 62 or 63 or so. If you fit well on a 58cm level top tube LHT, then a 59cm sloping top tube bike will probably feel pretty big.