titani

I am 5'11"
Inseam measured with book 34"
I am having a hard time finding a road bike that fits well. I have long legs and short torso. Please recommend something.

mystang52

I don't have a specific make/model to recommend. But I know most LBS can add various adapter/extenders to handlebars to accommodate your shorter torso.

WhyFi

Your proportions don't sound that far out of the norm, to me. Do you have any issues with flexibility and/or core strength?

jwill87ta

There's more to it than that unfortunately. If your leg length comes from longer femurs you'll want a lower seat tube angle to obtain the necessary setback from the pedals. If your lower leg (tibia fibula) is the culprit for your long legs then you could get away with a steeper seat angle. I ran in to this problem. i went from a 56cm frame with 73 degree seat angle to a 54cm frame with 74.2 degree seat angle. The smaller frame ends up having almost the same reach as the larger because of how steep the seat angle is.

It's probably worth getting fitted. Or, you could look for a 54cm frame with a SA of 73-73.5, and probably make it work.

ColtJ

I'm 5'9" with 34" legs and ride a M/L-56" Giant with a slightly shorter stem than stock (don't remember length right now).

You might have to either ride a slightly smaller frame with long stem or do what I did. I felt more comfortable on the M/L frame.

topflightpro

You may also want to consider something with a longer head tube. Long legs and short torso often results in a lot of seatpost. If you are not particularly flexible, and let's face it, most of us are not, a longer head tube will be more comfortable in the long run.

bobones

I'm the same: 5'11 with 34" inside leg. If you're not comfortable with a massive saddle to bar drop then you'll want something with a tall head tube (e.g. Specialized Roubaix, Felt Z series, etc.) and possibly need spacers under the bars or an upturned stem. I don't mind having a fair bit of drop, but I don't like having to stretch to reach the hoods. I've gone from riding a 58 to a 56 to a 54. I was happy on all of them, but the 54 (a Scott CR1) with a 90mm stem is just about perfect for me. When I go back to the 56s (Felt F series and Trek H2 with 100mm stems) I do feel a little stretched out, but they're still very rideable. You, on the other hand, might be better off on a larger frame to lessen saddle to bar drop.

What exactly is the issue you have?

bonz50

as a rule of thumb, women tend to have longer legs/shorter torsos than most men, maybe a women's geometry bike would be worth a look? or get to a LBS that has a good fitter and have them help you find an appropriate bike for your dimensions. but at first glance, based on your description you don't sound ~that~ far outta whack compared to most so it'll probably boil down to getting your fit fine tuned

bobones

Surely a steeper seat tube means less reach?

wthensler 

I'm 5'11" with a 33.75" inseam and ride a Giant Defy M/L with a 110mm stem and a Trek Domane 58 cm frame with a 90mm stem. I don't feel stretched out on either bike, but the tall head tube of the Trek is slightly more comfortable on longer rides. I rode a 56 and a 58 Trek and at the end if the day felt more relaxed without the saddle drop of the 56, but I'm sure I could have accompanied it as my flexibility improved.

RollCNY

Not that I was the one asked, but if you fit by KOPS, a steeper STA makes more reach for the same length Eff TT. Since Eff TT does not take into account seat set back, you will have more with a steeper STA, making the reach longer (if you are a KOPS user).

EDIT: I think I said that badly. Reach is measured from BB center to HT, and does not take into account where the Seat Tube ends, which is where eff TT is measured from. Steeper STA means less distance to BB, so the eff TT length is further forward for a same measurement, effectively increasing reach.

jwill87ta

This was the point I was trying to make, but you explained it further and better than I.

Drew Eckhardt 

Your saddle should end up in the same place with respect to the bottom bracket regardless of seat tube angle with adjustments made as necessary using saddle position in the clamp and seat post offset.

jwill87ta

I understand that your saddle setback will remain constant; however if you have a larger setback then it will be harder to achieve with a steep ST angle. Also, like RollCNY said, the ST angle changes the starting point for where the TT gets measured, steaper ST pushes the entire TT forward. That's why a steep TT combined with a large saddle setback requirement can make a smaller frame "fit" larger than a frame with a lowe ST angle that may have a longer TT.

jwill87ta

I guess what I'm saying is that even though your saddle is the same relative to your BB, you still need to reach the bars, and some factors such as ST angle could make it more difficult to reach the bars without an extremely long or short stem.

kleng

It would be interesting to see what sort of frame the OP comes up with when he uses the competitive cyclist fit calculator

https://www.competitivecyclist.com/St...ulatorBike.jsp

Chris Pringle

I'm 5'10" with legs measuring 34.25". Your flexibility will play an important role in your comfort level and adapting your body to fit various frames. In my case, unfortunately, my flexibility is not very good. So going with a frame on the larger size of the spectrum would result in feeling too stretched out. This would consequently cause me issues like lower back pain (due to my flexibility) on long rides over two hours. As mentioned, you might want to experiment with different stem sizes. A good shop should work with you on that as long as they carry a frame that approximates your measurements. But as others discuss above, there always seems a catch or compromise when you go down that route -- like you're robbing Peter to pay Paul with the bike geometry. So, I ended up with a custom bike. I can honestly say that it was 100% money well spent.

surgeonstone

The bike that you are fitted to.

titani

What material is your custom bike?

Chris Pringle

Reynolds 725 Steel

halfspeed

Why? That thing is even more useless than normal with long legged riders.

Banershka

I'm glad the OP brought this up as I have the same issues.
The bike I purchased (Giant M/L and i'm 5'11") seems to be a tad to big for me, it has to much reach even with a smallish stem.
I guess I should of done some more homework before I purchased my bike?

New bike! YEA!

cyclezen

5'11" and 34 cycling inseam is close to avg for general proportions, unless your head is 20+ lbs...
you'll have to define what "fits well' means
the vast majority of 'road bikes' fall within some very close frame specs within the size ranges, with only the Head tube length and chainstays being most variable. The usual steep bell curve applies to the assortment of bike frames/geo.
your questions and info provided needs to be more specific. it's very likely that a 5'11" 150 lbr will have different considerations from a 250 Lbr.

head size matters! if you have a big, Giant head, that could be a problem! I, on the other hand, have a tiny, undersized, pin head (segway to clip from Betelgeuse) , fit for me is a no-brainer...

MagicHour

Similar dimensions here 5'11 with 33.75" inseam. (170lbs and normal size head Look for bikes with shorter top tubes for a given size and taller head tubes. You need to accommodate your longish legs with saddle height, but also don't want to be too stretched out.

I'm riding an older pinarello that I'm pretty comfortable on - named size 56 w 56cm top tube, 110 stem, 160mm head tube, but I do have a fair amount of spacer stack showing. *I've been getting back into riding (endurance and fitness) after a little break and have been looking around at various mfrs to see what's out there now. My next bike will definitely have a taller head tube to help normalize my spacer stack, something like 170-185HT with a 56 TT and the seatpost not maxed out. Some brands that I'm looking at are Bianchi-Infinito, intenso, vigorelli, Giant Defy, Scott CR series, but I think many manufacturers are making so-called "endurance" geometry these days.

But yeah you also need to take type of riding, flexibility, arm length etc into account.

Blue Belly

Everyone gets caught up in the "Top Tube Length". It was stated above & it's the biggest determining factor in a frame size. BB to Head Tube distance on a horizontal plane. That's pretty general in itself, For the fact that it's really the handle bar distance that we are worried about. Depending on the size if the frame & the angle of the seat tube, you can have a variance of 2-3cm in top tube length. I have exactly this differential between my Pinarello & Merckx. The Pinarello has a 56.5 TT & is .5cm longer, fit wise, than the Merckx with a 58.2 TT. One really needs to understand frame geometry to figure out bike fit & proper sizing. Most frame MFG's will have rider height suggestions.