pakeboi

Without going into details at the moment , for the bicycle I want to buy , the Large is slightly too large , and the Medium is slightly too small .
In general , Is there a rule of thumb re: fit , as to which way to go ; Larger or Smaller ?

pakeboi

Thanks for the replies !
I decided to go for the medium .

KraneXL

Popular opinion says always go smaller. However, being 6'4 all of my bikes have ended up that way. My present Cannondale was the first bike I actually was able to afford to pre order in my size.

For me, it trumps all the others combined. I haven't enjoyed a bike this much since I got my first new bike at age nine.

pakeboi

Thanks for the confirmation !

hokiefyd 

I generally test stand-over first, because that's about the only metric that is NOT adjustable. I generally buy the largest frame that I can stand over with some degree of comfort. If you feel too small on a medium, and a large feels just a little too large, you can adjust either one with a different stem or saddle position to get you better ergonomics.

Bike fit is, of course, very subjective. You have to be comfortable on it and comfortable with your decision, and it sounds like you are, which is good. If you find that you feel just a bit cramped on the medium after you get it, you could swap the stem for a longer stem, which will put the handlebar out just a bit and perhaps might give you some more room in the cockpit.

finch204

This is great advice. I made the same mistake when buying my Madone; standover test was touching slightly and I felt like it was a little too big, but still went with it anyway. I feel like it is easier to ride and manage a slightly smaller bike than a larger bike.

ksywa

You can adjust stand-over by changing wheel/tyre combo where possible. Plenty of bikes will let you use 2 or 3 out of 26-27.5-29-29+ combos, with different tyre sizes.
Another thought is - for road go larger; for hybrid.mountain go smaller.

/ksywa