alanps

I am aware that this is an old thread, but since I'm in the process of trying to figure it out due to the lack of nearby bike shops, I posted a question and got an excellent answer. Thank you!

Will definitely go with the 54, I guess it should be plenty of top tube and standover.
I've never considered the 700c, 26 inch is what it will be.

dim

I have a LHT and researched the internet long and hard before buying (I bought a new one)

many people say that you should buy a LHT one size smaller than what you normally ride. Reason being is that the geometry of a LHT is different, and that it's easier to handle when fully loaded

I followed the advice and can say that I am well pleased. Mine is so comfy, rides like a cadillac and I'm comfortable for very long all day rides .... I have a Gilles Berthoud Aravis saddle which helps aswell

and BTW, mine is a 50cm (I'm short... 5 foot 7) and it has 26 inch wheels and it's not slow ... I still have the standard tyres fitted

there is a google group for LHT bikes and many members let you ride their bikes so as to decide what fits best : https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/surlylht

jonc123

5' 10" (178cm), PBH 81 or so...193#

This is a 26" 54cm LHT, most would say it is too small. I added the spacers (60cm) over time which gave me an upright position. They say standover is unimportant, it is for me, I tour & commute and stop often. This setup allows me to be flatfooted on unlevel ground with 1-2" of room. Tops of bar 1.5"-2" above saddle. Thomson setback seatpost.

In the last picture my hands are on the hoods. I like to be upright as you can tell. I still have weight on my hands and do get some numbness but not very often. I am thicker on top.

If I went to flat bars I would go 56cm.

Erick L

I'm 174cm tall and ride a 52cm LHT fitted at the shop. Don't remember my PBH, maybe 82.

Brett A

I bought a LHDT this spring, and got it size of the road bike I've ridden for 20k miles over the past 10 years or-so, which is a 54cm Specialized Allez. I had had a professional fitting done before I bought the Allez.

I was able to transfer the fit measurements from the 54cm Allez to the 54cm Surly. I felt was essential as a starting point to get the Surly set up for all the hours I will spend on it. I'm glad I did. I want to adjust a bike to fit my body. I do not want to adjust my body to fit a bike.

Others take a different view, I know. But this was my approach and I'm very satisfied.

Tourist in MSN

Are you using drop bars? Most LHT owners do, but a minority don't.

Agree 100 percent. When I had a LHT, I probably should have had a 60cm if you judge by height, but I got a 58cm frame. Yet I still had a stem of only 80mm, if I had gotten a 60cm frame I would have had trouble finding a stem that would be short enough to fit right.

I am assuming the OP will use drop bars, if flat bars are used the top tube length for a LHT is even more critical.

Robert C

I am 5'6" and I generally ride a 52; but I was looking at LHT and the only thing there was for me to test ride was a 54. I didn't feel bad; but due to the conditions it was a very short test ride. The trouble I run into is there there are just not the smaller frames in the shops to test ride.

Yes, I was reading through this thread hoping to see some reports from other riders of my height.

Brett A

I see i didn't actually answer the OP's question back in post 30.

I'm 5' 10' with a 31-ish" inseam. My 54cm LHDT fits me as perfectly as my 54cm road bike. For me, getting a different size would have been a mistake.

elliotmagic

I am almost 5'6" and got fit from a fitter who said i could go with a 54 or 52cm . if i did 52 i could use the 26" wheels (this was about 7 years ago with an older model). I went with the 52cm and it was rad. If you are 5'11 i wouldn't do the 52. I'd go for a 54 or up. cheerios

phughes

I have a feeling the OP figured it out four years ago.

djb

eleven no?

seeker333

Welcome to BF and /touring!

Please pay attention to post dates or hilarity/abuse may ensue. Some of us bring these oversights to attention because otherwise 10 posts tend to follow.

Yes, 11...

phughes

Yes, eleven. I looked back and saw a post from 2016. I didn't scroll all the way back. This thread has been resurrected before.

robow

This thread has nine lives.

GamblerGORD53

People STILL buy LHTs too SMALL. LOL

phughes

Yep

MarcusT

When I ordered my LHT frame, the vendor told me to buy a size larger for flat bars (60 instead of 58), I did and it was a mistake. I could have just bought a longer stem.

phughes

I think his comment was that people buy a too small frame and end up using a high spacer stack for the stem. I bought my LHT so it fit like the older touring bikes it seems to emulate. I don't have a massive amount of seat post showing, not quite a fistful, and I don't have to run a large stack of spacers to get the bars slightly higher than the seat.

I see so many with frames that to me are obviously too small, with a lot of seat post showing, and a ton of spacers under the stem. As long as they are comfortable though, that's their choice.

Surly actually said, regarding their newly designed LHT, that one of the reasons they changed the design was they saw so many people setting the LHT up with a huge spacer stack under the stem. Though I think the new Disc Trucker is nice, I prefer the old one sized correctly. I really don't care for sloped top tubes with a really long seat post on a touring bike. I think it looks ridiculous. They traded a ridiculous stack of spacers on an incorrectly sized frame, for a ridiculously long seat post on a properly sized frame. I don't see the win.

djb

To me, the most important distance is the seat to bars length, so while my drop bar setup Troll does in fact have a reasonable amount of seatpost, and lots of spacers under the stem, I do have to use a rather short stem (50 maybe a 60) to get teh right setup for me. Bottom line is that the bike fits me perfectly, I can ride it for months with no fit issues, and have.
Yes the troll has a sloping toptube, but then again, its a bike that can be setup in mtb mode, or very much off road mode, with wide tires, and thats why I bought it. I realize aesthetics are personal, but the look of the bike is fine for me. In fact the look of a bike does matter to me, but I guess sloping tt's dont bug me at all, and I'm old enough to have spent decades on horizontal tt bikes, so I guess Im just open to the sloping look and more seatpost etc.

I personally think the new lht design is a good one, that the majority of riders benefit from a higher front end and higher bars. Its always easy to drop bars down a spacer or two anyway.

phughes

Fit is most important. The Troll though, is a a completely different bike than the original LHT.

takenreasy

I was 5'8" now supposedly 5'7", either way still have a 31" inseam. My 54cm LHT is perfect. My advice, as you get older, and if you are between sizes, go up. I only give that advice because I'm getting older and when I was younger bought a smaller mountain bike frame because I was "between sizes." That bike is long gone. Your millage may very since I subscribe to the Grant Petersen philosophy of bicycling.