brucedelta

I am looking at buying a Trek FX 4 disk but have not found any to even look at much less a test ride. I am 6'2" with a 30 inseam in pants, so Trek suggests a large for me, but I am borderline between L and XL. A 30" inseam means my legs are on the short side for my height. I am also close to 300#, but let's assume I will be 250 by ridding time as I have recently lost a lot and will continue the trend.

I am visiting FL and decided to rent a bike for a few days. The shop is a Trek dealer but all they had for rental was an XL Verve 1, no large although maybe they will have one back in when I return this tomorrow. They also did not have an FX to be seen and I could not locate one at any shops in the area. The guys at this shop indicated that the FX is a little "smaller/more aggressive" than the Verve I was riding and they thought I would need an XL in an FX. I have a hold on a large FX4D that should arrive in an LBS this week. So I am trying to decide what will be right for me. Obviously, with the current availability, I would like to make this FX large work. So the question is how to tell what will fit without anything to see/try?

I rode the Verve 21 miles today and about 14 miles on each of the prior days. I have noticed my hands/wrists got fairly numb. So how does one eliminate this pain, I tried shaking my hands out as I went today but had to stop every 30 or so minutes to shake out my hands. Should I be concerned about this for fit? Does the L vs XL decision play into this and would an XL Verve indicate an XL FX is appropriate?

Another data point is I rode a Cannondale Quick XL at an LBS and it seemed to fit well, but it was only a 20 min or so ride. They also sell the Sirrus which I am interested in an X4 and based on the Cannondale he recommended an XL. He also had a sold X4 large at the shop that I could not ride but standing over it he thought it seemed tight as the reach was a little small and I agree it was likely that I would think the Xl was better. he thinks he has an XL Sirrus X4 coming in this week also, so maybe that would be a better choice than the FX if it is available. On both the Cannondale and Specialized sit the size guide says XL for me.

All of the brands list many sizing numbers but frankly, I am not sure what to pay attention to so I would appreciate advice on how to compare them. I also have a 1998 Cannondale H300 that I can ride, but I am not sure of the size. I found the bike brochure on the vintagecannondale website so I guess I could try to measure and determine what I am riding. I have noticed the hand/wrist numbness on the Cannondale but not nearly as bad as I had today on the Verve, as I never needed to stop to shake out my hands.

How do I figure out what size to buy when a comparison is not available easily. For some reason, I kind of have my heart set on the FX, but I have never seen any FX model in person. What started me on this journey is starting to use a Peloton last year and I have never noticed hand numbness on that and I do 90 min rides regularly.

Thanks for any help you can offer.