djou

Hello, I am a big fan of vintage road bikes and I've decided to get myself one. I am 32 years old, 184 cm tall and I measured my inseam length barefoot and it was 84.5 cm. I have used different bike frame sizers online but the results were very different. I am looking for a classic Italian road bike so the top tube is (most likely) parallel to the ground. I thought to post here maybe I get experienced advice from the community. I don't know if that helps but I measured as well my arms (from wrist to shoulder) and they are 48 cm long.

Iride01 

It's not really possible to tell you what one size will be the perfect size for you. Even those old vintage bikes with horizontal top tube had different geometry and tube lengths between the different models of each brand.

Based on your inseam you could go as small as a 54 cm if the top tube and bar reach is long enough for your upper body. You'd probably be okay looking at and trying out anything from a 56cm to a 62cm bike. Old vintage bikes stand a fair chance of something being done to them to tailor them to one of their previous owners. Stem length might have changed or the bars might have been changed to give a different bar reach and distance to their drops.

So like any bike, I'd always recommend you try them out and ride them for as long and far as you can before deciding on which to get. When you get a lot of experience behind you, you'll be better able to know what you will and won't like. We have no idea what you will or won't like. We can only say what you might like.

Welcome to BF.

oldbobcat

Short-ish legs, long arms--gorilla build. I'ld look for a 58-59 cm c-t frame with a long-ish top tube--say, 58 cm or longer. The important considerations are small enough to straddle easily but long enough to handle your overall height. You'll be looking for 12-14 cm stems, too. Check out these folks to get the lay of the land. https://steel-vintage.com/collections/bicycles

djou

Thanks for the suggestions. For a bit of context, the bike is a building project I have collected components and now I am looking for the frame to buy. I found a nice Montanier with C-C measures of seating tube 59.5 and top tube of 58 cm.

PS: The main use of the bike will be for commutes and not racing (not particularly aggressive riding position).

oldbobcat

Be aware of the standover height and good luck.