# I'M 5'5", IS A 54cm ROAD BIKE...IS THIS TOO BIG?



## mpagon4

So I'm about to buy a Quattro Assi Team 2000 for around $450...everyone tells that a good deal...but I have a concern with the size. I'm 5'5" and the bike is 54cm...Can I get by with this size...I can stand in the bike and the top tube is about half to one inch clearance..and can get in the ridding position. The only thing I notice is that sometimes I feel like my hands go numb bc I feel like im putting too much pressure in the front...is that because is to big or do I need to adjust seat/handlebar height and get a shorter stem?

Can I get by with these adjustments? your feed back will be very helpful...I'm hours away from buying it or hours from stepping away from this bike and finding a smaller size...


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## krisdrum

I'm about your size and with the way I am build a 54 would be huge. That doesn't mean that a 54 isn't right for you, but your proportions would need to be pretty extreme. 

Is the frame a compact design?


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## MShaw

I'm 5'8" and ride a 54cm bike. Buy something else.

M


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## mpagon4

here is picture...I'm average my inseam is about 30inches and I can stand in the bike with some clearance...I never ridden before..


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## johnnychimpo

at 5'5" i would think a 50-52 would have been a better choice based on Trek bikes. I dont know anything about the bike in the picture.


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## Treker

The Colorado Cyclist web site ( http://www.coloradocyclist.com/bikefit/ ) has a good tutorial on bike fitting that you may want to look at. With an inseam of 30" (76.2cm), they suggest a 51cm road frame. Personally, I would think that a 54cm frame would be a bit too large for you and leave you pretty stretched out.

Later,

Jay B.


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## Dinosaur

If that's a photo of the bike in question, it looks like the stem is long for a bike that size. TT length is more important than stand-over. Try a shorter stem.

What is the story on that saddle?


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## Jim Nazium

It's impossible to be certain based on your height alone, but but based on what most people ride, I'd say a 54 is way too big. I'm 5'11" and ride a 56 cm. At 5'5" I'd think a 49-50 cm would be more appropriate.

A bike that's the wrong size is NOT a good deal, especially for your first bike, regardless of the price. Be patient and find one that fits correctly.


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## rollinrob

I'm 5'4 and ride a 48cm Orbea. I could not imagine a 54cm fitting you.


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## lionheartdds

Sounds like your inseam and the bike's stand over height are compatible. You may have to adjust the seat post height to fine tune your working leg length to the pedals. If your hands are going numb, that might just be vibration from the bike-that's normal on almost any aluminum framed road bike. That's why I use buzz kill dampers or aztec vibration damping pads on my bikes, and use only carbon handlebars. If you're overly stretched out, then the frame's top tube is too long for your size, but you can adjust this by changing out the stem for a shorter one with a steeper rise angle. I'm 5'7" with a 32" inseam, so I'm more comfortable with a larger frame for my height, but the top tube lengths are a bit long for me on 54 cm frames, so I compensate with shorter more steeply angled stems. Most of my bikes are 54 cm, I have one 55cm and one 50 cm frame. It all depends on the frame's geometry. The compact designs typically have top tubes roughly the same length as the seat tube. More traditional geometries have longer top tubes. The photo above seems to show a top tube noticeably longer than the seat tube. 54 cm usually refers to the frame's seat tube length, and based on that, I'd say that top tube there is about 56 to 57 cm. Unless your arms are quite long, or you can get a really short stem with about a 20 degree+ rise, I'd say get a smaller frame with a suitable top tube.
Most of my frames are compact designs with the top tubes within half a centimeter of the seat tube length. My 50 cm frame is the only one I have with a more traditional geometry, and the top tube on that is 54 cm, but even so the frame is too small for me.
Hope that helps you. Take with 2 grains of salt, just my two cents....


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## PJ352

mpagon4 said:


> So I'm about to buy a Quattro Assi Team 2000 for around $450...everyone tells that a good deal...but I have a concern with the size. I'm 5'5" and the bike is 54cm...Can I get by with this size...I can stand in the bike and the top tube is about half to one inch clearance..and can get in the ridding position. The only thing I notice is that sometimes I feel like my hands go numb bc I feel like im putting too much pressure in the front...is that because is to big or do I need to adjust seat/handlebar height and get a shorter stem?
> 
> Can I get by with these adjustments? your feed back will be very helpful...I'm hours away from buying it or hours from stepping away from this bike and finding a smaller size...


Forget standover clearance and, to some extent, framesizes. They're near meaningless, especially in this world of sloping TT's (like the bike you're looking at). IMO you should pass on this bike, have a real bike fit, and using those measurements focus on effective TT lengths to determine your reach. Once that's accomplished, you'll at least be in the ballpark of what frame geometry works for you.


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## zooog

I am about 5ft 6" and I ride a 48CM calfee with a 51.5 TT. We are all diif't but that bike seems way to big for you...


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## giro_man

The key concern is: "I never ridden before." As others have said, the typical range of bike size for a person of your height is usually in the range of 49/50 - 52 seat size. You might be able to reach the controls and have standover clearance on a 54 but that is a rudimentary way to size a bicycle. Chances are that you will be looking for a smaller sized bicycle once you have gained experience (mileage) and begin the process of fine tuning your preferences with the goal of enhancing your overall satisfaction.


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## lawrence

Echo same as everyone else, get a smaller bike.

Forget about standover height because they put the top bar in different places and at different angles. At one time the top bar use to be at the top and level, now it's in different positions and it's angled down.

I'm 5'11 1/2 and I ride a 56. A person 5'7" would be riding a 54. Look at a 52 or so.


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## Dajianshan

Get measured and fitted. You may have really long freakin' legs.


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## Pshrynk

^^^^

Although it sounds too big --- All the posts here are pretty much meaningless as you may have freakishly long legs and arms or a short torso or whatever -- get fit at a local bike shop.


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## Elfstone

I'm 5-7.5 with a 31.5 inseam and I ride a 52 C'dale with a 54 TT. I'm between sizes in the C'dale geometry and can go with either the 52cm or 54cm with some tweaking. It’s very important to check the geometry of the bike’s manufacture and get familiar with your measurements. 

It’s all about your physical proportions and the geometry of the bike and different manufactures have different geometries. That’s way most folks would agree that a good bike fitting from your local LBS would be a good place to start…

Peace


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## Kuma601

There are plenty of good bike deals to be had. My suggestion would be to step away from this one and go into a local bike shop for a Q&A session, fitting and test ride. Once you have gathered some basics as far as geometries go, you'll be able to shop for a bike that fits you appropriately. 

A "good deal" isn't a good deal if the bike doesn't fit. Then you wind up spending more $$ to find a frame that does.


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## bill

even though bikes are sized by seattube length, the top tube length is really the more critical dimension. 
the 54 likely is too big for you. you're probably too stretched out. 
the numbness in your hands likely is because you are in an unbalanced position, with the saddle jammed forward. some of the effects/symptoms of an off fit are counterintuitive -- you would think that if you're too stretched out, you would have less weight on your front, but the opposite can be true. It's about balance.


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## QQUIKM3

*Now way. .*



mpagon4 said:


> I'm 5'5" and the bike is 54cm...Can I get by with this size.


It's too big for you. I'm 5-8" and I ride a 53cm and could easily ride a 52cm with a longer stem.


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## Syndicate 3

I agree with the previous posts...its too big.

I'm 6'0" and I ride a 55cm road bike and a 56cm tt


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## CoLiKe20

too big.


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## anteyeradio

I'm 5' 5" and i ride a 52cm, I tried to ride a 54 because there was one at the bike shop and I could get a good deal on it,but I was way to stretched out on it.not comfortable.


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## Peanya

Treker said:


> The Colorado Cyclist web site ( http://www.coloradocyclist.com/bikefit/ ) has a good tutorial on bike fitting that you may want to look at. With an inseam of 30" (76.2cm), they suggest a 51cm road frame. Personally, I would think that a 54cm frame would be a bit too large for you and leave you pretty stretched out.
> 
> Later,
> 
> Jay B.


Hmm... I'm 5/11" w/ a 31 & 1/2" inseam, rounded up to 78cm and it says I should get a 52cm bike. That seems a tad smaller than what I was thinking - many people say a 56 for my heigth, but I'm thinking a 54 might be better.... I'm trying to learn as much about bike fit as I can. I'm too damn analytical!


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## MarvinK

54cm is almost certainly too big.


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## bill

Peanya said:


> Hmm... I'm 5/11" w/ a 31 & 1/2" inseam, rounded up to 78cm and it says I should get a 52cm bike. That seems a tad smaller than what I was thinking - many people say a 56 for my heigth, but I'm thinking a 54 might be better.... I'm trying to learn as much about bike fit as I can. I'm too damn analytical!


31.5 inches is 80 cm.
think top tube length, not just seattube length. it's not that seattube length doesn't matter, but it matters as much because of the headtube length it dictates as much as anything. Otherwise, you could just use a longer seatpost. top tube length is much less easily adjusted.
with 31.5 in legs and 5'11" height, you would have a lot of torso, so that you would need, compared to others with an 80 cm inseam, a bigger frame.


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## Peanya

bill said:


> 31.5 inches is 80 cm.
> think top tube length, not just seattube length. it's not that seattube length doesn't matter, but it matters as much because of the headtube length it dictates as much as anything. Otherwise, you could just use a longer seatpost. top tube length is much less easily adjusted.
> with 31.5 in legs and 5'11" height, you would have a lot of torso, so that you would need, compared to others with an 80 cm inseam, a bigger frame.


I was originally thinking that, but when I ride, my arms are not bent and I do tend to put too much weight on my hands.


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## bill

fit is about balance on the bike as much as anything. If you are too far forward, and there could be a lot of reasons for that, you will put too much weight on your hands. with too much weight on your hands, you tend to straighten your arms. sometimes people with their reach set too short have tired shoulders and upper arms from pushing back on the controls instead of a good balance, which is more neutral. if your reach is too far, you tend to hang on the bars/controls, and you feel it in your triceps.


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## Donegal

Peanya said:


> Hmm... I'm 5/11" w/ a 31 & 1/2" inseam, rounded up to 78cm and it says I should get a 52cm bike. That seems a tad smaller than what I was thinking - many people say a 56 for my heigth, but I'm thinking a 54 might be better.... I'm trying to learn as much about bike fit as I can. I'm too damn analytical!


Seat tube height is irrelevant. The question is can you get your as# in the key position to push the pedals. The top tube is the next major consideration, I ride a longer one. Eddy Merckx rode the biggest frame he could throw a leg over. I tried it and it stuck

I am 5-7.5 and ride a Large Kuota Kredo. 55.5 top tube. I also have an Aegis Victory 54 with a 55-55.5 cm top tube. I don't like being scrunched up on a 54 and a 52 would be a joke. That's what my dimensions say I should ride. I don't like that much weight on the front wheel, twitchy and unstable. I like a longer base at speed and a stretched out position. I ride frames with a slightly longer head tube also. It reduces the reach and keeps me slightly more upright and comfortable. Bike Manufacturers are all making relaxed geometry frames now. At 5-11, a 54 cm frame will look like a big wheel. 

There is a big rage to ride the smallest frame possible, for weight I guess. Remember all the years that bike shops set us all up the same. 4" drop to bars, etc. Same B.S. I am not trying to look like the pros. I am 52 and ride more upright, I am an amateur and am working more on comfort. Comfortable positioning=Speed.


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