# sizing help; roubaix and tarmac



## Guest (May 1, 2007)

hi,
trying to think about my sizing for a road bike...
looking at sizes 54 and 56 in specialized roubaix carbon or tarmac
eff top tubes are 54.8 and 56.5

here is some data for reference..
Inseam: 82
Trunk: 69
Forearm: 33
Arm: 63
Thigh: 60
Lower Leg: 54.61
Sternal Notch: 146
Total Body Height: 176
Total body weight 148 lbs

which would be better the 54.8 tt with a 120 stem or a 56.5 with a 100 stem?

use road to train for mtb racing..
fairly flexible
thank you for your time..


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## Stratmosphere (Feb 28, 2007)

No love so far here! I think a lot of us here think in inches. I would do the Tarmac if you are flexible and car lean over farther. Seems more normal to have the frame and stem size be in sync. I think the 56.5 would normally have a 130 or so where the 54.8 would have a 110-120. Smaller the frame, the more you will be leaning down. My guess is that if you have the two acceptable sizes chosen here, the smaller would have less flex but the position is more leaned over. After doing the conversion, seems like the smaller is the better size.


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## Guest (May 2, 2007)

*sorry let me do the conversion*

am 5'9.25" tall and have a 32.5" inseam, or more torso than leg, i think..lol
dont race but am fairly flexible but also will be riding from 40 to 100 miles most of the time..hope this helps...


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## mh3 (Mar 8, 2006)

I'm not sure how low you want to get, but for size comparison purposes, I'm 176cm with an 81cm cycling inseem. The 54cm Roubaix fit me much better overall. I don't ride as agressive a postion as I used to, 4-5cm drop is about it these days for me. I ride 71cm saddle height measured to bb center, the bar/ saddle drop can easily be adjusted anywhere from roughly even with the saddle to ~ 8cm of drop. Thats using the stock alu stem with a max +/- 16 rise. Never tried dropping them lower. 

As far as Tarmac vs. Roubaix, all I can say is ride them both and go with what you like the most.


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## bike-geek (Mar 22, 2007)

avery05 said:


> am 5'9.25" tall and have a 32.5" inseam, or more torso than leg, i think..lol
> dont race but am fairly flexible but also will be riding from 40 to 100 miles most of the time..hope this helps...


I'm 5'-8 1/2" tall and have a 32" inseam. I went with the 56cm


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## bc165 (Aug 5, 2003)

avery05 said:


> am 5'9.25" tall and have a 32.5" inseam, or more torso than leg, i think..lol
> dont race but am fairly flexible but also will be riding from 40 to 100 miles most of the time..hope this helps...


i'm almost the exact same size as you and i ride a 56 roubaix with a 100mm stem... seems to fit pretty well - the aliante seat is pretty far back on the rails btw... wish i had tested a 54... never rode a tarmac since they were still alu in '04... ride them all until you find the magic


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## Guest (May 13, 2007)

well, rode a whole bunch of different configurations in the 54cm bike and could not get it right, just too much weight on my arms to get comfortable, and i am really strong in the upper body as i have surfed for over 30 years..but i digress, tried the 120mm in 2 different configurations, rise and neutral with that geometr, it steered like crap. then went to a 110mm and it still felt cramped, spacers down to one, but the bike steered way better. don't think i could last on 3-5 hour rides though. so tried the 56cm bike again with a 110mm, this is .39mm longer than the 54cm with a 120mm, and it felt good but just a little too long, so finally tried a 100mm in negative and BLAM, perfection, i could ride like that forever..just goes to show sometimes want looks right does not feel right, and i sooo wanted to go with the 54cm bike for a quicker handling bike but it just felt terribly wrong...hope this helps others...


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