larger or smaller?

SunBurnt said:

Advise needed...

I had tried a 52cm (90mm stem) and a 54cm (70mm stem) Trek bike.
BOTH felt comfortable to me, handling, reach, paddling etc etc etc

Which would you recommend getting? The larger one or the smaller?

I'd always go for the smaller if i were unsure. Nothing worse than riding a bike which is too big for you. Never feels quite right and there's nothing you can do to rectify the situation other than sell it. The smaller frame will feel more lively and be easier to whip round corners. You can always use more spacers/high rise stem to offset the smaller headtube. The only thing which may be of concern is the 70 mm stem. Does seem rather on the short side to me. The ideal fit usually involves a stem length of between 90 and 130 mm otherwise the handling may not be right. But if you're happy with the quick handling then fine i suppose.

SunBurnt said:

Advise needed...

I had tried a 52cm (90mm stem) and a 54cm (70mm stem) Trek bike.
BOTH felt comfortable to me, handling, reach, paddling etc etc etc

Which would you recommend getting? The larger one or the smaller?

Me personally, smaller, same reasons as previous poster. Also, the frame is likely stiffer, since you have smaller triangles, and lighter, which will be offset to some degree by longer stem, longer post. I have three roadbikes at the moment, and the winter hack is the biggest of them, and I just do not like the feel of a bike that is big. It is not too big by normal standards, but smaller works better for me.

SunBurnt said:

Advise needed...

I had tried a 52cm (90mm stem) and a 54cm (70mm stem) Trek bike.
BOTH felt comfortable to me, handling, reach, paddling etc etc etc

Which would you recommend getting? The larger one or the smaller?

Sorry, I forgat to say one thing, how do you want your position on the bike? Racey or more upright. If you go for the larger frame, it is easier to achive a comfy postion, not very racy, but it might be impossible to achive a racy position on the larger frame. So, the height of the headtube is key to the drop to your bars. I hope I am making sense here. So, bigger frame, comfier position, smaller frame, racier position. Just make sure that you do not end up with an extrem stem length, just as the previous poster stated.

Claes said:

Sorry, I forgat to say one thing, how do you want your position on the bike? Racey or more upright. If you go for the larger frame, it is easier to achive a comfy postion, not very racy, but it might be impossible to achive a racy position on the larger frame. So, the height of the headtube is key to the drop to your bars. I hope I am making sense here. So, bigger frame, comfier position, smaller frame, racier position. Just make sure that you do not end up with an extrem stem length, just as the previous poster stated.

Funny, I always thought the opposite was true.

But I really like comfy then racy position, coz...
I ain't racing, just commuting! 😄

Thanks for all the opinions guys.. appreciated 'em

SunBurnt said:

Funny, I always thought the opposite was true.

But I really like comfy then racy position, coz...
I ain't racing, just commuting! 😄

Thanks for all the opinions guys.. appreciated 'em

Hmmmmm a good LBS should easily give you the right framesize. It is impossible for me to see what you need, but a stem 70 mm seems pretty short.