I'd say go with the 55. For a number of reasons: -Rivendell knows the fit of their bikes pretty well, and they generally err on the side of larger frame sizes, so if they're telling you to go for a smaller frame, chances are that's probably going to be big enough for you. -You are going for a drop bar setup with the bars just below the saddle, which again, puts you on in the camp of running relatively low bars in Rivendell terms. In my mind, this is another point in favor of going for a smaller frame. I think there's a real chance you wouldn't be able to get the bars low enough on the larger frame. -Numerous folks on here have reported sizing up on the Sam but later coming to the conclusion that it is too big for them.
When you say, "I know I could ride a 58cm," what leads you to that conclusion? Have you test ridden a 58cm Sam? Or is it from riding other 58cm road bikes? You mention riding a 56cm Surly later in the post. Remember that the up-sloping top tube on the Sam makes it fit larger than its measured seat tube size, so a 55cm Sam probably would fit the same as a 58 or 59cm Surly or other road bike with a level top tube, just with more exposed seatpost. Even after you take this into account, there are other more subtle features of a Rivendell that increase bar height: all of their upper head tube lugs feature a headtube extension above the top tube, and they tend to leave their forks a little on the long side, so the top nut of the headset is pretty high. So there's a lot of extra bar height built into that 55cm Sam already over your 56 Surly. On Thursday, February 15, 2018 at 11:38:19 PM UTC-8, John W wrote: > > Hello folks, > > I'm reaching out for some input regarding current Sam Hillbornes. > > I'm 6' tall with an 85PBH (say, 86.25 PBH with shoes.) Saddle height > ~75cm, a Brooks B17 which runs about 6cm tall. > > Riv recommends a size 55 frame, but I know I could ride a 58. I'll ride on > pavement and trails. Less so, gnarly track. And I'll set up drop bars about > 1cm lower than my saddle. > > My concerns are: > > — will I have enough exposed stem above the headset and cable hanger in > front? > — will the bike handle oddly with just ~2cm of exposed stem? > — am I setting myself up for the inability to use taller upright bars in > the future? > > I cribbed this photo from a fellow with a shorter saddle height than me: > https://www.flickr.com/photos/37347002@N05/4354827488/in/pool-hillborne/ > > The 55 is the safe bet, while the 58 looks doable. > > I'm cautious of getting a bike that's too small for me. Generally > speaking, I'm a 56cm on Surly road frames and I don't feel stretched out on > them. > > What say you? 55 or 58? > > Separately, looking at the geo charts on Riv's site, the Stack and Reach > measurements on the Sam Hillbornes look off to me, but perhaps I'm not > correctly parsing the effect of the 71.5 STA. > > Apologies for the naval gazing email. Any input would be appreciated. > > John in NYC > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
