Specialized Secteur - confused about sizing

[squirrely]

Hi everyone,

First time post, so please go easy.

I'm about to buy a bike for around town and the odd longer ride. Haven't ridden since I was a kid (am 36 now).

Anyway, I have been lurking around some bike shops and really like the specialized secteur expert disc http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bikes/ ... xpert-disc

Now, I went to one bike shop, they put me on a 52 and said it was perfect, although it felt cramped. I went to another bike shop and tried a 54 and they said it was spot after they installed a 90mm stem on it and put me on the trainer. I told him about how I tried a 52 and found it cramped. He said at 174cm, I am on the cusp of both sizes, but it would be silly to put a long stem on a 52 and better to put a short stem on the 54.

I am confused now, I think I could go either way in regards to size. I did notice my toe hitting the front wheel on the 52 though. Which is better? A smaller bike with a 110mm stem, or bigger bike with a 90mm stem? Or should I go to a different store? Problem is most stores don't stock both Med and Small sizings, so hard to try side-by-side.

[AP81]

Looking at the geometry charts, taking into account the STA & TT length combine with headtube length, I arrived at the following:

Size 52 with 100mm stem = Size 54 with 90mm stem in terms of overall reach.

Which size should you get? There is no right answer here. Most people would say go for the smaller frame, but I'd go for whatever feels more comfortable.

Some addition notes:
- A longer stem puts more weight over the front wheel, a shorter stem the opposite. This can affect handling at he extremes, i.e. 140mm or 70mm. Between the range of a 90mm and 100m (as in this case), it will have negligible effect over handling.
- The 52 will be slightly more aero as it has a shorter headtube, whereas the 54 will be slightly more upright and more comfortable.

My conclusion:
If you prefer more upright, go with the 54 otherwise go with the 52.

[visrealm]

Unrelated to the original question about size but I must say - they're a great bike. I've been commuting on one for around 4 months. Love it.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 2

[thecaptn]

I'd go with the 54 if it was me.

[DJIntegr8]

I'd go with the bigger size. I'm 180cm and rode a Giant TCR previously: 55.5cm top tube with an 80mm stem. I thought the 54cm frame would fit me better, but it seems the more relaxed geometry works with a bigger frame. I test rode a 56cm + 100mm stem and it fit quite well out of the box (so I bought it ).

Brendan

[squirrely]

Thanks everyone, I think I'll go with the 54.

The secteur is $1000 off in some shops at the moment. They are all clearing stock for the 2014 models.

[Calvin27]

I'm 182 and went for the 56. Tried the 54 and it felt ok - I could have got that size and not had any issues. I would prefer to go for 54 over 52. 90mm is still on the longer end of a stem.