Litespeed sizing help...2004 Tuscany...ctc or ctt?

[illdthedj]

Hi guys!

When i first got into cycling, i bought an entry level aluminum road bike, then proceeded to upgrade every component over time. Now i think im ready to upgrade to a nicer frameset.

ive been watching craigslist/ebay/various online classifieds now for a while (including this one!) for something titanium (although a few times some Calfee's caught my eye)...ANYWHO:

Currently looking at a 59cm 2004 Litespeed Tuscany frameset...
Just curious if anyone knew if these were sized center to center or center to top?

basically my optimal measurements are a 59cm ctc seat tube, 57cm top tube. and if litespeeds usually are measured center to top, a 59 might be more or a 57 (which might be too small)

any help is appreciated! thanks!

[dave thompson]

The top tube measurement should be your primary guide, not the seat tube.

[illdthedj]

i was able to find a scan of the 2004 litespeed catalog, and they do in fact list the top tube for the 59cm frameset, which is actually close to perfect for me.

However seat tube measurement i would assume is pretty important as well, hence why im asking if anyone knows if litespeed measures their frames center to center or center to top

[dave thompson]

Seat tube length, in and of itself, is not that important. Take the Litespeed you're looking at, keep all things exactly the same but make it have a sloping top tube and a seat tube length of, say, 54CM. What has changed regarding the fit? Nothing. Your contact points will be the same on both bikes, as will the geometry. So increasing or decreasing the seat tube length by itself changes nothing.

[Ken Robb]

Litespeed measures c-t.

[Fishbike]

Just make sure you know who is measuring the frame and how since people measure used frames every which way and often get the nominal size incorrect. For whatever it's worth, my 50 cm Tuscany is 49 cm CTC and 50 cm CTT. Good luck!

[cmg]

he needs the seat dimension to identify the frame. The seller may not know. he could flip to look at what has been stamped on the bottom bracket.

[illdthedj]

thanks guys...

upon some further research, i actually noticed someone from a few months back selling a 59cm Tuscany...he had measured it, and yes Ken R. apparently Litespeed measures center to top.

he measured the center to center, so what litespeed calls a 59cm is more like 57.5cm-58cm ctc.

but i think that should work for me...the TT is 57.5 on the 59cm tuscany, and by fit calcs 57-58 is my sweet spot for top tubes....

[R2D2]

thanks guys...

upon some further research, i actually noticed someone from a few months back selling a 59cm Tuscany...he had measured it, and yes Ken R. apparently Litespeed measures center to top.

he measured the center to center, so what litespeed calls a 59cm is more like 57.5cm-58cm ctc.

but i think that should work for me...the TT is 57.5 on the 59cm tuscany, and by fit calcs 57-58 is my sweet spot for top tubes....

I ride a Tuscany. The tob tube is the measurement to use. You'll have plenty of stand over as the effective top tube is slightly longer than what a traditonal ctc seat tube measurement would be.