I currently am on a Cervelo R3 (2011) and am considering a new frameset. My current frame is a 56 for the purposes of managing drop. MY previous S1 in a 54 had too much drop for me. Since owning the R3 I have been gradually lowering the handle bars and am currently at 20mm of space with a 90mm 6+ stem. I just made this change and already feel I can go lower by possibly up to 10mm.

I am 5'9" with longer legs than torso so explains a 56 to manage the drop.

Quick specs for comparison.

Cervelo
HTA 73.5 TT 564 HTLength 173 Stack 580 Reach 387

Evo
HTA 73 TT 545 HTLength 140 Stack 544 Reach 384

I currently have about 140mm of seat post from cradle to seat tube. Actual BB to seat top along seat tube is 745.

Can anyone give me a ballpark of how drop I will end up with changing between the frames? I am concerned if I went 56 again the added reach is just too much.

Go to a dealer and be fitted.

Yeah that's no help. I am only looking to figure out the drop, not looking for actual fit advice.

Have you used this?
https://public.sheet.zoho.com/public/lw ... ator-v1-00

It's quite helpful, no?

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Exp001

Played around with the calculator which only confirms the difference between the stack which can be directly derived from the published numbers. All things beingequal it's about 36 mm. If I am correct and the stack difference tells the whole story then I would gain that much in drop.

You are correct.I checked it with bikecad, and it's 36mm more drop, and 3mm less reach with the same stem and spacers.

It's not entirely the difference. For every 10mm of spacers the reach reduces by ~3mm.
So the 56 Evo would use the same stem that you have currently but require 20mm more spacing underneath for the same drop.
If by 20mm spacers on the Cervelo you are including the headset top cap then that wouldn't be a problem. If you have 20mm of spacers on top of a 15mm cap (which is just a spacer) then another 20mm would be past the limits for the fork steerer.
Which bars are you using? you may be able to choose a shorter reach model that would allow the stem to be lengthened and thus gain some height that way.

The Evo sizing isn't very good - the steps between sizes are very uneven and you're in one of the wide gaps.

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http://www.speedtheory.co.nz

I have two Cannondale CAAD aluminum frames so I consider myself to know something about how Cannondale bikes fit. The CAAD aluminum and the SuperSix EVO you mention appear to have the same geometry. I'm 5'11" and fit perfectly on the 58cm CAAD frame with a 12 cm stem. You being 5'9" means the 56cm frame would be about right. But then you state your legs are long and torso short. So maybe the 54cm frame might be better for your reach. The head tube length on the 54 and 56 frames is 14 and 15.5 cm. I'm not as concerned about drop due to the fact you can use spacers below the stem and even turn the stem up to a positive angle. You can get the bars the right height on either frame. Its the reach with a correct length stem that is the question. You say you are using a 9 cm stem now. I'm not convinced that is a correct length stem. You need to go to the shop and set up the 54 and 56 frames so the reach and drop is right for you. See which one ends up the best.

Right, so to achieve approximately the same bar drop and reach as his current bike he'd need to ad 30+mm of spacers and get a 10mm longer stem.

The Evo has a slightly shorter front center.

58 super six for the same height. itll be 1cm longer.
56 2cm low, 1cm long.
54 4cm low, same length.

work on your fitness and flexibility if you want to go to a race height headtube brand like cannondale.

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α

With your long legs and shorter torso, I would consider the 54 Cannondale Evo.

Thank you to everyone for your input.

To clarify a little. I previously was on a 54 S1 and had a drop that was just too much at the time. This is what prompted the 56 in the R3.
Looking at the S1 specs they are a bit closer to the 54 Evo. Given that, I should go 56 so I can continue to remove spacers and go negative on stem instead of trying to compensate for to short of a head tube. Ultimately I will discuss this with my fitter at the LBS. I know they probably have botha 54 and 56 C'dale with these geos in stock so we can compare.

Really seems the Evo's run big, mine is a 52, all other bikes for me are 54, im 5'9.

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Curt Brown
2012 Cannondale Supersix EVO SRAM Red 10.8#'s
2012 Cannondale Super X 14.1#'s and dropping....
2011 Cannondale Carbon Flash 1 17.2#'s
1999 Cannondale F2000, SRAM XO 18.9#'s
http://cbevo.com/2012_cd_supersix_evo_31.html

Go to a shop and try one out .