Charge Pluge vs Surly Steamroller

"Steamrollers are solid. From the way you describe it the fit sounds okay. You can always swap to a shorter stem if needs be and you are too stretched out. The crucial question regarding the size which you haven't covered, how much room is left between crotch and toptube when your stood astride the top tube?"

The guy from evans (i will dub him.... bob.) so bob said that im not actually stretched out so the stem is a good fit, when i took it for a ride i did actually feel quite upright. and that I could even put up the seat a bit (it was set quite low)

In terms of how much room is left between my crotch and the top tube, not alot at all... enough that im standing flat on my feet, but the crotch of my jeans were definitely touching the top tube..

sorry i cant be more scientific or precise about this. but thanks for the help.

How baggy are your jeans? Would your crotch (as in fleshy bits) be touching the tube in lycra?

I ride a 60 fixie and a 58 geared bike (the former built from bits, the latter second hand) - can't work out which is the right size for me: the 60 is very near my crotch in lycra when I'm standing but is near perfect when I'm pedalling, while the 58 is much more comfortable to stand over but makes me feel a bit hunched (even though it has a longer top tube - prob needs an even longer stem).

If there are no braze-ons on top of the top tube, proximity to crotch is not a big deal, even if you have to tip-toe a tiny bit. Buying a bike new you probably are right to be more picky, but like I said, bear in mind how baggy your jeans are.