"HDGuzzi" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
My question however has to do with frame size. I coudln't really tell in the pics that it was a "small" frame bike, no measurements were given, nor did I think to ask. (In my day an "adult" bike was simply called "a 26", implying the wheel size, I guess). I was a bit surprised at the smallness of it once I got it all together. It's still OK, but a bit short/small for me. Now I see another one for sale, just like my present one, but I can tell by the longer head tube (?) that it is at least taller, but would a taller bike also be longer? I'd like a litle more knee and foot room on my next one.
Usually the bicycle size is measured from the center of the bottom bracket (the center of the chainrings) to the top of the top tube along the seat tube.
If you want a quick and dirty way though - in your bare feet stand over the bicycle and there should be one inch clearance between your crotch and the top tube.
Here's something to remember - it take riding a bicycle for a couple of years to get everything fitting you properly because your body continues to change over that period as you ride. So you needn't be too accurate - if you're within an inch you're more than fine. I rode 57 cm bikes for a couple of years (thanks for a lunatic Greg LeMond book describing idiotic ways of fitting a bicycle) before getting one the correct size. And I got that one by some old bicycle dealer looking at me and telling me to buy a 61 cm. Turns out he was almost exactly right. When he built my bike it felt like it didn't fit for about a month and I've been riding that size ever since.
"HDGuzzi" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
My question however has to do with frame size. I coudln't really tell in the pics that it was a "small" frame bike, no measurements were given, nor did I think to ask. (In my day an "adult" bike was simply called "a 26", implying the wheel size, I guess). I was a bit surprised at the smallness of it once I got it all together. It's still OK, but a bit short/small for me. Now I see another one for sale, just like my present one, but I can tell by the longer head tube (?) that it is at least taller, but would a taller bike also be longer? I'd like a litle more knee and foot room on my next one.
I would not buy a bike from eBay if I could not determine the size. Ads on eBay are often misclassified, but you can often sort by frame size. My first bike (non eBay) was a size too small. Then, from eBay I bought a beginner flat bar road bike that was a couple or three CM too tall, but quite satisfactory and close enough that I rode it for two years. If you know what your correct bike size is, you can possibly do better on eBay, but be careful to get the right size for you. I learned what worked for me by going to bike shops and riding new and used bikes. A large bike shop in my city has a fairly decent supply of used and rental bikes, so I was able to figure out what size is right for me as I bought a bike or two from them for family members. I eventually bought a new bike from them when I could afford to trade up.
