Bike Sizes

In article
<[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

I recently tried some bikes. A 19 inch frame is my proper
size but when I try a 16 inch frame it doesn't feel really
small to me but the bike shop owner and my girlfriend say
that a 16 inch frame looks small for my height. That may
seem true but I felt more comfortable on a 16 than 19 inch
frame. It could be because I used to ride BMX and those
are tiny. Sure I'm 6 foot tall and can not ride BMX
anymore but the 16 inch bike is between the BMX size and
19 inch frame, but closer to the 19 inch. I just feel that
I get more monuverability and feel more comfortable on a
16t inch. I like bikes that are a bit smaller than what
normally I should be useing.

Do you guys ride bikes that are the perfect fit for your
height or do you guys ride bikes that are smaller and why?

The "perfect fit" is the one which is most comfortable for
you, but you often can't tell which is going to be more
comfortable until you can test it on an extended ride. That
said, the current fashion is to ride bikes which are on the
small side, and put long stems and setback seat posts on
them. Personally, I prefer bikes on the large side, rather
than small.

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On 24 May 2004 12:13:48 -0700, [email hidden] (James Lynx)

Quoted message said:

Do you guys ride bikes that are the perfect fit for your
height or do you guys ride bikes that are smaller and why?

My main road bike is a size too small because I wasn't smart
enough to know when I bought it. With an appropriate stem to
put the handlebars in a reasonable spot, it's good for me.

If you can get the right size, get it; the hard part is
knowing. Search this newsgroup at groups.google.com to find
loads and loads of information on fitting, and links to fit
calculators.
--
Rick Onanian

Hello James,

when you have both feet on the ground, there should be a 2
inch clearance between the top bar of the frame and
yourself. Less is dangerous, more will make adjusting the
rest more complicated. In essence the bigger the bike,
faster you can go with the same effort. Think of those BMX
bikes, even with great effort they can't go that fast.

"James Lynx" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I recently tried some bikes. A 19 inch frame is my proper
size but when I try a 16 inch frame it doesn't feel really
small to me but the bike shop owner and my girlfriend say
that a 16 inch frame looks small for my height. That may
seem true but I felt more comfortable on a 16 than 19 inch
frame. It could be because I used to ride BMX and those
are tiny. Sure I'm 6 foot tall and can not ride BMX
anymore but the 16 inch bike is between the BMX size and
19 inch frame, but closer to the 19 inch. I just feel that
I get more monuverability and feel more comfortable on a
16t inch. I like bikes that are a bit smaller than what
normally I should be useing.

Do you guys ride bikes that are the perfect fit for your
height or do you guys ride bikes that are smaller and why?

Thanks,

James

Rick Onanian said:

On 24 May 2004 12:13:48 -0700, [email hidden]

(James Lynx) said:

Do you guys ride bikes that are the perfect fit for your
height or do you guys ride bikes that are smaller and why?

My main road bike is a size too small because I wasn't
smart enough to know when I bought it. With an
appropriate stem to put the handlebars in a reasonable
spot, it's good for me.

If you can get the right size, get it; the hard part is
knowing. Search this newsgroup at groups.google.com to find
loads and loads of information on fitting, and links to fit
calculators.

Numbers? You're six feet tall, right? Are you riding a 17
inch frame?

My LBS looked at me and said 17.5, but the bike seemed small
to me. I'm 5'9".

(Would it be worse to have a bike that's too large than a
bit too small? There'd be no way to fix that without sawing
off something, eh? <g>😉

-B

On Mon, 24 May 2004 22:43:05 -0400, Badger_South <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Rick Onanian said:

My main road bike is a size too small because I wasn't
smart enough to know when I bought it. With an
appropriate stem to put the handlebars in a reasonable
spot, it's good for me.

If you can get the right size, get it; the hard part is
knowing. Search this newsgroup at groups.google.com to
find loads and loads of information on fitting, and links
to fit calculators.

Numbers? You're six feet tall, right? Are you riding a 17
inch frame?

I'm probably 5'10" or so. The frame in question is a Giant
TCR2 compact frame in "Medium", which I think is supposed
to be equivalent to a 55cm. Huh? A "medium giant"? No
conflict there? 😉

Actually, according to Giant's sizing web page at giant-giant-Open ↗
bicycles.com/us/050.000.000/050.600.100.asp it is the
correct frame for me, but I suspect a larger frame would be
more appropriate.

Hah! They offer a small giant. Maybe I should start a bike
company called "minuscule" and sell large frames.

Quoted message said:

My LBS looked at me and said 17.5, but the bike seemed
small to me. I'm 5'9".

Mountain or road?

MTB sizing is generally done on the small side, and that's
ok. Road sizing is done small now too, but that's _not_ ok.
It makes sense for off-road riding to have lots of extra
clearance everywhere and short reach, and so much time is
spent out of the saddle and doing weird stuff and flying
off the bike into sharp rocks that you don't notice minor
size issues.

Road bikes, OTOH, should be fit perfectly. I understand that
many years ago, road sizing was done too large; that must
have been unpleasant. Now they do it too small, for minor
weight savings, purported stiffness, and extra-low
handlebars. The trouble is that road biking, with so much
time and so many miles spent in the saddle in one position,
is very sensitive to minor size issues.

Quoted message said:

(Would it be worse to have a bike that's too large than a
bit too small? There'd be no way to fix that without sawing
off something, eh? <g>😉

Depends on exactly what's too large. Top tube height?
Replace 700c wheels with 650c. KOPS? Setback seatpost.
Reach? Stem. Bar height? Stem. Saddle height? Seatpost. Etc.
Modifications can be made to make most bikes fit most
people, if sufficiently motivated.

Fit goes beyond how your body contacts the bike, IMO. Fit
should also include how you're going to use the bike, and
your abilities. In this region, a double crank doesn't make
sense for beginners, weak riders, people living in extra-
steep areas, or anybody not completely sure of their needs.
I'm not sure it makes much sense for anybody, but I
certainly shouldn't have left that store with a double. In
fact, I should have had a sport tourer, or at least
something whose geometry is a little more relaxed than the
hardcore racer that I bought -- maybe a Giant OCR. I know
now...I know a _lot_ more than I did then. I'm nearly
"saavy". Unfortunately, bike shop employees tend to be
either racer-wannabes (and expect everybody else to be), or
don't give a damn, or dumb, or too busy focusing on bringing
in the benjamins (how's that for me being hip! 😉 to help
somebody choose the right bike.

This newsfroup should write a training manual for bike shop
owners and employees. Now that I've done the hard work of
coming up with that idea, it's up to the rest of you to
implement it. What, me spend MORE time on it? Sheesh, how
ungrateful... <BFG>
--
Rick Onanian

No, my LBS said that I was right for a 19 inch frame. I do
feel more comfortable on a 16 inch frame and that's probably
because I used to ride BMX bikes (years ago) and now want to
get back into biking and feel that I have more control over
the bike if I have a slightly smaller frame. I was thinking
maybe a 16 inch but yeah that's gotta be mega small on me so
maybe a 17.5 if there is such things.

Thanks

Quoted message said:

Numbers? You're six feet tall, right? Are you riding a 17
inch frame?

My LBS looked at me and said 17.5, but the bike seemed
small to me. I'm 5'9".

(Would it be worse to have a bike that's too large than a
bit too small? There'd be no way to fix that without
sawing off something, eh? <g>😉

-B

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Hello James,

when you have both feet on the ground, there should be a 2
inch clearance between the top bar of the frame and
yourself. Less is dangerous, more will

I disagree somewhat on this. On a MTB, I would say *at
least* 2 inches, but on a road bike 1" is enough.

....

--
Remove the ns_ from if replying by e-mail (but keep posts in
the newsgroups if possible).

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

(Would it be worse to have a bike that's too large than a
bit too small? There'd be no way to fix that without
sawing off something, eh? <g>😉

Depends on exactly what's too large. Top tube height?
Replace 700c wheels with 650c.

Might be kind of tough to get the brakes to work, though...

Quoted message said:

KOPS? Setback seatpost. Reach? Stem. Bar height? Stem.
Saddle height? Seatpost. Etc. Modifications can be made
to make most bikes fit most people, if sufficiently
motivated.

....

--
Remove the ns_ from if replying by e-mail (but keep posts in
the newsgroups if possible).

What if we are talking about a compact frame? I have a size
55 Specialized Allez. I have more than 2" from the cross bar
to my crotch, but I am pretty sure the bike fits me.

By the way James, don't get mixed up in comfortable, and
familiar. You may be more used to the feel of a smaller
bike, but it may prevent you from getting the most out of
your effort.

Jim

"Daniel Crispin" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hello James,

when you have both feet on the ground, there should be a 2
inch clearance between the top bar of the frame and
yourself. Less is dangerous, more

will

Quoted message said:

make adjusting the rest more complicated. In essence the
bigger the

bike,

Quoted message said:

faster you can go with the same effort. Think of those BMX
bikes, even

with

Quoted message said:

great effort they can't go that fast.

"James Lynx" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I recently tried some bikes. A 19 inch frame is my
proper size but when I try a 16 inch frame it doesn't
feel really small to me but the bike shop owner and my
girlfriend say that a 16 inch frame looks small for my
height. That may seem true but I felt more comfortable
on a 16 than 19 inch frame. It could be because I used
to ride BMX and those are tiny. Sure I'm 6 foot tall and
can not ride BMX anymore but the 16 inch bike is between
the BMX size and 19 inch frame, but closer to the 19
inch. I just feel that I get more monuverability and
feel more comfortable on a 16t inch. I like bikes that
are a bit smaller than what normally I should be useing.

Do you guys ride bikes that are the perfect fit for
your height or do you guys ride bikes that are smaller
and why?

Thanks,

James

Some of the new frames have top bars that go lower instead
of being parallel to the ground. I would simply draw an
imaginary line and take mesures from there. This is a rule
of thumb so you can do what you feel best with it 😉 Either
use a bigger frame since you now have more clearance, you
take the smaller one. Bike selection is also a personnal
thing 😉 As long as you have those 2 inches I would say you
are ok... less and you might not be happy next time you fall
... some parts of you might give you a painfull reminder of
this rule of thumb too 😉

"Jim Gosse" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

What if we are talking about a compact frame? I have a
size 55 Specialized Allez. I have more than 2" from the
cross bar to my crotch, but I am

pretty

Quoted message said:

sure the bike fits me.

By the way James, don't get mixed up in comfortable, and
familiar. You may be more used to the feel of a smaller
bike, but it may prevent you from getting the most out of
your effort.

Jim

"Daniel Crispin" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hello James,

when you have both feet on the ground, there should be a
2 inch

clearance

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

between the top bar of the frame and yourself. Less is
dangerous, more

will

Quoted message said:

make adjusting the rest more complicated. In essence the
bigger the

bike,

Quoted message said:

faster you can go with the same effort. Think of those
BMX bikes, even

with

Quoted message said:

great effort they can't go that fast.

"James Lynx" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I recently tried some bikes. A 19 inch frame is my
proper size but when I try a 16 inch frame it doesn't
feel really small to me but the bike shop owner and my
girlfriend say that a 16 inch frame looks small for my
height. That may seem true but I felt more comfortable
on a 16 than 19 inch frame. It could be because I used
to ride BMX and those are tiny. Sure I'm 6 foot tall
and can not ride BMX anymore but the 16 inch bike is
between the BMX size and 19 inch frame, but closer to
the 19 inch. I just feel that I get more
monuverability and feel more comfortable on a 16t
inch. I like bikes that are a bit smaller than what
normally I should be useing.

Do you guys ride bikes that are the perfect fit for
your height or do you guys ride bikes that are smaller
and why?

Thanks,

James

Well, that is true, the 2 inches rule can be adapted
depending what you do on the bike too.

"David Kerber" <ns_dkerber@ns_ids.net> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Hello James,

when you have both feet on the ground, there should be a
2 inch

clearance

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

between the top bar of the frame and yourself. Less is
dangerous, more

will

Quoted message said:

I disagree somewhat on this. On a MTB, I would say *at
least* 2 inches, but on a road bike 1" is enough.

....

--
Remove the ns_ from if replying by e-mail (but keep posts
in the newsgroups if possible).

Daniel Crispin said:

Well, that is true, the 2 inches rule can be adapted
depending what you do on the bike too.

Family newsgroup, buddy.

Bill "he's a top-poster; he deserved it" S.