Recommend a measuring system to determine frame size?

blackhead said:

Firstly, are there places which can work out my frame size without me
buying a bike from them, but paying for the measurement?

Sure, loads of them - where abouts are you?

Jim.

blackhead said:

Firstly, are there places which can work out my frame size without me
buying a bike from them, but paying for the measurement?

Which system would you recommend for determining frame size?

Thanks for your interest

Sheldon's site is always a good source for cycling information.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/frame-sizing.html

--
Don Whybrow

Sequi Bonum Non Time

Some people have one of those days. I have one of those lives.

(Jim Ley) said:

On Fri, 4 Apr 2008 13:13:06 -0700 (PDT), blackhead

Quoted message said:

Firstly, are there places which can work out my frame size without me
buying a bike from them, but paying for the measurement?

Sure, loads of them - where abouts are you?

Jim.

Manchester

In article <1c2b440e-47c6-41fe-8ee3-1b740589d533
@e10g2000prf.googlegroups.com>, blackhead
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Firstly, are there places which can work out my frame size without me
buying a bike from them, but paying for the measurement?

Which system would you recommend for determining frame size?

Unless you're having a custom frame built there's really no need (or
point) to do all the measurements and calculations involved in a full
frame fitting service. There's a load of "rules of thumb" that will get
you in the right sort of area, beyond that it's down to personal
preference and experience. Also remember that different manufacturers
measure their bikes in different ways, and even two bikes measured in
the same way and nominally the same size can have very different fit.
There's really no substitute for sitting on (or preferably riding for a
reasonable distance) different bikes to see how the differences affect
you.

Rob Morley said:

In article <1c2b440e-47c6-41fe-8ee3-1b740589d533
@e10g2000prf.googlegroups.com>, blackhead
[email hidden] says...> Firstly, are there places which can workout my frame size without me

Quoted message said:

buying a bike from them, but paying for the measurement?

Quoted message said:

Which system would you recommend for determining frame size?

Unless you're having a custom frame built there's really no need (or
point) to do all the measurements and calculations involved in a full
frame fitting service.  There's a load of "rules of thumb" that will get
you in the right sort of area, beyond that it's down to personal
preference and experience.  Also remember that different manufacturers
measure their bikes in different ways, and even two bikes measured in
the same way and nominally the same size can have very different fit.  
There's really no substitute for sitting on (or preferably riding for a
reasonable distance) different bikes to see how the differences affect
you.

The problem is that I want to order a cheap bike over the net. It
looks as if top tube length is the most important because most other
measurements can be altered by varying the height of the seat and
handlebars

blackhead said:

(Jim Ley) said:

On Fri, 4 Apr 2008 13:13:06 -0700 (PDT), blackhead

Quoted message said:

Firstly, are there places which can work out my frame size without me
buying a bike from them, but paying for the measurement?

Sure, loads of them - where abouts are you?

Jim.

Manchester

Prior to buying a custom frame from Setavento, I went up to Leyland to
see Paul Hewitt. He spent ages (well, a good half hour) with me, on his
adjustable frame jog. While he was messing about with settings, he was
also chatting away about riding, what I do etc.. which seemed very
plesant but he was really pumping me for information to inform his
advice on riding position.. to cut a long story short, he provided me
with a sketch which I sent to james at Setavento, he sized the frae
accordingly and I now have a bike that is all day (like 12 hours at a
time) comfortable. In fairness, I have an off the peg audax frame that
is as comfy but it's achived with lots of extended bits and spacers. Not
quite as sartorial! Still, if you want someone to measure you up, I can
personally recommend Paul Hewitt. IIRC it cost me £20.... but then I
wasn't buying a frame off him. If I had then fitting would have been free.

hth,

Tony B

I have found the Hinault Genzling method works for me.
A quick google came up with
http://www.strawberrybicycle.com/frames-custom.php
which shows what to measure

Dan Gregory said:

I have found the Hinault Genzling method works for me.
A quick google came up withhttp://www.strawberrybicycle.com/frames-custom.php
which shows what to measure

Looks awesome, thanks

In article <579a9c8c-0c29-4258-a5d4-b7218a9ae682
@s37g2000prg.googlegroups.com>, blackhead
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

The problem is that I want to order a cheap bike over the net. It
looks as if top tube length is the most important because most other
measurements can be altered by varying the height of the seat and
handlebars

Are you still looking at the BeOne Storm? If so, and you're of
'normal' size and proportions, then it should be pretty easy to decide a
size because they use a fairly standard proportional geometry. So just
divide your height by 3.3, subtract 10 inches from your inside leg
measurement and pick something around those two numbers. If your
trunk/arms are long in proportion to your legs then go for the slightly
larger size - it may seem strange to get a larger frame for shorter
legs, but as you say reach matters more than seatpin extension. If in
doubt get them to check the standover height - on a road bike it only
needs to be an inch or two less than your inside leg. I'd guess the
standover on the Storm ranges from around 29-33 inches. There's no
handlebar stem height adjustment (in the pictures it's 90 degrees rather
than flipflop) but that's quite cheap and easy to replace if it's a
problem.

blackhead said:

Firstly, are there places which can work out my frame size without me
buying a bike from them, but paying for the measurement?

Which system would you recommend for determining frame size?

Thanks for your interest

Due to variously sloping top-tubes and the many differnt ways of
deciding where the top of a seat-tube is, there is no longer any
predictable relationship between "frame size" and the size of person a
bike will fit.

I offer the following method, which assumes that the manufactuer is no
fool and offers bikes in a range of sizes to fit the majority of adult
males. The middle sized frame should accordingly fit a man of median
stature, i.e. 176cm tall. As for other sizes: they'll vary by inseam
height and that's near enough half of stature - remember this is NOT
an exact science! So for every 2cm your height differs from Mr Average
176cm, you want a bike that's 1cm different from the middle-of-the-
size-range.

Simply choosing bikes by stature goes against the classic inseam
measurement monopoly. That's a GOOD thing, since it also allows trunk
length to influence the choice. Top-tube length matters just as much
as frame height - arguably more. The time to bother about leg length
is when your ideal size falls between two of the available sizes.
Then, like Rob Morley says above, leggy people should go for the
smaller one and those with short legs, who will hence have a
proportionally longer back, should choose the bigger i.e. longer
frame.

Average leg length is actualy a bit less than half, i.e. 47.5% of
stature. And a better, more consistent way to measure it (than the
classic book-between-the-legs-and-shove-till-it-hurts method) is to
take the difference between sitting height and stature. Just get
someone to measure your height as normal, standing in socks, and also
sitting on the floor. The differnce is legs, obviously. Most people
are between 45% and 50% leg, by this method. But I have measured one
person who was 53.5% leg - a man by the way.

All of this works only for blokes and tall women. Even when
manufacturers offer a women specific range, they never offer bikes
small enough for the truly petite, so the middling size cannot be
assumed to fit Mrs Average (who is only 162cm tall, by the way). For
women-specific ranges you've got to refer to the manufacturer's sizing
recommendations. Failing that: cross-refer to a similar specification
"mens" model.

It's a complete myth that women, on average, have longer legs and
shorter bodies for their height. But women do tend to sit more upright
on a bike, due to differences in the shape of the pelvis. This is the
reason that women generally need their handlebars a bit higher and
closer relative to the saddle. Women-specific bikes accordingly have
shorter top-tubes and stems and taller head tubes than similar-sized
"mens" bikes.

blackhead said:

Which system would you recommend for determining frame size?

Trying out the different frames and seeing which you like best. Why
settle for mere theory, when you can have practice?

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/