Bike size - ordering online

[Indiekid007]

I want to order a bike online but am unsure if size . I know all makes differ but jut wanted to get a rough idea

I am 5'6" and inside leg 29 and looking for a mountain bike

Thanks

 

[Nearly there]

http://www.ebicycles.com/bicycle-tools/frame-sizer

Try here

 

[AndyRM]

This is also a good one if you know your measurements: http://www.evanscycles.com/help/bike-sizing

 

[Dave7]

Is there no way you can see that same bike in a LBS?
Those bike size guides are excellent but if you get it wrong by just 1 size (either way) it would be an expensive mistake.
You may feel that you are "using" the LBS but if you then give him the online price to match it would be fair.

 

[stephen.rooke]

im guessing a medium frame 53/54 cm best to try some bikes first though

 

[sabian92]

It's so worth getting down to a shop and sitting on it - if you order the wrong size then you're stuffed.

If you get the wrong size you are potentially into a world of pain and you won't even want to ride it.

 

[fossyant]

im guessing a medium frame 53/54 cm best to try some bikes first though

He is after a MTB. Somewhere around 17 inch. Go try some though first.

 

[Peteaud]

need to ride them really imho

 

[Chris S]

Try them out for size in Halfords. The staff will just ignore you - you won't feel guilty about buying one online afterwards.

 

[Cubist]

Your size is around the 16" sort of area. On some frames you could even get away with a 14 or 15.

MTB sizing is very different to road or even utility bike sizing. On playful/aggressive bikes you can go to the lower end of the scale. MTB riders ride with loads of seatpost showing (about 8 inches on my 18 inch XC bike, and my inside leg is about 33 inches). You can change things like cockpit length with different rise, backsweep and tilt of your bars, you can change stems both in length and rise, and you can alter your saddle position, swapping between a lay-back post and a straight one.

Ignore stuff like Halfords or online size checkers, they all try to put you on a MTB that's at least a size too big for you.

Have a read of this http://www.on-one.co.uk/help/what-size-bike and a bit of a giggle. Remeber On One frames have longish top tubes, so the advice is for their aggressive Inbred frames

As a general rule slightly too small can be mended better than way too big.

 

[lpretro1]

Remember if you buy online and something is wrong with bike or goes wrong then you will have to send it back to them for fixing. Buy it from your LBS and this is not a problem. All new bikes will need adjustments after they have been ridden for 200 mile or so - buy it from your LBS and they should do this for free after a few weeks - buy it online then it is up to you to sort. What seems like a cheap price at time of buying can work out not so cheap when you have to pay somebody local to fix it. Treat yuor LBS with a bit of respect...

 

[slowmotion]

Remember if you buy online and something is wrong with bike or goes wrong then you will have to send it back to them for fixing. Buy it from your LBS and this is not a problem. All new bikes will need adjustments after they have been ridden for 200 mile or so - buy it from your LBS and they should do this for free after a few weeks - buy it online then it is up to you to sort. What seems like a cheap price at time of buying can work out not so cheap when you have to pay somebody local to fix it. Treat yuor LBS with a bit of respect...

Absolutely.
You really have got to take it for a test ride before you buy it, but using a LBS as the test ride and then sneaking off elsewhere is a bit low. Places like Evans and Cycle Surgery do a PriceMatch deal. Take the test ride at one of their shops and then show them the best deal you can find online for them to match. Yes, I know that the big chains are not strictly LBS territory and that LBS is getting horribly squished by the buying power of the big chains. See what they can offer you too.

Good luck.