frame size to get

[terry_gardener]

wonder if anyone could help on which size bike to get.

i am 5'5" tall and a inside leg 28" with trainers on.

i have read somewhere that you subtract 3" for MTB and hybrid and 1" for road/racing bikes and then subtract 10" for the frame size that you need.

this would make me needing a 15" hybrid which is ok since the releigh urban 2 which i am thinking of getting comes in 3 sizes 15", 18" and 20"

is this about right?

 

[Brandane]

Evans cycles "help" page has useful info re this:

http://www.evanscycles.com/help/

HTH.

 

[Mr Farley]

Here's another one....

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/h/option/bikesizeguide

It worked ok for me. I'm 5'8" with 30 inch inside leg and bought a 54cm road bike.

Nothing beats trying a bike first hand, or getting someone experienced to let you know if you 'look right' on a bike.

HTH

 

[terry_gardener]

thank you for the links so it looks like my ideal size frame would be about 16" but these are very hard to get hold of in my area for hybrid bikes.

i went into halfords and tried a couple of bikes there.

18" town and trial bike and it was big there was very little clearance from the top bar, couldn't even sit on the saddle dont know if it was all the way down as couldn't see any halfords staff to ask. (carrera subway 2)

also tried rigid MTB apollo 17" and it was alot smaller as i could sit on it and have my feet flat on the floor, which seemed abit small.

is this normal between different types of bikes?

thank you again for all the help...

 

[MacB]

Terry, it can all get very confusing but starting with a good measurement of PBH(pubic bone height) is a must. To get it right I use the method where you stand, feet shoulder width apart, no shoes on and measure to the floor. They recommend using a large book between your legs, I used an old curtain pole. This should be pushed up against your pubic bone and a measurement taken from top of tube/book to floor. Do this front and back and take the average of the two. Armed with this you can then look at frames.

For MTB or compact road frames, ie where top tube slopes, there will be a wide variety of sizes that you can straddle no problem. For these types reach is more important, so distance from saddle to bars, this is also impacted by the drop between the two.

For a traditional straight top tube bike then I'd go for a size where you can stand over the top tube with feet flat on the floor either side. This would be a 50-52 cm frame.

Saddle height may surprise you, once I got mine correct I could barely scrape my toes on the ground. You can ride with the saddle lower but it gets uncomfortable over longer distances.

Test rides are a great thing and don't be fobbed of by bike shops that don't accomodate your needs.