Bicycle Frame Size - A Trick To Find Your Bike Frame Size

If you are looking to buy a new road or mountain bike then you should pay alot of respect to the size of the bicycle. You probably want to know how to roughly size a bicycle.

Here is a good trick...A professional rule of thumb is to measure the inseam (inside of your legs, from the ground up to your goodies)of your leg and multiply by .65... This will give you the frame size number. Which is the number that we all use if we say it is a "such-n-such" inch frame.

Example: I measured the inseam of my leg, it is 29-30 inches long. We will say 29. Multiply this by .65....

29 x .65= 18.85 in.

So I should be looking for an 18 to 19 inch bike frame.

When I went to the bike shop and they sized me up, what do you think they told me to ride...an 18 inch bike!

When someone buys a bike that is too small for them, they have more trouble actually pedaling the bicycle.

A small bike will have:

Inadequate leg extension room: Over-use their quadraceps will tire a cyclist out in half the time before a properly sized bike would. You need to almost fully extend your leg and incorporate the use of your calf muscles also.

Too close of handle bars: The handle bars will be too close to the rider's body and you can not properly stretch out. All of your weight will be pushing down on the handlebars and your hand's will go numb. This is a restriction of the ulnar nerve that stretches into your hands.

Discomfort while riding: Sore back, hand and arm muscles.

A bike that is too large will be equally undesirable, but for different reasons:

Short legs, big bicycle: With a bike size that is too large, our legs may not reach the fullest extension of the pedals.

The feet may actually still reach but KNOW THIS... Your legs will feel fine while you are trying out the bike, but after a couple hours of riding, that seat is going to be digging into your butt and legs.

Handlebars are too far: Your body will be reaching for the bars and extending your back muscles for prolonged amounts of time...imagine leaning over a table that is too low and trying to get some work done on it. Ohh the pain!!

Instability: You are much more likely to lose your balance while on a big bike. You may fall and be unable to catch yourself. Also, while riding a big bike you are far more likely to hurt yourself on the top-tube going between your seat and handlebars.Does anyone like the movie called "The Nutcracker?"

I have a quick funny story that always gets a good laugh at my expense...oh well here goes.

A lot of people want to save money and time whenever and whichever way possible. One can infer this just by looking at the activity of craigslist. There are many bicycles for sale on craigslist. They are usually slightly used and cheaper than a brand new bike.

A couple of years ago, when I was still early in mountain biking, I wanted a new mountain bike....but not some wal-mart special that you have to adjust everytime you bunny-hop.

I figured it was time to go into the realm of professional mountain bikes, why not right?

I found a really nice Specialized Hard Rock (24 in. frame size...remember I need a smaller, 18 in. frame.)for sale on craigslist, a great bike that usually sells for about $600+

This man was going to sell his barely-used Specialized bike to me for $400. I thought it was a great way to save some money so I decided I would meet him and check out the bike.

When I got there, I learned that the man is 7'2" and 400 lbs.! The man said that the bike was too small for him.The bike was huge but had alot of extras like headlights, cool-looking fenders, underseat pouch and extra comfy seat.

I tryed the bike out and surprisingly I could sit on it.So I bought it.

The seat was too high, and actually out of position(how far forward or backwards the seat sits on the post.) Also, I was completely stretched out but I didn't think it was a problem. I just needed a bicycle repair tool adjust the seat positioning and remove the tail lights and fenders on the seat post so that I could bring the seat down as low as possible.

I should have had that Bicycle repair tool with me, becuase when I got home and lowered the seat...it was NOT much better. I could have saved 400$ and NOT bought the bike if I had a repair tool with me to remove the lights and accessories and lower the seat. I did not yet understand my responsibility of always carrying a bicycle repair tool with me.

Now that you are armed with the knowledge of how to shop for a proper frame size(inseam in inches x .65) you are probably looking to buy your first nice bicycle, be responsible- make sure you buy a helmet and an emergency repair tool at the same time.