Survey: What's Your Height & Frame Size?
#103
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My selfish reason:
I regularly need to select a bike for someone who's coming on a tour, and all I know about him is his height. I usually get it right, but it sure will be nice to have some statistics to back up the guesswork.
I regularly need to select a bike for someone who's coming on a tour, and all I know about him is his height. I usually get it right, but it sure will be nice to have some statistics to back up the guesswork.
#105
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I've recommended sizes to about a dozen friends, often opposing what bike shop folks will say. So far, I've never gotten it wrong for classic geometry bikes. My wife, for example is the same height as me, 5' 10" and has a 34" inseam. I have a 32-33" inseam. Not only does this mean she needs the seat a bit higher, it also means she needs the reach a bit shorter. An inch of seat post is easy to adjust for, but an inch of reach can be damned uncomfortable. The result is my wife needs a 54 cm frame with a higher seat (she also likes higher handlebars to account for this) even though we are the same height.
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6' 0"
54cm (09 CAAD9-5)
I have a long (32") inseam and short torso and arms. At the LBS at which I ordered the bike two guys did fits separately. The computer told them both 56cm. Once they set the 56cm bike up it was obviously too long. We setup a 54cm and much, much better. Guess computers don't know it all. I would have had to resort to a 80-90mm stem on a 56cm...blech.
54cm (09 CAAD9-5)
I have a long (32") inseam and short torso and arms. At the LBS at which I ordered the bike two guys did fits separately. The computer told them both 56cm. Once they set the 56cm bike up it was obviously too long. We setup a 54cm and much, much better. Guess computers don't know it all. I would have had to resort to a 80-90mm stem on a 56cm...blech.
#112
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1. 6' 4" (37.5" true inseam [crotch-to-floor])
2. 61cm
2. 61cm
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5 foot 7
55 cm
55 cm
#118
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5' 10" (177cm): Size 57cm Look KX Light, very slightly sloping top tube with 120mm stem.
Size 59cm IRO but that has whacky measurements...57 top tube though. 110 stem.
Size 59cm IRO but that has whacky measurements...57 top tube though. 110 stem.
#119
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6'2"
60cm
60cm
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Sloping TTs might allow the use of a larger frame, but read my comments regarding frame size. If you don't specify c-c, c-t or oddball Trek sizing, your info is incomplete. A 56cm Trek is more like a 52cm in some other brands, at least vertically. With the new 30mm taller head tubes on some models, there's a big difference between the pro and non-pro models.
A frame's true size is defined by the head tube length, with the headset and it's reach. A stack height is an even better indicator of vertial frame size, but that measure is not used by many brands. Cervelo was the first brand I know of to use stack and reach. Trek has followed their lead.
People are often guided to a specific frame size by well meaning but poorly educated local shop employees. When I first started riding seriously in 1985, several stores wanted to sell me a 23 inch or 58cm frame, back in the days when many frames came in huge 2-inch increments. I'm only 5'-6.5" tall, but I could straddle that size with my 83cm inseam. Of course it was too large, but I rode the thing for a year or so before figuring out that I really need a 21 inch or 53-55cm size.
A frame's true size is defined by the head tube length, with the headset and it's reach. A stack height is an even better indicator of vertial frame size, but that measure is not used by many brands. Cervelo was the first brand I know of to use stack and reach. Trek has followed their lead.
People are often guided to a specific frame size by well meaning but poorly educated local shop employees. When I first started riding seriously in 1985, several stores wanted to sell me a 23 inch or 58cm frame, back in the days when many frames came in huge 2-inch increments. I'm only 5'-6.5" tall, but I could straddle that size with my 83cm inseam. Of course it was too large, but I rode the thing for a year or so before figuring out that I really need a 21 inch or 53-55cm size.
Why ya wanna go and complicate things?
Now back to the OP's topic: "Survey: What's Your Height & Frame Size?"
Last edited by ezee; 04-18-09 at 05:35 AM.