Originally Posted by
skilsaw
What the book says is your frame size is just a best guess.
You need to ride the bike to make sure it fits.
There are too many subtle frame geometry facets to boil the whole science of bike fit down to one number like Standover height.
Thanks- so I will avoid used bikes online for sure. A local Schwinn shop is getting a few used taller frame bikes for me to try out from their warehouse.
I owned a Peugeot racing bike once when I was in High School in Europe. My parents worked there in France. The French are generally speaking shorter than americans, and they didn't have anything my size in a shop, so they did a custom order, took all sorts of measurements, the bike fit me great..... I sold it though due to shipping costs when I came back to the U.S.