Originally Posted by
fas2c
Sixty-Fiver you are right about the 26" wheel/tire deal.
Without giving too much away the bike is a 1993 with the same stance as the early mtbs. After a little research the frame is actually a 18.5 but rounded up from what I could gather from other years. It has a flat top tube as well.
I have emailed the seller but no answer to date. I may decide to pass but I am having a hard time...It is very nice
Get the seller to measure the top tube and stand over height as it sits and work from there... a 19 inch square frame with traditional geometry is a 47.5 cm frame and you have to account for a higher bottom bracket which will increase the stand over height a little.
When you are comparing modern mountain bikes with sloping top tubes you need to calculate the virtual top tube... measure a level line from the top of the head tube back to the saddle and this is the virtual top tube measurement.
For mountain biking most like to ride the smallest frame possible to give the lowest weight, greatest rigidity, and allow for as much top tube clearance as possible to allow one to flick the bike around and lessen the chances of one's bits making contact with that top tube when you bite the dust.
These older MTBs are really ATBs... designed for all terrain use and not quite as easy to manage on really challenging trails although I have done this on 80's bikes finding that a modern MTB is a far better tool for tearing it up on the trail.