Old 06-01-07, 01:39 AM
  #16  
seeker333
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Originally Posted by Highcyclist
Good link. I was going to attempt explanation earlier but too tired. From link:

Long ago, bicycles were all shaped pretty much the same. That’s not true anymore. Also, frames are measured differently. Some companies measure from the center of the bottom bracket to the center of the top tube/seat tube junction. (also known as C-C) That’s a pretty good way of doing things, but doesn’t really take into account differences in tubing diameter which would make a steel 54cm bike “shorter” than an aluminum 54cm since aluminum tubes tend to larger in diameter.

Other frame manufacturers measure from the center of the bottom bracket to the top of the seat tube – like the point where you actually insert the seat post. (Call it C-T) This baffles us because if two frames had the exact same geometries and tube lengths, but one had more material sticking up above the top tube, the frame would be “larger” even though it would ride the same as its “smaller” compadre. Weird.

We measure our frames from the center of the bottom bracket to the top of the seat tube/top tube junction. (Uh oh, call this oneC-T too)
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Re. Fuji vs Surly, I think the OP has it backwards - a 56cm Fuji should be approximately same size seat-tube-wise as a 54cm Surly. Fuji measures c-t-top of seat tube (second paragraph of link); Surly measures c-t-top of top tube (third paragraph). Salesman was correct that frames are about same size. Also, Surly sold out of LHT in sizes <56cm for next few months, thus the need to steer customer towards Fuji.

I understand your sister's suspicion; men tend to misrepresent sizes to women.

You can work around less than optimum frame size with seatposts and stems, but you're better off getting the right size. If you can't get the desired size in new, tell your sis to consider something cheap or used for the first tour, then sell it later and replace with superior equipment after she's had opportunity to learn more about bike and her bicycling comfort requirements. Its really unlikely that you're going to buy/build a whole bike from scratch and be completely satisfied with the frame, stem, saddle, bars, crank length, shoes etc anyway.

Getting to the optimum fitting bicycle is an empirical process which requires many cycles of ride/evaluate, adjust, then repeat.

Good luck on the bike hunt. Unfortunately, this is bad time to shop for bikes (good ones sold, buyer in weak position to negotiate favorable pricing). Worse time to shop for LHTs - they run out in May, don't restock till August/September.
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