They recommend 10%, but circumstances might make that difficult. I would recommend reading a book, "The Millionaire Next Door." Enlightening and motivating.

If you were buying button-fly Shrink-To-Fit Levi's, you probably did begin with 36 leg to end up with a working 34. I did the same thing. "One inch in the wait, two in the leg" was the shrinkage they claimed.

In your early 20s, and worried about changes in your 60s? Excellent. Here's a tip. Start saving for retirement NOW. And when you retire, you will be shorter, but you will have the $$ to buy a different bike/smaller frame. Most of my friends in their 60s or older, did not save for retirement, or saved very little. Life gets it the way, lots of reasons. But now the #1 regret I hear is not about losing height, its not saving for retirement. Saving early for retirement means you will be able to choose where you live, how you live, and what you ride (and a lot more). Plan for that rather than the 1 inch in height you will lose along the way.

#2 regret I hear is loss of mobility. Good tie in with riding. As you ride AND save, you will take care of the two biggies!

Gravity has struck back- I am now 32 mm shorter than when I was 18 and my max height.
a 1 cm shorter top tube and 1 cm less drop from saddle to bars, or a 1cm shorter stem.

works well - your mileage can vary
stretching helps
I do not use the drops as much.
i will blame that on my neck

I just got measured last week to check height loss and I have lost one inch/2.54cm from my previously 76.5 inch/194.31cm tall frame.

I got this new '64 Legnano Roma, 56cm, as a sixteen year old junior racer. I'm 70 now, and the bike still fits like it was made for me. I put a slightly taller Nitto stem on it a few years ago, but its still one of my favorite and most comfortable rides. Unless you have some extreme growth or skeletal disorder, you might need to tweak the seat post or stem as you age, but that should be about it. Happy riding, and happy aging!
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6df661649a.jpg
1964.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...570c02c08a.jpg
Same bike and rider at last year's Eroica ride.

Cue to the previous comment made about me riding the bike into 2060- you simply never know, and your post made me realize that more. I'm glad you're still enjoying the bike well into your years and I hope you can ride many more!

Yeah, I've lost about 1/2" somewhere. I still fit my bikes though. If I keep this up my wife may get a discount on my coffin in a couple of years time although she'll still have to squeeze in my favourite Cinelli for the after life.

Slightspeed I still love seeing both of those pictures of you.

no Cambio Corsa equipped bikes for me!
there is an item to sell short.
there was a long arm version - not too common

I agree, Tom. It's inspiring to see the lifetime span of cycling from one of our own here.

I'm sure I stopped aging back when I was 42.......ish....:rolleyes::D
Wasn't that about the age that Pete Penseyres won the RAAM??

It turns out my old Colnago is a size 60, which I bought just before my 16th birthday.

And, I was about 5'10", and never got any taller.

And, I still like the bicycle almost 40 years later.

It wasn't until I joined Bike Forums that I learned the bike was the wrong size. :crash:

I haven't measured myself. I doubt I've lost more than perhaps 1/2". One thing is that while a little bit of height may be lost in the knees, as I understand it, most of the height loss is in the back. So standover height shouldn't be significantly impacted.

If you are 20, I'd encourage you to read about osteopenia and cyclists. A more important issue than whether your bike will still fit when you hit your middle ages.

I am almost 62 ,down an inch from 5'8"

Some times I feel tall, others times I feel small(er).


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...417ef3c1b0.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...405079cd82.jpg

Sometimes you just know a bike is a keeper!

Thanks, guys. Still love the bike, and I still have some old jerseys that don't fit as well as the bike does.😡
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0da3bf2d97.jpg
Me on the right, 1964.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...535aff7002.jpg
At least the bike still fits. I was going to wear it on Eroica, then realized that I had to breathe, somehow.

K, you should be getting annual physicals at your age, if not you will at 65 from Medicare and you will get the height ( and maybe weight) news. I have always preferred large frames. I at 70s door find the stems and compact bars are barely keeping up. I now just bought a Nitto Technomic Long Quill, but have not gotten the nerve to put it on custom Reynolds 753 all DA built for me, but I an sure I will get there.

"I recall having a height of 6'1/2". Lost it. Can't remember where. Got given a new one. (From my doc?) It was half an inch shorter.. Lost that one too. The one I've got now is even shorter. D***ed inflation!"

"I can live with this height thing getting shorter. It's the constant losing of stuff I can't stand." (They do say aging isn't for sissies.)

Ben

Boomers are buying Technomics stems like crazy. We can ride the same bikes, just with taller and shorter stems.

Absolutely nothing to do with this OP's question.

Still solid advice, though 😊

Just wait til you have kids, you’ll be buying a slightly bigger bike all the time. As you shrink they will begin to fit, and by age 120 you might even be able to use the Strider.

My doctor says I'm shorter now than I used to be. (I am in denial but can't argue.) At 71 I have less trouble now riding the same bikes I rode almost half a century ago. You don't need to hear me explain about staying in shape.

I'd love to buy a nice old Colnago, but I'm a little short...






:innocent: