First, I'm new at this... and I have to ask what probably is a stupid question. So, I've been looking at Raleigh road bikes and I'm interested in buying one. I went to a dealer today that was not helpful at all! They did size me and told me that I should be looking at for a 52cm frame, but Raleigh only makes 50cm or 53cm and up. So my questions are, first, should I go smaller or larger? And second, they have a nice used bike there that is 50cm that is in my price range. Would a 50cm frame work for me?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Try riding the bicycle.

What is more important is the top tube lenght and the ability to acheive a proper sadlle-bar distance and saddle-bar height difference. If your LBS is not able to provide you a good fitting go elsewhere. If the bike doesn't fit you it will never be a good deal.

Would agree that the top tube length may be the more critical measurement. And if both of these sizes are on 700 wheels I'll bet you'll find that there is not much difference in the top tube length. If crotch clearance is OK on both sizes then the biggest difference will be in the saddle to handlebar drop and stem length. I would avoid having to go to a short stem, less than 100mm, in order to get comfortable with the length of the larger frame size. If you take the smaller size the problem will likely be getting the handlebar high enough. At least these are the variables I would be concerned with, YMMV.

Al

First things first. What is your overall height, and what is your leg length?

Leg length is measured by standing back against a wall in bare feet with feet spaced 8" - 10" apart, and shoving the edge of a book up into your crotch, with the perpendicular edge of the book against the wall. Measure the distance from the floor to the top edge of the book to get your leg length.

Try the www.competitivecyclist fit calculator for a good guide to frame size, component size and postioning

https://www.competitivecyclist.com/za...LCULATOR_INTRO