Fixed gear - frame size?
 

I'm 6ft tall so I ride 58cm (23in) racing bike converted into single speed).

However in case of fixed gear bikes, especially for learning the tricks, many people recommend smaller frames

According to this youtube video:

Bike Sizing: Laying down the law on how to properly size yourself up on a fixed gear bike

(I can't post links)

my frame is too big because my 'basketballs' hang on the top tube :innocent:

Any comments ?

Fixed, SS, gears, it doesn't matter. If your bike fits, it fits.

Lost of useless comments from people with high post counts on this forum. Yawn.

:foo:

You cannot be serious. You get the size frame you normally ride, and you ride it. My cross bike, road bike, and fixed gear are all 58cm. What "tricks" do you want to learn?

But, dude, my basketballs !

Lots of attitude from peeps with low post counts. :lol:

Nah I dont wanna learn any tricks but I think the video refers to freestyle riding, the people from youtube channel come from BMX world. I was just surprised after watching the video - according to them I need 20inch frame not 23.

how should I measure seat tube? c-c or c-t ?

For what purpose? Seat tube measurement isn't really very useful in frame sizing, but C-C is probably the less useless of the two. Many companies do measure them C-T though.

So what is useful then? I thought it's all about seat and top tube.
The purpose is to get correct size before next purchase.

I think C-T is misguiding because it depends on how much of the tube is sticking out above the top of top tube.

Did you...

http://www.bikeforums.net/singlespee...ead-first.html

???

In most of bikes seat tube is 'sticking out' 1 inch above the top tube (assuming the top tube is parallel to the floor), in my bike however it is not (C-T is almost equal to C-C).
So if I want to compare my bike to other bikes, I have to add 1 inch when measuring C-T so actually the frame is 24" not 23".

And because (according to most charts and calculators) I need 22" frame (that's C-T) - that explains why I had the feeling the bike is too big for me.
The top tube is too long as well - I'm not comfortable when holding the 'bullhorns'.
The smaller the frame, the shorter the top tube.
I'm going to aim in 22" frame then. Let the basketballs hang low.

Top tube (or "effective top tube" or "virtual top tube" on frames with sloping top tubes) is the most useful tube measurement when sizing frames because it's measuring the length of the frame from front to back -- something you can't change. Seat tube measurement is basically incidental in most cases. Also, road and track bike frames are measured in centimeters. Mountain bikes are measured in inches.

yes in centimeters. but I always convert it to inches, somehow for me it's easier to 'imagine' the size.

You want your bike to fit while you're riding it, not while you're standing flat-footed on the ground.

yes but the one Im riding doesn't fit and the future one I might not be able to try before purchase

Which is why you need to determine the right top tube length.

Try this fit calculator.

If you're not going to be doing 360s and tailwhips you probably don't need to buy a small FGFS frame. It's not abnormal to have your parts resting on the toptube of your frame but the bike still fits, mine does. If I end up having to wait at a long light and stand over my bike I just tip my bike over to the side a bit, it's not a reason for me to buy a smaller frame that doesn't fit me just for that purpose.

If you are trying to do "tricks" on your bike, you should probably listen to the advice in those YouTube videos, but you should also be asking these questions in the Fixed Gear Freestyle forum.

But if you're riding your bike on the street, in more or less straight lines and with both wheels on the ground most of the time, the advice from others in this thread is correct: your frame should fit the same as any road bike frame (and there are LOTS of websites, YT vids, etc. on bike fitting).

I was riding recently smaller bike, ST 52cm, TT 54cm (my old bike ST 58, TT 57).
Although frame is too small for me, I was riding very comfortably, I think that's because TT is shorter.

However, I hit occasionally shoe against the front tyre so when measuring frame I would also pay attention to bottom-bracket centre - front-wheel centre. In smaller bike it is 2,5cm shorter (both bikes crank 170mm).

yeah... don't decide your framesize based on toe overlap. Unless you're making tight turns at low speed, it really shouldn't be a problem.

well it happened when making U turn at low speed, on busy road.
fixed gear, shoes in straps, it was very dangerous.
I almost fell down then I almost **** my pants.

Anyway it would be hard to find a bike with short TT and long BB-frontwheel distance.
All depends on fork ??

Probably not a good idea to make low-speed U-turns on busy roads. A more slack head-tube angle and more fork rake would put the front wheel farther away from your foot. IMO it's better just to ride the right size frame and practice handling the bike so that your foot doesn't hit your tire, or if it does, it doesn't throw you off.

Lots of factors come into play for toe clearance or overlap. Frame size, fork offset, crank length, head tube angle, and other dimensions all contribute.

I agree that choosing a frame size specifically to avoid toe overlap is kind of silly. Use a good online bike fit calculator or go to a shop that will take measurements and make recommendations for you. Then study general principles of frame geometry and look up the dimensions of the bikes you're interested in. Make an informed decision, and you're much more likely to be happy with your purchase, as opposed to choosing based on one or two isolated factors and some YouTube videos of freestyle stunt riders.