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Sizing - Help is needed

Old 04-04-06, 07:50 AM
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Sizing - Help is needed

Hi All,
I'm thinking about building a touring/commuting bicycle out of a MTB frame.
I usually ride 17'' MTB frame and a ~20.5'' road bike.
Will I be able to ride a 20'' MTB frame set up as a touring bike ? (Only on roads) using 26 X 1 tires ?
Thanks !
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Old 04-04-06, 09:09 AM
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Originally Posted by Guy Yinon
Hi All,
I'm thinking about building a touring/commuting bicycle out of a MTB frame.
I usually ride 17'' MTB frame and a ~20.5'' road bike.
Will I be able to ride a 20'' MTB frame set up as a touring bike ? (Only on roads) using 26 X 1 tires ?
Thanks !
Yes, if you can't get a purpose built frame. I commuted for years on a MTB then started training for my first double century with it. However for the touring/training I attached a set of drop bars under the standard flat bars to give me more body/hand positions. I got up to 150 miles on the set-up before the bike was stolen and I got a Bianchi Volpe. The Volpe could go anywhere I took the MTB and was far better for touring and commuting.
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Old 04-04-06, 10:14 AM
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I also ride a 17" mtb and 21" (54cm) road bike. When I built my "all-terrain" touring bike recently, on a Trek 970 mtb frame, I went with an 18", which seems fine for all purposes. Even at that, the riding position was way stretched out and I had to raise the bars about 3-4" and bring them back some. I think you will be fine with a 20" if it is for road use only but you will likely have to make similar adjustments.
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Old 04-04-06, 11:25 AM
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Yes, it's a practical idea and I've done it.
The only problem you may encounter with sizing up on a mountain frame to match your road bike size is your top tube length. I built an all purpose commuter/tourer using a mtb frame which was at least 2 inches taller than my normal mtb sizing. Although the frame gave me sufficient standover clearance and also was able to get my bar height almost even with the saddle, my top tube was way too long but was able to compensate by using a very short reach 5cm stem.

Last edited by roadfix; 04-04-06 at 11:32 AM.
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