IW: Know what size Bike?

comicmankev

I'm 6' 8" and am confused by what size bike to get. Some say inches/cms/ and even size#. I went on to Evans bike shop, they go up to height 6'5 but when I convert their recommended size it works out at 22" and amazon say they have ladies bikes that are 26"?

I hope you can tell I have no idea about bikes, I know theres a lot on the market, but thought it'd be good to know what size I need before looking - lol

Labman_2

I'd pop into Halfords ( or any other bike shop really ) if you've got one near you & have a chat & a try out.

Little_John

The problem I found is that bikes were measured by wheel size but we know our inside leg measurement.

The best thing is to go and sit on a few bikes and measure the hight of the seat att its lowest point.

I was told to buy a bike that you can touch the floor with the balls of your feet, but I would go to an independant bike shop and ask to try a few bikes and see what size they recomend.

Leeds_Fan_2

26" will be the wheel size and 22" will be the frame size. Wheel size is pretty standard. Mountain bike frame sizes are not all exactly the same but suspect you'll need a fairly large one. If you are looking to hammer about on a mountain bike then go for the smallest frame size you can get the handle bars and saddle right on. When sat on the saddle you should be able to touch the floor at a stretch and the bars should feel comfy. Go to a proper bike shop (one that sells Specialized is always a good start).

Fatal_Swan

As for Leeds fan's advice - you'll need the largest size frame you can find, whatever that happens to be. The frame size is really the only generally adopted indication of bike size. How it's measured isn't really crucial and is a bit complicated to explain unless you're familiar with the names of the various tubes of a bike frame!

My guess is that you'll be very lucky to find much bigger than a 22-23" frame. All isn't lost because in this case you might well be able to make up the extra height by buying a longer seatpost (the tube that the saddle attaches to). These can be up to around 40cm long so should give you a bit more height off the ground. Also you might want to buy a longer handlebar stem, so that the reach to the handlebars is longer (otherwise you might be in quite a cramped riding position, quite upright with your knees coming close to the handlebars).

Both of these items you should be able to get for about £15, you can either ask to try fitting a different one when you buy it, or buy it later, but be sure to get the right diameter seatpost or it won't fit in the frame. You'll need to go to a shop to try sizes, but it does help to take a little bit of knowledge in with you. If you need further explanation I or someone else I'm sure will be happy to explain or clarify.

Fatal_Swan

Oh yeah, and if the frame size in inches isn't given (or cm on some European bikes - you have to do the conversion yourself!) and the manufacturer just gives sizes S,M,L,XL, these tend to correspond roughly to the following frame sizes:

S 15/16"
M 17/18"
L 19/20"
XL 21/22"

Though different manufacturers have slightly different ways of taking the frame measurement, so there's some variation in this.

comicmankev

Thanks for all the advice guys, havnt got a small retailer anywhere near me, so I popped into Halfords and the foreign guy on the bikes didnt seem to have a clue what he was talking about. Showed me an 18" and said that would be alright with the seat all the way up!

Then went next door to Toys'Rus, but that was laughable too! Will continue to try and find someone who can help with direct advice, but you have all already healped a lot!

Thanks

comicmankev

Anyone fancy telling me about disc brakes while we're on the subject? Never seen these before!

Brighty

As everyone has said, at 6'8 you'll be looking at most manufacturers largest frame.

Is it a mountain bike you're after? If so, what's your budget?

Disc brakes have the added benefit of more stopping power as well as better performence in the wet and mud (cos the braking surface is not near the outer edge). Discs are coming as standard on cheaper and cheaper bikes these days, but if your budget is low you'll be looking at mechanical discs(cable operated) as opposed to Hydraulic, mech discs should really be avoided as they need alot of fiddling to keep them working well and don't feels as positive as hydos. So if budget is low, try to get standard v brakes. Also avoid full (front and rear) suspension unless your gonna spend more that £700. Stick with front only or if budget is below around £200 or so then go fully rigid.

Brighty

yorky_porky

The size frame you need depends on what bike you're after. There are so many different types now it does get very confusing. bus assuming that you are not going to spend a lot on a bike (i.e. >£1000) then you are down to 4 differnt types:

Mountain
Hybrid
Tourer
Racer

The mountain bike will be the smallest frame you need. .These frames are a lot smaller than the others as you need to be able to move about on them to get your weight right. A 19 or 21 inch frame would be about right for you

Hybrids look a bit like mountian bikes bit the frames are a bit larger and they won;t come with any rear suspension, and shouldn;t really come with front suspension, they will have flat bars. You'll want some thing a bit bigger here a 23-25 inch frame

A touring bike is similar to a hybrid, but will generally have dop bars, again the frame wil be about 23-25 inches

A racing bike may well be a tad smaller than a touring bike as the frame will weight less, so you are looking at a 23in frame.

The reason for the disparity in sizes is that frame design has changed a lot in the last few years with compact and semi-compact frames being the norm (cross bar is not level with the ground). One reason is that does stiffen the frame slightly the other is that materials technology has imporved greatly adn we cna now have much longer seat posts (have a look a brompton folding bike if you want to see how long these can be).

The simple answer is get yourself to a bike shop and try a few out. BTW your experience in Halfors is not uncommon, don;t forget they are really an autospares shop.

As for disc brake, unless you are paying >£500 for a bike, and constantly riding through deep mud forget them, V-brakes are just as good. the same goes for suspension, unless you are riding off road all the time (and thsi does not mean canal tow paths), forget it, it''s heavy, needds servicing and goes wrong.

If you can get yourself measured up take a look at the Edinburgh Bicycle co-op (https://www.edinburghbicycle.com) for a new bike, they are very well regarded amonst the cycling fraternity, and are very good vfm.