16 inch bike the right size?

[farringdon]

Hey everyone,

 

I am looking at getting a new bike, and the one that I have found is the last one in the shop.

It is a 16inch, and I am 1.74m tall. I have been getting very contradictary advice. Guys at the shop say it is fine, and it feels fine, but then I had another measurement today, and I was told to go for a Medium( 17-18inch) Also did the whole online calculator job, and that works out to roughly 15-16 inch.

It is pretty damn tough to get a solid answer when you have little experience.

 

So now I'm a bit stuck.

 

Any advice would be great??

 

Cheers

[Tumbleweed]

Does the bike shop you're going to have a medium bike from the same brand one up in the range from what you're looking at? If so, throw a leg over that and compare how you feel. Ask the bike shop if they'd be willing to swop out stems if you're feeling a bit cramped on the small. I'm slightly taller than you, and measure up for a medium, but have both smalls and mediums in my wobble of bikes. Small adjustments have made all these comfortable. Some riders prefer being on a slightly smaller bike for control.

 

Good luck with the purchase.

[farringdon]

Hey Tumbleweed,

 

Thanks for the reply. I'll try and make sure that it all sits well, and with as much advise as I can get just hope I make a good choice.

They don't have a model from the same year, but maybe one up, so I will ask.

 

Cheers!

[gummibear]

I am 176 and ride a 54cm top tube on my road bike.

I ride a Mtb with a 55cm top tube with a 120mm stem and thats to long so i am looking for a frame with a 57 or 58cm top tube.

What i have found is that in some makes a small is fine and in some a medium is right and one make even a large will work.

 

You will need to get measured and see what you need or borrow a bike and try it out.

 

One thing though is that sizeing on 29"bikes seems to be more constant.

[Mojoman]

When I bought my GT, I was told by the bike shop I needed a small, I tried a small and a medium bike(last bike was a medium).

 

The medium just felt better for me although they were waffling on about my height and this and that measurement. Equally they had quite a few smalls on the floor and less stock of mediums, so who knows...!

[farringdon]

I'm getting the bike next week, so once the fitting etc is done, I will give my feedback from the various shops and what the different angles is that each of them is spinning.

Thanks for the feedback so far.

[bassasdaindia]

you always want to ride as small a frame as possible,but the bike has to fit you,in other words if you are on the fringe of small and medium,rather go for the smaller size