What size bike do you ride?

[Jehosefat]

Depends on the bike:

 

L - Canyon Ultimate

XL - Scott Spark

XXL - Silverback Space

[Super Sywurm]

Have been riding large my whole life. Switched to XL last year, what a dream.  It's probably the size and the geometry combined that makes me feel that I ride on clouds.  

Or it may be the #steelisreal ht frame.

Edited April 26, 2022 by Super Sywurm
Not my whole life, my whole adult life.

[Frosty]

Is the right size an option?-

[Jewbacca]

6 hours ago, Clarkk said:

The general 24 inch bike height requirement is 5’4” or lower, although this does not apply to every person. Taller people could have difficulty cycling on them because their bodies and feet are typically longer and bigger than the bike.

Huh?

How doe wheel size enter this equation? 

I have a 20' bike with the right saddle height, reach, stack etc.... I am not 5'4 or 'lower' (shorter).

Bike size has nothing to do with wheel size...... well generally

[Scary Rider]

22 minutes ago, Jewbacca said:

Huh?

How doe wheel size enter this equation? 

I have a 20' bike with the right saddle height, reach, stack etc.... I am not 5'4 or 'lower' (shorter).

Bike size has nothing to do with wheel size...... well generally

Jewie, you say that bike size has nothing to to with wheel size... Honest question here, could you maybe elaborate a bit on that? I'm very! short and look like a hippo doing ballet on my roadbike with its bigger hoops. 

My medium 26er mtb looks way better with my short legs. And I feel more confident and in control on it.

[Jewbacca]

15 minutes ago, Scary Rider said:

Jewie, you say that bike size has nothing to to with wheel size... Honest question here, could you maybe elaborate a bit on that? I'm very! short and look like a hippo doing ballet on my roadbike with its bigger hoops. 

My medium 26er mtb looks way better with my short legs. And I feel more confident and in control on it.

Well I guess what I'm saying is that small bikes (for adults) come in a range of wheel sizes. Wheel size does not impact the 'fit' of the bike. It may influence rider comfort or confidence, but the industry has become pretty good at designing small bikes around the various wheel sizes that work. Mostly.

If you're not comfortable on a 700c road bike, they do make 650b or 650c road bikes and I have seen some 26er wheel sized custom bikes. I know Dave Mercer made a 26er 'road'/drop bar cruiser for a lady in Cape Town.

Have you ever considered getting a junior bike? All jokes aside.

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/za/en/vitus-energie-26-kids-cx-bike-2022/rp-prod202334

https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/item/road-bikes/545355/merida-mission-j-road-bike-xxs-44

These two bikes both have 26er wheels and plenty of room to upgrade. I know Canyon make a suuuuper sexy carbon ladies bike in 650b

I have a 20' BMX type kids bike which I've modded and got all the crucial measurements right on and I can get moving on it (3:40 Argus from the alphabet soup)

I also have one of these in the post.....

https://velo-orange.com/collections/neutrino-mini-velo/products/neutrino-minivelo?variant=12473184911409

Bikes are about confidence and puppy excitement (well they should be) so if you're uncomfortable on the bike, you probably aren't enjoying riding it. I'd try a smaller wheel size road bike. 

Maybe ask if you can throw a stub over something like that Merida Mission?

[Eldron]

Size really doesn't matter (or count!!).

The day Giant made sa sloping frame was the day size died.

Stack and Reach are all that count.

[DieselnDust]

38 minutes ago, Eldron said:

Size really doesn't matter (or count!!).

The day Giant made sa sloping frame was the day size died.

Stack and Reach are all that count.

Essentially that’s alll there ever was but we didn’t know it. All we cared about was whether the saddle pin could be raised to the appropriate height and the bars within comfortable “reach”.

what we really want isn’t even stack and reach but Rider Area Distance (RAD ) or the distance from the bb to the bars otherwise known as the root of the hypotenuse of the  square of reach plus square of stack.

[Eldron]

7 hours ago, DieselnDust said:

Essentially that’s alll there ever was but we didn’t know it. All we cared about was whether the saddle pin could be raised to the appropriate height and the bars within comfortable “reach”.

what we really want isn’t even stack and reach but Rider Area Distance (RAD ) or the distance from the bb to the bars otherwise known as the root of the hypotenuse of the  square of reach plus square of stack.

Good times!

Stack and Reach are all you need to pick a frame style and size. The fitting portion is waaaay more complicated than triangles.

At least in the "old days" you could find your size and it would be pretty consistent across different brands. Just as well we changed or I wouldn't have a job 😆😆

[Mamil]

191cm on an XL mtb. 61cm on a road bike  ... Legs way too long for my body. One expert measured them and told me i ought to be 198cm if I was in proportion. Buying shirts is a choice between too big on the neck and body length and right size on the arms or too short on the arms and ....

Bike fitters just look at me and give a low whistle and start reaching for shims and riser bars and orthotics .... And mutter something about "$&#@ micro adjusters" when I walk in and say can we just check my knee position quickly...