bike question

[Gibson486]

I went to buy a bike from some person on craigslist today. It was a really nice Trek for $200. Problem is, I think it is too big for me. When I got on the bike, my feet could not even touch the ground. The person told me that my feet should not touch the ground unless I tilt the bike. Is this right? I always thought that everything but your heel should touch the ground when on the seat.

 

[BatmanNate]

As long as there is an inch or two between the top tube and your cash and prizes when you're standing flat on the ground, I'd say you're ok.

 

[TheChort]

Originally posted by: BatmanNate
As long as there is an inch or two between the top tube and your cash and prizes when you're standing flat on the ground, I'd say you're ok.

 

[Gibson486]

bump

 

[gsellis]

Originally posted by: Gibson486
I went to buy a bike from some person on craigslist today. It was a really nice Trek for $200. Problem is, I think it is too big for me. When I got on the bike, my feet could not even touch the ground. The person told me that my feet should not touch the ground unless I tilt the bike. Is this right? I always thought that everything but your heel should touch the ground when on the seat.

He lied or is an idiot. Your feet should touch the ground and have some clearance between the top tube and your crotch (as noted by others.)

 

[JDub02]

You don't check the size by sitting on the seat. You test for size by standing between the seat and the handlebars and making sure the crossbar doesn't hit your junk.

The seat height is just to get the proper distance from the pedals, not the ground.

 

[herbiehancock]

Originally posted by: gsellis

Originally posted by: Gibson486
I went to buy a bike from some person on craigslist today. It was a really nice Trek for $200. Problem is, I think it is too big for me. When I got on the bike, my feet could not even touch the ground. The person told me that my feet should not touch the ground unless I tilt the bike. Is this right? I always thought that everything but your heel should touch the ground when on the seat.

He lied or is an idiot. Your feet should touch the ground and have some clearance between the top tube and your crotch (as noted by others.)

He's talking about sitting on the seat, not standing over the top tube. Of course you should be able to stand flat footed with a minimum of an inch of clearance between you and the top tube while STANDING over the top tube.

But, he's referring to SITTING on the seat and not being able to touch the ground almost flat footed......and that's actually not very far off.

Consider......on a properly sized bike with the seat post height properly adjusted, at the bottom of your crank stroke, you'll be at almost complete leg extension with just a bit of bend at the knee.

Now, if the leg is almost completely extended at a full down stroke on the pedal, how can you expect to be flat footed, while still on the seat, if you put your foot down on the ground? You cannot......the pedal is a few inches above the ground so you're going to either have to do one of two things....tilt the bike a bit when stopped so you can put your foot down flat or get off the seat and stand over the top tube.

No mystery......just not reading his question. He's not speaking of standing over the top tube but instead sitting on the saddle.

 

[Dirigible]

Originally posted by: herbiehancock

Originally posted by: gsellis

Originally posted by: Gibson486
I went to buy a bike from some person on craigslist today. It was a really nice Trek for $200. Problem is, I think it is too big for me. When I got on the bike, my feet could not even touch the ground. The person told me that my feet should not touch the ground unless I tilt the bike. Is this right? I always thought that everything but your heel should touch the ground when on the seat.

He lied or is an idiot. Your feet should touch the ground and have some clearance between the top tube and your crotch (as noted by others.)

He's talking about sitting on the seat, not standing over the top tube. Of course you should be able to stand flat footed with a minimum of an inch of clearance between you and the top tube while STANDING over the top tube.

But, he's referring to SITTING on the seat and not being able to touch the ground almost flat footed......and that's actually not very far off.

Consider......on a properly sized bike with the seat post height properly adjusted, at the bottom of your crank stroke, you'll be at almost complete leg extension with just a bit of bend at the knee.

Now, if the leg is almost completely extended at a full down stroke on the pedal, how can you expect to be flat footed, while still on the seat, if you put your foot down on the ground? You cannot......the pedal is a few inches above the ground so you're going to either have to do one of two things....tilt the bike a bit when stopped so you can put your foot down flat or get off the seat and stand over the top tube.

No mystery......just not reading his question. He's not speaking of standing over the top tube but instead sitting on the saddle.

There ya go.

Size-wise (extremely basic version), stand between seat and handlebars and check you have a little junk clearance. Get on the seat, and see if you can adjust its height so your leg is at almost full extension when pedal is all the way down (you should not be able to touch the ground with your feet at this point). After doing that, reach out and grab the handlebars to make sure they're not too close to you or two far away. If it all feels comfy it's probably reasonably close to the right size.

 

[mercanucaribe]

There are websites that tell you your bike sized based on inseam measurements.

 

[Dirigible]

Originally posted by: mercanucaribe
There are websites that tell you your bike sized based on inseam measurements.

If you're really getting the right fit, you need more than an inseam measurement. For example, I am not proportioned like the average male. I have long legs, and if I based bike size solely on my inseam, I would have a bike that's too large. I would be far too stretched out to reach the handlebars, and with the super short stem I'd have to use the bike's steering would be ultra-twitchy.