Can someone help?

oldrider

I'm a beginning rider looking to purchase an entry-level road bike. how do I determine what size frame I should be looking for? Is there a formula to apply depending on height, or is it more of a trial and error process to see what feels good?

gubaguba

Trial and error not hardly. First off find a local bike shop with a good reputation. There are a number of bike fitting solutions and kits that some shops may have. The sound and sage advice from a oldtimer will go a long way. Try any bike before you buy it. Remember you will be spending many hours on it. Proper fit is essential to your enjoyment. Take your time with your decision the bike will still be there tomorow. Enjoy the experience what could be better than buying a new bike.

jtfleming

http://sheldonbrown.com/kops.html

micman75

There are some formulae which they use to fit you. Try looking here for some examples.
http://www.giant-bicycle.com/au/050.000.000/050.750.100.asp?sPageID=050.750.100
Ultimately gubaguba is right, take your time, test ride the bikes, be comfortable on it. take it back for minor adjustments until you are happy.

Insight Driver

Originally posted by oldrider
I'm a beginning rider looking to purchase an entry-level road bike. how do I determine what size frame I should be looking for? Is there a formula to apply depending on height, or is it more of a trial and error process to see what feels good?

Everyone is giving you the right advice. For me, having a short torso, no factory bike fits me properly. I need a short stem. If you don't go into a reputable bike shop, they will try to sell you a bike off the floor. A good bike shop will measure more than standover height to fit you.

I have ridden bikes on and off most of my life. At 50, the first time in my life, I got a bike profesionally fitted to me. I am now a firm believer. I can ride longer, with greater comfort on my bike properly fitted. I found out that my trial and error settings never were effective. Once dialed in by the LBS my bike fits me properly now I feel the difference. Going from the tops to the drops is simply pivoting down, there is no stretching required.

I live on a tighter budget than most, so for me, the minimum level of bike I was willing to accept was over $600. I also wanted the best bang for the buck. At the time I was looking and in the area of the US I live, I chose the Giant OCR2. That said, there are plenty of brands of bikes out there that are just as good. Mileage varies so where you are another brand may be the better bang for the buck.

This site has good basic information on it. http://www.bikesrnottoys.com/menuHowToBuy.htm

Good luck in finding a good bike to start out with.

mfallon

Originally posted by oldrider
I'm a beginning rider looking to purchase an entry-level road bike. how do I determine what size frame I should be looking for? Is there a formula to apply depending on height, or is it more of a trial and error process to see what feels good?

I have to agree with the others guys about going to the LBS first. I'm a software guy so I'm good with numbers and calculations. I measured myself several different ways and used several different calculations for frame fit and pretty much came up with the same thing each time. How could I go wrong right? Well I found out that each company measures bikes slightly differently. In otherwords a 58cm bike from onw manufacturer is not equal to a 58cm bike from another manufacturer. No problem though. I went and got the specs for the frames I was interested in and figured out exactly which ones matched up to my measurements. I found a frame on ebay fior a good price with under 200 miles on it that matched my calculations. The guy was selling it because it didn't fit right (that should tell you something) and he took the components off and put them on another proper fitting frame and sold the frame. Well I realized after I bought it that I had misinterpereted one of the measurements in the specs which threw off the calculations. By pure luck it ended up fitting me fine and I saved a good amount of money but I nearly screwed up and could have ended up with a frame that didn't fit even though I thought I had all the numbers right. Getting fit at your LBS will prevent such a potential disaster.