Bike for sale

[Resound]

I spotted this on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=7298&item=3681072026&rd=1

Now, it's in Sydney, and I dread to think what shipping to Melbourn
would be worth, but I thought other forum users might find i
interesting and it raised a couple of questions for noob me. Firstly
I'm not particularly tall. I'm ~5'6" (168cm) tall and pretty normall
proportioned. What size frame should I be looking at for a road bike?
suspect this one would be a bit large for me even if it was i
Melbourne. Secondly, Given that I'm a student with very little spar
cash and a desire to find a road bike suitable for commuting and genera
riding to improve fitness/cycling ability (I'm not training for races o
any kind, but I'd very much like to up my average speed) what would b
my best bet? Any thoughts suggestions etc gratefully received


-

 

[NickZX6R]

Resound wrote:
> I spotted this on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=7298&item=3681072026&rd=1
>
> Now, it's in Sydney, and I dread to think what shipping to Melbourne
> would be worth, but I thought other forum users might find it
> interesting and it raised a couple of questions for noob me. Firstly,
> I'm not particularly tall. I'm ~5'6" (168cm) tall and pretty normally
> proportioned. What size frame should I be looking at for a road bike? I
> suspect this one would be a bit large for me even if it was in
> Melbourne. Secondly, Given that I'm a student with very little spare
> cash and a desire to find a road bike suitable for commuting and general
> riding to improve fitness/cycling ability (I'm not training for races of
> any kind, but I'd very much like to up my average speed) what would be
> my best bet? Any thoughts suggestions etc gratefully received.
>
>
>
> --
>
>

First of all, different manufacturers measure frames differently so
it's difficult to compare one to the other. Some manufacturers, like
Giant, make small, medium, large frames so you'd need to find out what
the actual measurements are.

Read this for some good info:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/frame-sizing.html

You should also visit a bike shop with a good range of road bikes
and ask them. That way you can actually try a few out and see
what size suits.

The Colnago on eBay is way too big. It's got a 60cm top tube.

I'm about 5'11 and I'd fit on something with a top tube around 54cm.
With frames that have a sloping top tube you need to find out what the
effective top tube length is because a sloping top tube will be longer
than an equivalent horizontal top tube frame.

Anyway, the link to SHeldon Brown's site above should give you plenty
to start with.

Cheers.
-Nick