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 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.

 

[Nickzx6r]

Resound wrote:
> I spotted this on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISA-
> PI.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