bike frame sizes....



P

Phillip

Guest
hi,

I recently bought an inexpensive bike (a schwinn 26" mens
sidewinder), only to find that the frame is really small for
my long legs (what size is the frame?). I went to a bike
shop and tested some other bikes to find that a 22-inch
frame is the size that I need, but all the bikes there are
all too expensive for what I would ever want or even need.

My question: considering that I don't know anything about
bikes, could people tell me which bike (or bikes) I could
get that's relatively inexpensive (<$200 US) with a 21- or
22-inch frame?

I appreciate it, Phillip
 
In article <[email protected]>,
Phillip <[email protected]> wrote:
>hi,
>
>I recently bought an inexpensive bike (a schwinn 26" mens
>sidewinder), only to find that the frame is really small
>for my long legs (what size is the frame?). I went to a
>bike shop and tested some other bikes to find that a 22-
>inch frame is the size that I need, but all the bikes
>there are all too expensive for what I would ever want or
>even need.
>
>My question: considering that I don't know anything about
>bikes, could people tell me which bike (or bikes) I could
>get that's relatively inexpensive (<$200 US) with a 21- or
>22-inch frame?

Sounds like you need to shop for a used bicycle.
 
> I recently bought an inexpensive bike (a schwinn 26" mens
> sidewinder), only to find that the frame is really small
> for my long legs (what size is the frame?). I went to a
> bike shop and tested some other bikes to find that a 22-
> inch frame is the size that I need, but all the bikes
> there are all too expensive for what I would ever want or
> even need.
>
> My question: considering that I don't know anything about
> bikes, could people tell me which bike (or bikes) I could
> get that's relatively inexpensive (<$200 US) with a 21- or
> 22-inch frame?

As another poster pointed out, your best bet would probably
be a used bike. You're not going to find different size
bikes at department stores; they don't really expect people
are going to use the bikes much, so what difference does it
make if they don't fit? And if you did happen to be just the
right size to fit one, you'll quite likely discover various
other things they've done to try and make a bike as cheaply
as possible.

The most expensive bike you can buy is the one that sits in
the garage, never ridden. A far better buy would be to spend
perhaps $50 more than your stated price range and get
something that's not only fit to you correctly (which is
more than just setting the seat height) but also assembled
properly and has a place to bring it back to if something's
not quite right.

A $250 mountain bike from a decent bike shop is an absolute
steal for the consumer; in general, the break-even point for
a high-quality shop is around $500 (meaning that, when they
account for the time spent to assemble the bike, fit it, do
the 30-day check & whatever warranty work might be needed, a
shop might actually lose money on every bike they sell below
$500). That's not to say that all shops put so much effort
into such a bike, but the better ones do. And it will pay
off with many years fun riding.

(If you're wondering why a shop would sell product below the
break-even point, no, we're not altruistic. But if we don't
sell product starting at a moderate price point, we lose the
lower end not just to department store bikes, but all manner
of other things people might spend their money on, including
video games. Get them hooked on a great starter bike, get
them coming back into the bike shop, and they start buying
things you do make money on, including more expensive bikes.
We also don't want a situation where the family buys its
adult bikes from us and the kids bikes from a department
store. That's a bad precedent; we selfishly don't want to
leave room for department stores to muscle in to our bread-and-
butter sales, and if the parents rationalize that it's OK to
buy their kids bikes at WalMart, how much longer before they
regard bikes as toys in general and start buying their own
there as well?).

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com
 
In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...
> hi,
>
> I recently bought an inexpensive bike (a schwinn 26" mens
> sidewinder), only to find that the frame is really small
> for my long legs (what size is the frame?). I went to a
> bike shop and tested some other bikes to find that a 22-
> inch frame is the size that I need, but all the bikes
> there are all too expensive for what I would ever want or
> even need.
>
> My question: considering that I don't know anything about
> bikes, could people tell me which bike (or bikes) I could
> get that's relatively inexpensive (<$200 US) with a 21- or
> 22-inch frame?

You're not going to find many (maybe a few on clearance) at
$200, but if you can go to $300, you'll have a pretty decent
selection of entry-level mountain bikes at a shop which
carries Trek. Look at the 3500 and 3700 series. There are a
couple of other models as well, which I can't come up with
off the top of my head.

--
Remove the ns_ from if replying by e-mail (but keep posts in
the newsgroups if possible).
 

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