Is this bike too big for me?



David De La Rosa

New Member
Jun 26, 2019
4
0
1
43
456FF27A-9F05-401E-9B81-8C7ED915B149.jpeg
AE560BC7-FD0B-4A2C-91DA-868A8879F169.jpeg
I’m 5’5 with a 28-30” inseam and the bike is a Raleigh Tourist 2018 in small size 52 700c tires. The top bar is all up in my crotch. The bike is nice but maybe too big? I’m used to BMX. It rides nice enough but getting in it is awkward. I can tip toe from the seat with the post all the way down.
 
I can tip toe from the seat with the post all the way down.

Your ability to reach the ground from the saddle is a near enough pointless feature of the bike.
The primary purpose of a bike is to be ridden.
For a bike like that, the majority of riding will happen with butt-on-saddle.
For measuring purposes, your leg should be straight with butt on saddle, pelvis horizontal, and heel on pedal at lowermost position.
(riding is generally done with pedal under ball of foot)

It is very common to have to get off the saddle, or to lean the bike over to reach the ground while stopped.

According to this:https://www.raleighusa.com/tourist
you have the size Raleight think you should have.

It's a general recommendation and a somewhat practical feature that you "should" have some clearance between your crotch and the top tube when straddling the bike.
But it's far from required. People with shorter than average inseam measurements to their overall lengths have logged thousands of happy riding miles w/o being able to straddle their bikes flat-footed.

So yeah, the bike looks big for you. But it's not obviously, function-impeding too big. And you like it otherwise.
Your call.
Should you decide to return it, consider looking for a bike with a smaller wheel size to get a proportionally lower frame.
 
I really appreciate your advice. It’s a little awkward getting off and on. I feel like it would be up in my business at every stop.
 
Ì agree with the earlier poster. Perhaps if you pay attention to other people you'll see how they manage stops and you're confidence will go up.
 
I may agree with the previous posts, just want to add, that the most important point-is your comfort. If this bike suits you on 100 percent, wish you good riding!
 
The position of your pedal while sitting on it is not at the 6:00 position, it's more at the 5:00 position, if you leg is straight at the 6:00 position then your seat may be too high which is an easy fix by adjusting your seatpost height of course. Here is website to show you how to do it: https://www.bikeradar.com/advice/fitness-and-training/how-to-get-your-bike-saddle-height-right/ So if it feels odd getting off the bike that could be due to two reasons, the one reason is that seatpost is too high as discussed; the other is that you need to lean the bike over a bit to the side in the direction you are dismounting so it's easier to swing your opposite leg over the bike, you do the same thing when mounting the bike.

There is another method of mounting and dismounting and that's called cowboy style, but that takes some practice and quite a few crashes to get it right so practice on a junker bike and make sure your insurance is up to date, practicing on the grass will help reduce injury.

Here is a video of several ways to dismount, the first one shown is the lean the bike method, he doesn't lean it as much as some so you can adjust the amount of lean to your preference.
To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ns3mpxzBW0s
a few are more for comedy relief! The one called the Step Down in England is our Cowboy method it starts at 1:19; there is a variation of this one at 2:14 called the Through Step, this one is more for certain racing applications like triathlons and cross racing where speed is the name of the game.
 
Hey there! Thanks for the suggestion. I'm always up for trying new things and pushing my limits. Any specific bike you recommend?