Based in Rancho Cucamonga, California, Eric Ashley Buries serves as school psychologist and special education director for Encore Educational Corporation in Hesperia. In this capacity, he supervises special education services and programs, and evaluates special education staff. Outside of work, Eric Buries enjoys riding road bikes.
No matter how much you change the saddle height or handlebar height on your bike, you cannot fix a bicycle that is too small or too large for you. This is why getting the right bike size is so essential.
In stores, finding the right bike fit is relatively simple. When you find a bike you like, place it on the ground and stand over the top tube. Assuming the top tube is parallel to the ground, there should be roughly one inch of clearance between the tube and the top of your inseam. This increases to two inches for a bike frame with a sloped top tube, and for mountain bikes.
Many people buy bikes online, where the fitting process is a bit more complicated. While you can use your inseam length and add one to two inches for a road or hybrid bike, different brands measure the heights of their bikes in different ways. For more accuracy online, choose a bike frame according to your height. Frames range from an XX-small, 47 to 48 centimeters, ideal for those between 4 feet, 10 inches, and 5 feet, 2 inches, to an XX-large, 61 to 63 centimeters, best suited for those from 6 feet, 3 inches, to 6 feet, 6 inches.
