# buying a bicycle **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 14, 2003, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-a-bicycle/181850 "2003-06-14T16:04:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![raisinbread](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8491ac/32.png) [@raisinbread](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raisinbread)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-a-bicycle/181850/1 "2003-06-14T16:04:44Z")
A few years ago I was going to buy a bicycle but the prices were much too high for me at the time. The owner of the store kept telling me about how a bicycle should fit me and there are a bunch of measurements to take into account when looking for the best bike. Was this just part of a sales pitch or was it legit? If it’s legit, what measurements are most important? ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-a-bicycle/181850/2 "2003-06-14T16:36:33Z")
No, it wasn’t hype but it partially depends on the type of bike. The most important dimension is seat height. Most beginners put the seat too low. This makes it hard to pedal efficiently and puts excess stress on your knees. The correct height may feel too high to you at first. IMO it’s not best to use a formula but to test your range of motion by riding and testing on a stand. At the bottom of the pedal stroke your knee should be nearly extened but not straight and ankle moderately extended. The pedal axle should be under the ball of your foot, not in the middle of it. One simple method to set seat height requires you to have the bike held upright while you place your heels on the pedals and pedal backwards as fast as you can. Raise the seat as high as you can before you start bouncing. That will get you pretty close and you can fine tune from there. The best method is to have a coach or experienced cyclist watch you ride. There are a lot of other critical dimensions but those are secondary to seat height. Things like seat fore-aft placement, stem length etc. The size of a bike frame is meadured from the center of the cranks, along the seat tube to the top of middle of the top tube. This is critical in a traditional ten speed style road bike but becomes less important in mountain bikes which will have sloping top tubes. In a mountain bike you want as much clearance as possible between crotch and top tube when standing. Generally you get the smallest frame you can that allows the seat to be extended high enough. ---
**Author:** ![trabi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecae2f/32.png) [@trabi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trabi)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-a-bicycle/181850/3 "2003-06-14T20:21:07Z")
The method I always use for setting the saddle height is to adjust it so that when stationary, your feet can only tough the ground on tiptoe. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-a-bicycle/181850/4 "2003-06-14T20:26:40Z")
You definitely want to get a bike that fits you. If you go to any good bike shop, they’ll be able to set you up. Road bike fitting is more critical tham mtn bike (the former are more easiliy adjustable). Be careful when you compare bike measurements from brand to brand. Padeye described the most common way to measure the frame, but some brands use different conventions-- esp in mtn bike frames. Bottom line, if you don’t know much about bikes, go to a good bike shop or get someone who knows something to go along with you. Then have fun! ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-a-bicycle/181850/5 "2003-06-14T20:27:42Z")
Oops. SHould’ve been (the **latter** are more easily adjustable). ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-a-bicycle/181850/6 "2003-06-14T23:01:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by trabi \* > \*\*The method I always use for setting the saddle height is to adjust it so that when stationary, your feet can only tough the ground on tiptoe. \*\* Your seat is probably too low, particularly if you have a mountain bike which typically has a higher bottom bracket than a road bike. Seat height needs to be set to the bottom of the pedal stroke and has little relation to the ground. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-a-bicycle/181850/7 "2003-06-14T23:48:19Z")
There’s a service called a “Fit Kit”. They’ll do all sorts of measurments on you and adjust your bike to fit you. If you’re having a frame made for you, I’d highly recommend this. By the way, having a custom made frame isn’t as expensive as you’d suspect, as long as you’re not expecting a carbon fibre or some other exotic material. ---
**Author:** ![raisinbread](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8491ac/32.png) [@raisinbread](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raisinbread)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2003, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-a-bicycle/181850/8 "2003-06-15T01:17:23Z")
Kind sir, what exactly would be the price range on a custom made frame? Mind you I am woefully out of date when it comes to pricing bicycles and I’m thinking I’ll be dropping 200-250 for one. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Harrison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5ac83/32.png) [@John\_Harrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Harrison)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2003, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-a-bicycle/181850/9 "2003-06-15T02:41:34Z")
You can get a custom steel frame for around $1,000 give or take a hundred. ---
**Author:** ![I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_can_t_believe_that_s_butter)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2003, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-a-bicycle/181850/10 "2003-06-15T03:44:25Z")
> [@](#): > > I’m thinking I’ll be dropping 200-250 for one. If by “one” you mean a bicycle, I’m afarid that you won’t go very far at the kind of bike shops _I_ know of. Of course, I’m drawing conclusions here; what kind of a bicycle do you mean? If you mean a 20" (wheel diameter) model, I do believe that good passable models sell at this price at a bike shop; I know for sure that they are mail-orderable. If you mean a mountain or road bike, the lowest price model is around $600 from what I seen. What do you plan on doing with this bicycle? If you’re just going to commute with it (in which case, a mountain bike?), Wal-Mart has some passable models for sale for $200-250. If you’re using this on the road primarily, be wary of those hopped-up suspension systems; you’ll waste valuable energy going up and down instead of forward. Look for a model without steel rims (the shiny ones, they’re heavy and bend well) and without caliper brakes; these are horrible for doing their assigned job. I’ll let you say what kind of bicycle you’re planning on getting before I go further. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2003, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-a-bicycle/181850/11 "2003-06-15T06:00:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by John Harrison \* > \*\*You can get a custom steel frame for around $1,000 give or take a hundred. \*\* Where? I’m looking right now, and the off the shelves are in the 1200 range… custom, much more. ---
**Author:** ![raisinbread](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8491ac/32.png) [@raisinbread](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raisinbread)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2003, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-a-bicycle/181850/12 "2003-06-15T16:56:02Z")
I’m looking for something to ride back and forth to my friends’s new house after they move out of this apartment building. They’re too far to walk but too close to drive and maybe use to ride downtown (which is only a mile and a half away) on the weekends to do my happy morning things. I’m not looking for some extreme Mountain Dew commercial kinds of stuff nor am I looking for anything for racing. ---
**Author:** ![Coilean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f6c823/32.png) [@Coilean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coilean)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2003, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-a-bicycle/181850/13 "2003-06-15T17:29:54Z")
Raisin, You might try to find a used bike. For 2-3 bills you can get a decent ride that will work well for short trips. One thing you might try is to call your local police station. In bigger cities the the PD will auction off recoverd bikes that went unclaimed by the original owners. This a very cheap way to get a nice bike. Regaurding the style of bike you want, though mountain bikes all all the rage right now, if you don’t plan on going off road, me thinks you’d be better off with a well sized road bike. It will be lighter, you’ll have bigger wheels (read: you’ll go faster), and you’ll expend less energy with the narrow tires. Additionally, if you can dig up a frame with horizontal dropouts you’ll be able to fit it with a fixed gear and have a helluva lot more fun riding around. ---
**Author:** ![raisinbread](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8491ac/32.png) [@raisinbread](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raisinbread)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2003, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-a-bicycle/181850/14 "2003-06-15T17:31:33Z")
Ah but would those lighter frames support two hundred and seventy five pounds? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2003, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-a-bicycle/181850/15 "2003-06-15T20:01:50Z")
Get a good used mtn bike that fits you. It’ll be a more comfortable ride at 275 lbs. If you don’t ride much, you’ll appreciate the more upright riding position and you’ll get fewer flats to boot. ---
**Author:** ![dlack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@dlack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dlack)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2003, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-a-bicycle/181850/16 "2003-06-15T21:26:18Z")
I’m not a biking expert, but it seems to me that you’re looking for a “comfort bike.” A little google search brought up [this](http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/601-3469832-4289718?asin=B0000695DN) which is well below your price range. Some of the readers with more expertise could be able to give you more details about what they consider wrong with that (or similar) bikes, but I think as a casual rider you shouldn’t have much problem at all finding a decent bike for under $200. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2003, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-a-bicycle/181850/17 "2003-06-16T00:13:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dlack \* > \*\*I’m not a biking expert, but it seems to me that you’re looking for a “comfort bike.” > > A little google search brought up [this](http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/601-3469832-4289718?asin=B0000695DN) which is well below your price range. > > Some of the readers with more expertise could be able to give you more details about what they consider wrong with that (or similar) bikes, but I think as a casual rider you shouldn’t have much problem at all finding a decent bike for under $200. \*\* Well, besides being a woman’s bike, this is what’s wrong with it: > [@](#): > > Item Weight: 42.7 pounds You should be able to get a fine used bike made by mainstream manufacturers, like Specialized, that weighs 25 lbs or so. ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2003, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-a-bicycle/181850/18 "2003-06-16T00:37:42Z")
Don’t get a department store bike. They look pretty but are of very poor quality compared to a bike shop brand like Specialized. The entry level specialized Hardrock has a good chromoly frame (aircraft type steel) with forged dropouts (the bits where the axles attach) has an SRP of $290. You can get crap and be unhappy with it or buy a decent bike and get years of service out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2003, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-a-bicycle/181850/19 "2003-06-16T00:39:10Z")
Oh, sorry. [Specialized Hardrock](http://www.specialized.com/SBCBkModel.jsp?san=03HardrockCroMo&bl=mountain&my=2003) ---
**Author:** ![John\_Harrison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5ac83/32.png) [@John\_Harrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Harrison)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2003, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-a-bicycle/181850/20 "2003-06-16T00:53:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by amarinth \* > \*\*Where? > > I’m looking right now, and the off the shelves are in the 1200 range… custom, much more. \*\* Argh. Now that I look again the price is a bit higher. My last custom frame is a [Marinoni](http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/FBeauchemin/Product1.htm). He’s up to $1,200 now, which still isn’t too bad. [Waterford](http://www.waterfordbikes.com/models/pframe.htm) and [Anvil](http://www.anvilbikes.com/) can make one for around this price as well. They are well worth the money if you have a bizarre body. (I fit right in this category:D ) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-a-bicycle/181850.md?page=2)