Can i buy a small road bike frame?

Question

I wanted to buy a road bike for climbing only purposes. It will have very limited use on flat roads and no very long trips. I live in steep mountainous terrain, but i dont want a mountainbike because i like teh lightness and stiffness of a road bike. I would put a straight handlebar on. I wanted to know would it be feasible to buy a small frame like a 47cm and put up the seat and handlebars since i would not be in an aerodynamic position too often., or would this still cause fit issues

Answer 1

Yes, you can buy a small road frame but you'd be wasting your money. At 5' 9" you should be on a 53-54cm or medium frame. Look into "compact" road frames, they have slanted top tubes like a mtn. bike and so are smaller than traditional road frames.

There are many companies making flat-bar road bikes now also so it would be cheaper to buy one premade than converting from drop bars to flats (presuming a new bike purchase).