What bike frame size do I need?

Question

I'm five feet tall and I'm interested in getting a road bike. What frame size would be good for me? (please measure in inches)

Answer 1

Road bikes are measured in cm, so if you are looking at road bikes, you need to become familiar with the metric lingo.  The only way to find out the proper size bike for you is to visit a bike shop and get measured and fitted...its well worth a trip.

Answer 2

Without knowing your leg length/torso proportion, I would suggest a 46 or 48 cm frame.  This is the reason to visit a bicycle dealer that has a lot of experience fitting people to bicycles.  Here is one area most dealers fail to take into account.  The length of a riders foot and the angle of the foot when they pedal.  Also the handlebar height is overlooked.  Most bicyclist for the sake of comfort would be better served with the handlebars the same height as the seat.  But with the advent of the threadless headsets, it is nearly impossible to raise the bars high enough.  Our custom framed tandem has a head tube 9" long with a Salsa Moto Ace high rise stem.  Should have spec'ed a 10"  head tube length.  This bike fits my 6'1" frame very well.  

Good luck.

Answer 3

Best thing to do is go to a bike shop and have them size you.  I'm 5'2" and mine is a 13" frame, I think that might be the smallest, not sure though.

My husband is 5'5" and his bike is a 17", he tried a 15" and he looked a bit cramped on it, so it's not just your height but also your body type.  Best to try out some bikes and see.