What bike size would best suit a person who is 5'4 in height.?

Question

I am 5'4, new at bicycle hunting, and looking for the right bike size.

Or bike frame.

Answer 1

I'm just about 5'4" and bought a 50cm bike frame. I love the way the bike fits me. I have a long torso and short legs so going smaller didn't make sense. If you are the opposite you may want to try and find a 48cm or so. But the best thing you could do is go to a bike shop and see if they can fit you on a bike. If you are buying a bike from that shop by all means have them fit you and work with you on getting the right size frame. If you are not buying a bike from that shop and buying a used bike or a bike on-line please offer to pay them to fit you on a frame. Bike shops make very little money on selling bikes and more money fixing bikes. If you spend an hour getting fitted and don't buy a bike that is money lost because they could have been fixing a bike. But my experience is that good bike shops are more than happy to talk to you about bikes. Happy shopping

Answer 2

S (small) or 48cm.

Answer 3

Excellent question.  Proper fit is important.  You didn't say road or mountain, so I'll try to answer for both.  

Mountain bikes are S, M, L and measured in inches. Road bikes are measured in centimeters (but the compact style use the S, M, L convention). The measurement is the length of the seatpost (not the wheel diameter) and even the way that is done varies among manufacturers.

In a mountain bike you probably need an XS or an S, certainly something with a frame size no greater than 15", which is the typical small size in mountain bike sizing.  It's best in bicycle frame sizing to err on the small side, that is, it's better to have one that is too small than too large, because you can adapt a smaller one by seatpost adjustment and stem replacement -- difficult with a larger frame.

Sheldon Brown has an excellent article on frame sizing. I've put the link below. Gary Klein's article on mountain bike sizing is the second link. According to his scheme, an S would be the largest size you could tolerate. Finally, I’ve also put  links to the Colorado Cyclist and Bikes Direct pages on this subject. They are both excellent online sellers, one high priced and the other low priced.

Good luck, and happy riding.

Answer 4

http://www.coloradocyclist.com/bikefit/

a good link to start with. gives you a basic idea of how to fit yourself.