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138 Bicycles
CHOOSING A BICYCLE FRAME
The crossbar on your bicycle frame should come just to your crotch when you straddle the bike with your shoes off and your feet flat on the ground.
Leslie Warren, music teacher, Kittery Point, Maine

Current Rating: 6.2 out of 10 based on 40 reviews

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D - 2008-04-12
Not true. It's only an approximation, and with today's compact frame geometries, it doesn't even apply. A frame needs to fit proportionally to a rider, where his inseam determines the seat tube length (generally the frame's given size), and where his torso and arm reach determine the top tube length.

mary ann moorhouse - 2008-03-20
If you do happen to be stuck with a "higher than your crotch" bar...then one learns very fast how to stop & Start on an leaning somewhat angle...........

Deborah - 2008-02-23
If a husband and wife come in to buy bicycles, and the wife takes a taller frame than the husband...they will not buy the bikes.

Mister - 2008-01-09
Assuming we're talking about a road bike, with an old-school frame where the top-tube is parallel to the ground, I always preferred this method: Wearing the shoes you plan on riding in, you should be able to comfortably lift the front wheel off the groun