Bicycle sizes, the guide to choosing it correctly

The sport of cycling is booming and every day more athletes choose to buy a bicycle and start practicing this sport.

However, one of the most important things what you have to do before buying a bicycle is choose your size well, since, if you do it more, you may have discomfort and injuries and you will not enjoy the good runs that this sport allows.

In this article we will explain How do you have to choose the size of your bike?

The first thing you have to know, is that there are different nomenclatures, depending on whether you are choosing a road or mountain bike.

Some manufacturers use centimeters, inches, or size patterns like L, M. XL.

In this article we are going to give you several options so that you know which bike to choose.

Keep in mind that it is not a 100% safe rule, but it can give you a fairly rough idea of ​​the size to choose.

How to choose the size on a mountain bike?

There is a simple way to calculate the bike size, measuring the height to the hip or crotch.

Take this measurement barefoot, leaning against a wall and with a book between your legs (perineum).

The distance from the spine of the book to the ground is what your legs measure. With this data, we can only do a multiplication to obtain the size.

Once this measurement is taken, you just have to multiply the measurement in cm by 0,54 and if it is in inches by 0.21

This is an example of a mountain bike size chart

Height	Mountain size (Inches)
1,55 / 1,60 cm	14 – 15
1,60 / 1,65 cm	15-16
1,65 / 1,70 cm	16 – 17
1,70 / 1,75 cm	17 – 18
1,75/1,80 cm	18 – 19
1,80 / 1,85 cm	19-20
1,85 / 1,90 cm	20 – 21
+ 1,90 cm	22

How to choose the size of a road bike?

In case you are looking for ato road bike, You must use the same procedure as in the previous case (measure the distance from the feet to the hip or crotch) but in this case multiply it by 0,65.

That is, taking the same example in the previous paragraph, we would multiply 80 by 0,65 to know that our ideal bike size for road bikes is 52.

Choose the size according to the rider's height

Another option is to choose the size for the athlete's height, this it is not the most accurate, but it can serve as guidance.

Example of a size chart for a road bike

Height	Road size (Centimeters)
1,55 / 1,60 cm	47 - 48 - 49
1,60 / 1,65 cm	49 - 50 - 51
1,65 / 1,70 cm	51 - 52 - 53
1,70 / 1,75 cm	53 - 54 - 55
1,75/1,80 cm	55 - 56 - 57
1,80 / 1,85 cm	57 - 58 - 59
1,85 / 1,90 cm	59 - 60 - 61
+ 1,90 cm	+ 61

What if the size comes in generic measurements?

In the event that the bicycle you want to buy comes from generic way like X, M, L, etc ... it is best to follow this example table that we have collected from the buhobike store

Height	Road size Centimeters	Mountain size Inches	Generic size
1,55 / 1,60 cm	47 - 48 - 49	14 – 15	XS
1,60 / 1,65 cm	49 - 50 - 51	15-16	S
1,65 / 1,70 cm	51 - 52 - 53	16 – 17	S
1,70 / 1,75 cm	53 - 54 - 55	17 – 18	M
1,75/1,80 cm	55 - 56 - 57	18 – 19	M
1,80 / 1,85 cm	57 - 58 - 59	19-20	L
1,85 / 1,90 cm	59 - 60 - 61	20 – 21	L
+ 1,90 cm	+ 61	22	XL

What is the best option to know my size?

No two people are the same, you must bear in mind that the result obtained with the measurements, even if they have the same value, are not applicable to several people

Each rider has different body measurements, since two people with the same height can have different measurements of legs, trunk or arms.

If what you want is hit 100% sure it is best to do a 'fitting' or biomechanical study in a specialized center