McOrange Student Blog

DON'T DO DRUG POST 2: Mountain Biking

Welcome to the 2nd part about mountain biking. Well for the 2nd post, in case you haven't been reading my previous post, please do read to know why I'm writing this post for. For this post, I wanna talk about which parts are which in and out of a mountain bike. But not all though because it's going to be a very long post if I tend to do so. So the first thing you need to check before buying a mountain bike. It's a lesson I've learnt through the hard way. You need to check your height and the size of the frame. It's the most important part of all. The one you've seen before I'm using is 16" size frame which is actually quite big for me. I'm supposed to use size 14" so I've just actually changed the size today with my new frame. Okay, back to the story. Here's some of guides of getting the right frame for you.

Frame Sizing Guide

1. When you straddle the bicycle frame with your feet flat on the ground, as illustrated here, you should be able to clear the top tube (crossbar).
2. If you like to sit upright, go for the biggest frame that still allows top tube clearance.
3. If you prefer more athletic riding, particularly mountain biking over rough terrain, you are safest with maximum clearance, so plump for the smallest possible frame - as long as you can still stretch your legs and the bike isn't so short that it cramps your riding style. Although every manufacturer has their own sizing quirks, a bike's frame size is based on the length of the seat tube (the tube that the seatpost goes into).
4. You can get a rough idea of the size of frame you require if you measure your inside leg - crotch to floor - then subtract 9" / 23cm or 10" / 25cm for a road bike (or a mountain bike used as a road bike) or 12" / 30cm for an athletically-ridden mountain bike. Hence a rider with a 32" / 81cm inside leg who owns a 23" / 58cm road bike usually requires a 20" / 51cm mountain bike.
5. The development of compact frames with sloping top tubes and long seatposts has further blurred the sizing issue. I'm unfeasibly tall (6' 8" / 203cm) so frame-builders would once recommend a minimum road bike frame size of 27" (68.5cm). I now comfortably ride a 21" / 53cm Specialized Expedition.

I chose 14" frame because I do not want to be stretched out too much while riding also I want full control of the bike. This frame is also less weight than the previous one obviously.

This is my new 14" frame which is slightly smaller than the previous rockbike frame I've had. From here you know what to do before buying a new mountain bike. Okay? Make sure you check your height and the frame size to make it suitable for you. Until we meet again in the next post where I would talk about mountain biking safety after you've got yourself a new mountain bike or you think safety has to be bought 1st. So, adios amigos! Signing off, Ober the Mountain Biker.

# posted by Ober Frederiksen @ 5:21 PM