On Friday, October 11, 2019 at 11:46:57 PM UTC+1, Joy Beeson wrote:
It's been half a century since I needed the information, so I'm not
sure. Is a nineteen-inch bicycle frame nineteen inches from the
center of the bottom bracket to the center of the seat cluster?
"Center" defined as the middle of the top tube.

I measured my Fuji at 20.5 inches, and the guy I stole it from said
"twenty-one inches" sounded familiar.

To the top of the top tube seems more logical, since it's the
stand-over height one is interested in -- a fat-tube aluminum bike
would measure undersized if measured to the middle.

When I was thirty and forty and sixty I didn't mind that he's an inch
taller than me, but now that I'm seventy-nine, I've fallen over while
mounting twice, and think it's time to put the word out that I'm in
the market for an elderly bike that is compatible with my elderly
components.

But I have to say what size I want.

--
Joy Beeson
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/

Joy, depending on how hilly your countryside is, if you're forced to buy a complete new bicycle because your components won't fit whatever you can get, you may also want to look at the RANS
http://www.ransbikes.com/bicycles/
on which Tom Sherman, who used to post here, was very keen. They're crank-forward (CF) designs, so not much chop in hilly country, but when I made up a few of my own designs in wood to test for suitability, the lot called geribikes for the obvious reason that I was getting on a bit and wanted a bike that I could step over easily, I found the crank forward by far the most suitable design not only for me (on the flat) but for every older person I tried it on. Unfortunately, my town is called the Rome of West Cork for the obvious reason and my countryside is up and down, no rideable flats, so I need to sit over the bottom bracket.

One of the fab features of the CF designs like the RANS is that from the saddle you can put both feet flat on the ground. That desirable stability feature was commented on by everyone else but I hadn't noticed because my reflexes are still good and I dismount from my tall bike by simply stopping and letting it fall over and putting out a foot at the right time. Rans has low stepover designs as well.

I'm not shilling for Rans -- I've never even seen on of their bikes in the flesh -- but Tom struck me as a fellow with a tight hand on his wallet who wouldn't recommend a rubbish bike, and it is such a rare design that it might easily be overlooked even in circumstances that would make it especially suitable.

Andre Jute
Willing to try anything once