Frame sizes?

I'm a novice so bear with me. I'm looking at old Raleigh Sports,
Toruists, etc. I currently have a Sports which I recently won on e-
Bay. With thanks to a few here who gave me a wealth of info on what to
look for, and how to bring it back up to par once I got it. I can
report it rides real nice! My question however has to do with frame
size. I coudln't really tell in the pics that it was a "small" frame
bike, no measurements were given, nor did I think to ask. (In my day
an "adult" bike was simply called "a 26", implying the wheel size, I
guess). I was a bit surprised at the smallness of it once I got it all
together. It's still OK, but a bit short/small for me. Now I see
another one for sale, just like my present one, but I can tell by the
longer head tube (?) that it is at least taller, but would a taller
bike also be longer? I'd like a litle more knee and foot room on my
next one.

THANKS!

"HDGuzzi" wrote in message
...
My question however has to do with frame
size. I coudln't really tell in the pics that it was a "small" frame
bike, no measurements were given, nor did I think to ask. (In my day
an "adult" bike was simply called "a 26", implying the wheel size, I
guess). I was a bit surprised at the smallness of it once I got it all
together. It's still OK, but a bit short/small for me. Now I see
another one for sale, just like my present one, but I can tell by the
longer head tube (?) that it is at least taller, but would a taller
bike also be longer? I'd like a litle more knee and foot room on my
next one.

Usually the bicycle size is measured from the center of the bottom bracket
(the center of the chainrings) to the top of the top tube along the seat
tube.

http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/fitting.htm is a comprehensive article on
bicycle fit.

If you want a quick and dirty way though - in your bare feet stand over the
bicycle and there should be one inch clearance between your crotch and the
top tube.

Here's something to remember - it take riding a bicycle for a couple of
years to get everything fitting you properly because your body continues to
change over that period as you ride. So you needn't be too accurate - if
you're within an inch you're more than fine. I rode 57 cm bikes for a couple
of years (thanks for a lunatic Greg LeMond book describing idiotic ways of
fitting a bicycle) before getting one the correct size. And I got that one
by some old bicycle dealer looking at me and telling me to buy a 61 cm.
Turns out he was almost exactly right. When he built my bike it felt like it
didn't fit for about a month and I've been riding that size ever since.

"HDGuzzi" wrote in message
...

My question however has to do with frame
size. I coudln't really tell in the pics that it was a "small" frame
bike, no measurements were given, nor did I think to ask. (In my day
an "adult" bike was simply called "a 26", implying the wheel size, I
guess). I was a bit surprised at the smallness of it once I got it all
together. It's still OK, but a bit short/small for me. Now I see
another one for sale, just like my present one, but I can tell by the
longer head tube (?) that it is at least taller, but would a taller
bike also be longer? I'd like a litle more knee and foot room on my
next one.




I would not buy a bike from eBay if I could not determine the size. Ads
on eBay are often misclassified, but you can often sort by frame size.
My first bike (non eBay) was a size too small. Then, from eBay I bought
a beginner flat bar road bike that was a couple or three CM too tall,
but quite satisfactory and close enough that I rode it for two years.
If you know what your correct bike size is, you can possibly do better
on eBay, but be careful to get the right size for you. I learned what
worked for me by going to bike shops and riding new and used bikes. A
large bike shop in my city has a fairly decent supply of used and rental
bikes, so I was able to figure out what size is right for me as I bought
a bike or two from them for family members. I eventually bought a new
bike from them when I could afford to trade up.

HDGuzzi wrote:
I was a bit surprised at the smallness of it once I got it all
together. It's still OK, but a bit short/small for me. Now I see
another one for sale, just like my present one, but I can tell by the
longer head tube (?) that it is at least taller, but would a taller
bike also be longer?

Usually, especially in newer bikes. This is called "proportional
sizing", and as far as I know, bike frames have been made that way at
least since the 80's. Top tube length is actually the most critical
dimension in bike fit. You can effectively adjust it a bit with stem
length and saddle position, but only within limits, as those tweaks also
change the weight balance and effective seat tube angle.