Mountain Bike Measurements Explained
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Mountain bike measurements explained. Mountain bike vs road bike sizing feel free to skip this section if you have no interest in road bikes in case you are used to sizing road bikes i must warn you sizing a mountain bike is different. Mountain bike geometry is literally the shape of the bike. Medium or 54cm can actually fit up to 2cm a full size different from one another. The overall shape and geometry of your mountain bike is made up by several different and important measurements.
Get the latest mountain bike reviews news race results and much more by signing up for the mtbr newsletter. Mountain bike sizing guide. These measurements are important when discussing the fit feel and style of a mountain bike and are often proportional to the style and terrain your bike was intended to. Traditionally they come with a 26 wheel but more recently we ve seen the launch of 29 and 27 5 650b wheeled bikes.
However the most common 26 wheel which is denoted by 26 1 0 or 559mm bsd does not have a designated french size. With french measurements and mountain bike tires all you really need to know is that 650b 27 5 and 700c 29. There are french sizes for variants of the 26 wheel. Fat bikes are another story again.
With road bikes you get technical and take very precise measurements to dial in the correct frame size and riding position. The head tube has two key measurements that will influence a bikes handling. These measurements assess the virtual position of the headtube in relation to the bottom bracket essentially standardising bike geometry sizing between brands and models. To be exact their iso measurements are 559 584 and 622.
A steep head tube angle is found on performance road race requiring. The angle and the length. This is important because bikes from two manufacturers that are both called the same size eg. Mtb s are engineered for off road riding.
First consider what kind of bike you want sizing varies greatly between road and mountain bikes as well as between men s and women s models and even between. Mountain bike rim width measurements across the three common rim diameters are broadly the same with widths starting at around 19mm for lightweight cross country style rims up to 40mm for downhill bikes. Newbie rear shock measurements explained please help hello all i m new to the site and fairly new to the mtb world. In old money they re 26in 27 5in and 29in.
Just as the 650b wheel was adopted by mountain bikers and became 27 5 the 700c wheel has taken the mountain bike world by storm in recent years and become known as 29. The head tube angle refers to the angle of the head tube to the ground and will commonly be described as either slack or steep.