Your Mountain Bike Frame – Pick The Right Frame At The Right Size For You

Your Mountain Bike Frame

When it comes to buying a new mountain bike, without doubt the first thing you need to get right is the frame.  With a huge range of mountain bikes on the market now, the first step is working out what you want your bike’s frame to be made of, and what size is going to be best for you.

The benchmark material for mountain bike frames is steel.  The cheaper steel frames found in mass market stores are very strong, but they are also heavy.  Modern steel frames are now comparable to aluminium in weight, and maintain their strong ‘steel feel’.  However, these newer light steel frames are usually expensive.

Aluminium is much lighter than steel, however it is also less strong, so more material has to be used to make the frame.  This means more weight, and a much stiffer ride – but at generally a more expensive price.  The lower strength of aluminium means the frames will eventually fail, however the higher end mountain bikes are engineered well enough to make use of the weight advantages of aluminium while still maintaining a reasonably long life.

Carbon is more expensive again, but a good carbon frame will be much lighter than an aluminium frame.  A cheap carbon frame however, can easily be just as heavy, or heavier than a similar aluminium model.  Carbon frames are well suited to road racing because of their light weight.

Finally, titanium frames have a weight and strength advantage over all other materials and its flexibility makes it very good for absorbing shock.  However, as you may guess, titanium frames are the most expensive of the lot.

To choose the right frame for you, consider your budget and what your primary use for your bike will be.  If you are at the lower end, you might be restricted to a steel frame.  If you have a bit more room in the budget however, and weight is a big priority, a good quality aluminium bike is probably right up your alley.  And if money is no object, well carbon and titanium frames are well worth a look.

Now that you’ve picked your frame, let’s make sure you get the right size!

First, you need to measure your inseam.  Your inseam is the distance from the bottom crotch to the lower ankle – think about the seam that runs the length of the inner pant leg on a pair of pants.

Wondering the best way to do this?  Stand against a wall, put a book between your legs, press it up against the pelvic bone, and put a mark on the wall at the top of the book.  Measure the distance between that mark and the floor, and you’ve got your inseam figure.

Now to find the ideal bike frame size, simply subtract 12 inches from your inseam figure – ie if your inseam length is 27 inches, your ideal bike frame size will be 15 inches.  If your working in centimetres – subtract 30cm from your inseam to get your ideal size.

When standing over your mountain bike, you want to make sure you have enough clearance over the top tube (the crossbar).  As a guide, you should have 2 to 5 inches clearance, but this can change depending how you prefer to ride your bike.  If you like to sit upright, you can choose a slightly larger frame, which still maintains enough top tube clearance.  However for a more athletically ridden mountain bike, you will want maximum top tube clearance, to give you a safe ride in rough conditions.

Now you’ve worked out which frame, and which size, it’s time to go mountain bike frame shopping!

Related posts:

1. Why A Cannondale Mountain Bike Might Be Right For You
2. A Trek Mountain Bike – Hey It Was Good Enough For Lance Armstrong!
3. Introduce Yourself To Cross Country Mountain Biking
4. Disc Brakes Or Rim Brakes – How To Decide
5. The 8 Crucial Steps To Buying A Mountain Bike
6. Discover The Different Types Of Mountain Bikes