Bikes That Fit!

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I’m about 5’8” but I have very short, stumpy legs (28” inseam). To make matters worse, I have bad knees and my right hip is wrecked (has limited motion).

I have an old Raleigh M80 with an 18” frame. It’s a nice bike, but WAY TOO BIG for me and my hips/knees have deteriorated to a point where it is painful to attempt to ride it.
I’ve been looking for a moderately priced replacement, specifically Jamis X2 or X3 (please, no comments on how I should get a ‘real bike.’ I’m not spending more than $500.00 on a bike. EVER.).

Anyways, even in a 13” frame, the standover is like 26.5” which is still too tall for my 28” inseam (my junk needs more clearance). Because of this, I’m thinking of getting a Jamis or Trek 24” youth model. The problem is, those bikes have limited features—the Jamis is only 14 speed.

So, my question is, do I have any other options? Is there a small “Adult Bike” with a <25” standover and <170mm cranks (under $500.00)?

I guess I should add that I’m mainly interested in sport/mountain bikes. I doubt I’ll be doing any extreme riding, but there are lots of beginner/intermediate off-road trails in the area as well as paved commuter trails and I want to ride them all.

For your physilology and joint issues you'd better get a recumbent bike. The biomechanics are different on a recumbent. Hips and knees don't bend as much. Recumbent riders aren't using them to look cool. They are riding recumbents because they have joint or muscle issues when riding regular bikes.

^^^ Yeah, you're the second person to suggest that to me...

Damn you... wise people... with your good advice....

I'm just not ready to surrender to that... yet.

I just ordered a stationary trainer for my Raleigh. I'm going to try to work some of the stiffness out of my hip and knees before I totally give up...

PS

Do they make recumbent mountain bikes?

I've never heard of one. The geometry of a recumbent isn't exactly conducive to off-road mountain biking.

I have heard favorable reviews of the Electra "flat-foot" bikes for people with joint problems. I do not have any joint issues, but my Electra Ticino is an incredibly comfortable bike. Their Amsterdam model is supposed to be very comfortable, and is designed to have the feet more comfortably and easily reaching the ground from the bike seat than most bikes will allow. It also has a different pedaling feel that's been described as a sort of compromise between regular bikes and recumbents. I find it a much more natural leg motion than my old road bike. Your knees don't have to come up and jam into your chest like on other bikes.

^^^ Thanks for the tip. Electra makes some very cool looking bikes... There's an electra dealer just down the street from me. I might have to check some out if I can't get my hip working better...

For any bike mechanics:

I'm thinking of mounting a 24" rim/disc brakes on the back of my Raleigh and changing to 155mm cranks...

Do you think this would help in "downsizing" the bike?

It seems to me, it would buy me more crotch clearance and make cranking easier too.

If stand over height is your main concern I would look at some of the step through frame bikes, Giant roam w so called girls bikes. I don't think the Raleigh with a 24in rear wheel and 155 crank will be a good ride. Changing wheel size can be difficult due to brake mounts, and changing the rear wheel size will alter the headtube angle and effect steering. Another type of bike to consider is one like this. http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-us/bik ... 340/44137/sedona While they will not handle as good as a mountain bike many of the hybrid/comfort bikes are beefy enough to ride light offroad, especially if you outfit with some cushier fatter tires. The jamis you mentioned also seems like a good choice.
Also when you are measuring your inseam, you are going by actual physical measurement, not pants size. I ask because I am 5'8 and have a 31in inseam, but wear a 29 inseam pants. I ride a about a 21in road bike and a med (17) mtb. My newest one is a 29er and is a medium there is no small in this model. It can be awkward, but once I'm riding I don't notice. I generally worry more about top tube length and reach to the handlebars, but I am not as concerned with standover height. My old commuter bike is a 22in and would be too large off road, but is fine on pavement.
As far as the number of gears on the 24 in bikes unless you have a lot of hills 7 speeds might be plenty. It's pretty flat where I am an I rarely ever use the large and small chainrings on my mountain bike. Something to think about.

^^^ You're probably right about the 24" rims being a bad idea. At most it would buy me an inch of clearance and converting to disc brakes on my old frame would be a pain in the butt.

The standover on my Raleigh is tolerable considering I won't be doing any extreme riding... The real issue is knee and hip flexion. I think the 155mm cranks might still help.

I did go to a bike shop and try a 24" youth model. It was ridiculously small!

I tried a 14" frame/26" rim adult mountain bike too. It felt a bit better than my Raleigh, but not $600.00 worth of better! And I still had a lot of discomfort cranking it.

So, it looks like I'll have to rehab my joints a bit, or go to a different style bike.

In that case the shorter crank may help. Supposedly shorter cranks are easier on the knees. I have a 165mm on my old commuter bike, but 170mm on the others, I can't tell the difference, but that's only about a 1/10th in difference. Moving from 170 to 155 would be more noticeable. 170 seems to be the the "one size fits all" crank, which of course never fits all. I have read some bike gurus recommend shorter cranks for people who are at the extreme ends of "average size" and longer 175s for too tall folks.

lots of pro bike shops have a special frame called a fit bike. it's adjustable in every parameter and will let you feel what you need in a frame size. can't believe you haven't been on one of these, but i'll mention it anyway. you may 'have' to have a special frame made for you. i did. it was worth the cost.

knee problems happen mostly when the biker thinks his leg has to be straight when at the bottom of the pedal stroke instead of slightly bent. another big problem is pushing too big a gear. if you have problems with knees, your cadence should never drop below 90 rpm's. gear down and save your knees. forgive me if you're already doing this.

^^^ Yeah... I live in the boonies. I'm betting the nearest bike shop with a "fit bike" would be Kansas City or Dallas. It probably would be a good/interesting experience to get fitted though.

Thanks for the 90 rpm tip. I do try to push a moderate gear most of the time, but not small enough to spin 90 rpm's. I'll try it if I ever get back on the road...

I just got my training stand, did some stretching, and spent 30 hellish minutes cranking... My hip loosened up quite a bit, but it's aching right now.

It sucks to be old.

PS

...but it sucks even more to be dead--probably.

i'm way older than you and i have been dead. i was 39 when i was murdered by a drunk driver. couldn't ride for 2 years and then only slowly and no more than 40-50 miles. racing days over. then when i was a few years older i was in an insane car crash and broke my neck among other things. riding gone and lucky to be able to walk.

getting old sucks big time. some fortunate age well. i don't. do everything you can to take care of yourself, please.

being dead is so very interesting. just not for everybody.