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I've been years without my own bike. I ride my father's mountain bike. It's an 18" height frame, 26" wheels. Funny thing is, he's a small guy. 5'3 about, meanwhile I'm 5'9. So I'm sure he gets on it like it's a horse. Feels good, as well as the reach.
What I'm looking for is a road bike. I'm the average Joe Shmoe who rides around the neighborhood or local park. After looking around online for charts to find out what CM frame to go for, I am really unsure how to compare the MTB size to a road bike (which I never had before). Some say you really need to just try it out instead of going by numbers since inseams are different as well as personal taste.
The best advice that will get you a bike that is fun to ride, be a really good value for the money spent and not break down all the time is bike sold by a bike shop. Bike sold anywhere else will , in a very short time be both grief and a waste of money. Get ready to spend a bit more money than the big box store bikes but it will be worth it. Avoid walmart bikes 'cause most bikes shops cant' work on them due to parts being both hard to find and different than the same brand sold at the bike shops.
Buy what fits your body as well as where you want to ride. I could give you a long list of bike brands to buy but it's unknown if they will fit or serve you well at all. So visit a bike shop soon. Ask about mid-range bikes to start out with.
If you are only going to be riding around local parks and the neighborhood, I would suggest a decent hybrid. As said before, avoid Walmart and go to a bike shop or if you have some place like an REI or Performance Bike shop near you, go there,
If you are around 5' 9", I think you need around 52 to 56 CM frame. Don't sweat it if you get a frame a little too small, it's when you get a frame too big, that's when you screwed up, lol. I'm tall, around 6'3", and should have gotten a 62 or 64 CM frame, but ended up buying a 58 CM, in case I ever wanted to sell it, anything bigger is harder to find. It's just fine, the seat is jacked up about 6 inches and that puts it right for me. You want the seat height to be right where you can still lift your butt off the seat enough to take all the weight off, with leg fully extended on the pedal, without having to push down much with your ankle. My other bike is an old Fuji fold up mountain bike, with only 49 CM frame, the seat is jacked up about a foot, lol, and I had to replace the seat stem with a stronger steel one, because I bent the old one, which was cheaply made. When you get those seat tubes jacked up like that, there is a lot of pressure there and it might bend if you're heavy! Best not to have those ridiculously long.
If you are only going to be riding around local parks and the neighborhood, I would suggest a decent hybrid. As said before, avoid Walmart and go to a bike shop or if you have some place like an REI or Performance Bike shop near you, go there,
At 57 and more than 15 years of not riding I decided to break out my old Diamondback MTB that I had converted to a hybrid from the start. Found it had a cracked head tube so that option ended. Went to a couple local shops including Performance. Wanted to go in the direction of a road bike and keep it under $1000. So glad I took the time to learn how much cycling has changed over the years. Based on my wants and needs I was fit for an endurance road bike designed to put me in a more upright position. Once I get tons of miles on this one I'll be ready to take the step up to a carbon frame, but still plan to stick with the endurance style. Take the time and go to a reputable shop and you wan't regret it.
An alternative to getting more for your money is to check Craig's List for your area. You need to do some homework up front to determine the right frame size for you in different manufacturers' models so when the right frame size in a brand appears, you can check it out.
Bikes depreciate quickly, which is why you can get a lot more bike for less money than paying for brand new current year retail.
I agree with the other posters. You should go to your local bike shop and not Walmart.
I just repaired my 30 year old Schwinn mountain bike and the guys at the bike shop exclaimed what a nice riding bike it was. Schwinn has since sold out to big box stores and now produce cheaper bikes so I wouldn't recommend them.
My other bike is a Trek Verve 2 that I had the shop upgrade the shifters on. It is a hybrid bike and is perfect and comfortable for paved path riding.
There are many different brands of bikes out there and the shop can tell you what is good and not so good for the type of riding that you want to do plus they will measure you for your bike and make the appropriate adjustments.
Bikes at Walmart are cheap around $100, so be ready to spend more money when you go to a real shop. At the shop I went to with my schwinn they had a beautiful fat tire bike for $3500 ! and a electric bike with pedal assist for $2500 !
Their average bike was under $500. Bikes like most things follow the rule "you get what you pay for".
Here's a calculator that will get you in the ballpark, but as others have said the best way is to try them out. I am 6"0" tall, and ride a 58CM older Cannondale. Some bikes will measure differently than others though.
Update: I finally got something decent off Craigslist. It's an 80s Spalding Blade RE 12 Speed. Yeah after researching, I found out that it was a crappy store promoted road bike, but it fits me well. Bought it for $125 (sadly that's what it was worth back then but whatever..) and honestly I think it's a great beginner setup. It was in very good condition. Nothing bent or too rusty.
As far as maintenance goes. I literally stripped the bike down (for the first time ever). Sandblasted it, rattle can painted it and replaced a couple of things like the BB, crankset, handlebars, brake lines, etc. Future plan is to get the frame powder coated and get 700c rims + commuter tires on it. I turned this thing into a cruiser and one speed due to the crank teeth count being a little too much but the gear ratio is perfect. Newbie mistakes but it all worked out! Pics will eventually come.
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