"Tried-and-true" method of measuring inseam ??
Good evening,
It seems there are a few ways to measure your inseam (to discern frame size). Some methods ask for measuring while wearing the (potential) bicycle shoes, other methods ask for measuring while barefooted. And some methods are not clear about how wide to keep your feet apart while measuring inseam. Is there a "tried-and-true" method of measuring inseam? Thank you in advance!! |
One measures inseam to get a number to put into a calculation for something. Therefore use the method specified for the calculation. If no method is specified for the calculation, do some more research. There's a method prescribed for every fit calculation, or if no method is prescribed, don't use that calculation - waste of time.
I think the most used calculation is the Competitive Cyclist Bike Fit Calculator, though it often raises more questions than it answers, i.e. there's no one correct formula for all bikes and riders. It does give very good directions for how to take the measurements. |
OP is asking about a measurement. There are old ways and there are new ways, but one I've seen a lot is as follows.
Stand barefoot on a hard floor with your back against a wall. Don't wear bulky trousers like blue jeans: compression shorts, cycling shorts, yoga shorts or ... be creative. Pull a large book up between your legs as hard as possible so it presses against your sit bones. Press the book against the wall and have an assistant measure carefully (to the sixteenth of an inch or a millimeter would not be bad) from the top of the book to the floor. Write it down. Measure several more times and use the largest value. That is your cycling inseam length, a best-estimate of the distance from your sit bones to the hard bottom of your heels with straight, locked knees. Many bike shops have a few apparatus around for helping with this measurement. You can do it that way, or at home using the above procedure and a family member, friend, or significant other as an assistant. Cats and dogs tend not to contribute very well. This is just one way to measure your cycling inseam. It isn't a fit calculation method or a fitting system. You need a bunch of numbers for those, and this gives you only one of them. But, it is essential. |
+1 on the @Road Fan technique, but i use a yard stick instead of a book, the long extention between my legs (ooopps...:o) lets me make sure the measurement is taken perpendicular to the vertical. No assistant needed :).
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Originally Posted by Wildwood
(Post 21231604)
+1 on the @Road Fan technique, but i use a yard stick instead of a book, the long extention between my legs (ooopps...:o) lets me make sure the measurement is taken perpendicular to the vertical. No assistant needed :).
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Originally Posted by Wildwood
(Post 21231604)
+1 on the @Road Fan technique, but i use a yard stick instead of a book, the long extention between my legs (ooopps...:o) lets me make sure the measurement is taken perpendicular to the vertical. No assistant needed :).
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Originally Posted by Carbonfiberboy
(Post 21231631)
:lol: OTOH, the Comp. Cyclist system specifically says to do it in cycling shorts and apparently, in socks, feet 8" apart. It's like I said: do what the calculation requires. Garbage in, garbage out.
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Originally Posted by Wildwood
(Post 21231604)
+1 on the @Road Fan technique, but i use a yard stick instead of a book, the long extention between my legs (ooopps...:o) lets me make sure the measurement is taken perpendicular to the vertical. No assistant needed :).
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Originally Posted by john m flores
(Post 21316443)
The book, if placed flat against the wall, ensures that the measuring device is horizontal. A yard stick can be inadvertently tilted upwards or downwards.
Yes, indeed! Those problems are why Lennard Zinn's technique uses a thick dowel that will be hard to bend, and a sensitive level on the dowel to see when it's level. A very resourceful person could rig up a device to perhaps allow a plumb line to be attached so that you could capture the vertical distance without an assistant and then measure the length of string with the bob and get the PBH. But, more steps allows for more errors. |
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