WHITEYO424

Can anyone help with determining frame size from frame serial number.
From what I've been able to find, the bike is a 2013 build Bianchi.
Frame number is te0134826v.
Any help is appreciated.

smd4

I’m not a Bianchi expert, but I suspect sizing information won’t be found in a serial number.

dedhed

No, no correlation with serial number. .

veganbikes

You can tell what size it is by using a measuring tape it will give you accurate sizing and help way more than a serial number which usually doesn't have that info and if it does have data encoded it is usually date codes.

DaveSSS 

Do a Google search for the make, model and year. That should bring up a geometry chart. Frame size numbers or letters have become meaningless. Look at stack and reach values, if comparing the size to another brand.

cyccommute 

If we are only to consider stack and reach, how are we to apply those numbers to what bike size we need? Stack and reach are meaningless without some context on how to use them. Frame sizes aren’t “meaningless”. A 58cm frame is still comparable to a frame that is marked “58cm” today. The seat tube may no longer be 58cm but the other parameters…like reach and stack… haven’t radically changed. The proportions are still similar enough to be comparable.

Iride01 

If the top tube is horizontal then just measure from the BB center along the seat tube to where the extended line from the top of the top tube intersect. If it doesn't have a horizontal top tube then imagine one coming from the headtube as being horizontal. That'll be close enough. You might be off by a centimeter or a tad more.

If you can come up with geometry and tube length charts and match to your frame, you might get a more accurate idea. Still, if you like the fit, it doesn't matter what size it is. If you are wanting to compare it to other bikes so you will know whether they fit the same or not, then go by the geometry and tube lengths. Size doesn't tell you if you will like the fit of any bike.

wheelreason

Yes, but that applies to any way you want to measure the bike and label it, you still need to know what "size" will fit. In the old days, a single number did it, now you need something more discriptive, hence the geometry/size charts with all the columns. I liked it when bikes came in 1 cm increments, stems came in .5 cm increments and were easily adjusted for height to 1 mm, but now we live in a world were a lot of folks fall between sizes and we just adjust accordingly, per sloped top tubes and reaches and stacks.

DaveSSS 

​​​​​
If you have an older bike, made before stack and reach became a standard listing, there are websites that can calculate the values. Once you've owned a bike with known stack and reach, it's simple to select a different brand that will fit. A lot of new bikes use letters like XD, S,M,L,XL and no numbers. Which one is a 58cm? My frames all have size numbers that are just.the seat tube length. Two are 47cm and one is a 46cm. Their actual size is more like a 52cm with a traditional frame with horizontal TT. That's why the size numbers are meaningless.

When I look at a new frame geometry chart to determine the fit, all I need is the stack, reach and the seat tube angle. I only use the seat tube angle to be certain what seat post setback is needed. I look for 74 to 75 degrees, but if the frame has a proprietary seat post, it must have enough setback. I wouldn't buy a frame with a 75 degree STA and only 20mm of setback.

​​​​​​Similarly, I want a stack of 505-525mm. Once again, a special integrated handlebar requires the right combination of stem angle and stack to avoid excessive steering tube spacers. My frames with 505mm stack have a -6 stem angle and the minimum 20mm headset top cover. With a 525mm stack, I'd want a -17 stem to get the same bar height.

cyccommute 

There is still pretty much one “size” that fits. My wife’s Sirrus 2.0 is an extra small. It would be an inappropriate bike for someone who needs a small just as a “small” would be an inappropriate size for her. The proportions of a small are all wrong for her…a problem that we have had for 40 years.

As to size charts we have always had geometry charts since I started riding bikes seriously….almost 50 years ago now. I don’t recall bicycles ever coming in 1cm increments but more like 2” (or closer to 4 cm) increments. Common sizes were 19” (48cm), 21” (53cm), 23” (58cm), and 25” (63cm), perhaps even a 27” (68cm). Sizes now are 44cm, 48, 51, 54, 56, and 58 cm. Thankfully many manufacturers are offering smaller bike now days instead of sticking small people with a bike that is far too big.

As to stems, Thomson, to pick on example, offers 13 different stems ranging from 40 mm to 130 mm of which 3 are 0.5mm. And if you don’t stick with a single manufacturer, there are hundreds of stems from 31 to 130mm. There are far more lengths available now than even 20 years ago.

smd4

Many Italian bikes came in 1 cm increments,

alcjphil

I own a Look 481SL. At that time many Look bikes came in 1 cm increments, mine included

DaveSSS 

I can remember frames sizes listed in 2 inch increments and shops always recommended a 23 inch to fit my legs, but a 21 would be have worked too. High level Italian frame like Colnago were offered in 1cm increments. I had a 54cm and a 53cm C-40, 20 years ago.

BeBoX

I was wondering; Can you find the manufacturer of a bike with serial number ?

Bald Paul

I recently purchased a used Scott bicycle. Wasn't sure of the year, so I sent a message to Scott customer service with the serial number of the bike. They came back with the year (2013), model, and frame size (which I already knew.)
Possibly Bianchi has the same capability?

cyccommute 

...and were a very small part of the bicycle market. And for the bike in question...a 2013 Bianchi...the frame comes in 7 sizes in 30mm increments

wheelreason

Yes, but (all of) that doesn't change the fact that most road bikes today come in 2 cm size increments, and that puts more people between sizes than a 1cm size ncrement. Is a 2 cm increment good enough for bikes to fit most folks close enough, yeah.

smd4

So? Just because you don't remember bikes that came in 1 cm size increments, doesn't meant they didn't exist.