measurements

[EnduroFit]

Could anyone direct me on measuring my bike. Or send me to a link showing you how. Thanks.

[Needs Help]

What do you want to measure?

[EnduroFit]

I want to measure the whole frame. Seat tube angle, head tube, c-c, c-t, effective top tube(?) and whatever else I'm forgetting. I always see the aformentioned abrev. but don't know what they all mean.

[Needs Help]

Hi,

Effective top tube length is a term used to describe bikes with a sloping top tube. It indicates the horizontal length of the top tube. Does your bike have a sloping top tube?

C-C means "center to center". For example, a seat tube measured C-C is measured from the center of the bottom bracket to the center of the top tube/seat tube joint.

C-T means "center to top". A seat tube measured C-T is measured from the center of the bottom bracket to the top of the seat tube.


For a horizontal top tube, you can measure the seat tube angle by using a little trigonometry. Hold your bike on some level ground, and take a plumb bob(a string with something heavy tied to the end) and hang it so the string passes through the center of the bottom bracket. If you tilt your bike towards you as you are hanging the plumb bob, you can hang it freely right next to the bolt at the center of the bottom bracket. Put a piece of scotch tape on your top tube where the string intersects it, and use a felt tip pen to mark the point at the center of the top tube. Put another piece of scotch tape on the top tube/seat tube joint and mark the center of the joint. Measure the distance between those two points(that's called the "setback"). Then, measure the seat tube length C-C. Finally, use this formula to get the seat tube angle:

cos ST angle = setback/ST Length

Use a scientific calculator to get the result: do the division on the right and use the calculator to take the inverse cosine(cos -1). Here is an online scientific calculator if you don't have one:

http://www.creativearts.com/scientificcalculator/

[Too Tall]

Park Tools website has a decent guide.

[EnduroFit]

Thanks for the help