Frame size

[jamesofyorkshire]

Hello.

Asking this on behalf of a lady friend who wants to buy a city/Dutch style bike....whatever they're called. Like this:

[url]https://sportbike.lv/velosip%C4%93di/pils%C4%93tas-velosip%C4%93di-city/26-divritenis-citadinne-2636-3-%C4%81tr-dhs-90.shop[/url]

https://sportbike.lv/velosip%C4%93di/pi ... hs-90.shop

Her inside leg measurement is 26.7" or 68cms. She's 5'2"/159cms tall.

I have no idea how those kind of bikes are sized. Can someone suggest an appropriate size please.

[igauk]

I think they tend to come in S/M/L rather than frame inches/cm. If the size guide for this one is anything to go by a medium would fit

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/hoprider-520 ... 07665.html

[jamesofyorkshire]

I'm 5 inches taller than my friend, and have an inside leg 3 inches longer than hers.....and usually a 'medium' in all bikes I've had and tried are a tad too big for ME so I'd be surprised if that's correct.

I was looking for something more detailed than 'small, medium or large' though.

[531colin]

https://sportbike.lv/velosip%C4%93di/pils%C4%93tas-velosip%C4%93di-city/26-divritenis-citadinne-2636-3-%C4%81tr-dhs-90.shop
says 48cm frame, 26" wheel.....sounds about right?

[jamesofyorkshire]

It does in that ad but apparently the shop has several sizes. Does the 48 refer to saddle to BB on this type of frame or what?

[531colin]

Normally BB axle to top of seat tube, ie same as usual.
Bike in picture looks about right for that, top of seat tube about level with back mudguard.
Assuming the lady is in the country and speaks the language, is phoning the shop a silly suggestion?
They mention a 14 day return period, I don't know what that means in that country, in the UK you can send something back just because you have changed your mind.
(If the lady is for example English living overseas, is she comfortable with the idea of a back-pedal brake?)

[jamesofyorkshire]

Thanks Colin. What one measures for that kind of frame is what I was after.

She's Latvian and recently returned home. I've been in her local shop.....I wouldn't waste a phone call, that's why I'm trying to help her out.

Another question to anyone in the know........the bike she's looking at comes with either a Nexus 3-speed or Shimano cassette/derailleur. Where she lives is flat so she doesn't need the gears. Is the Nexus 3-speed any good? I seem to recall reading they were problematic.....but that was a long time ago when they first came out.
When she was over here I got her an old Raleigh in excellent condition from the 70's. She did best part of 5000 cycling to work over 7 years. Not bad for a none cyclist. That had a S.A. 3-speed. She took it home with her but the gears won't adjust correctly anymore. I don't know why. She knows how to adjust the S.A. - I showed her and she's done it several times, but now she can only get 2 gears instead of 3. We've tried all sorts, including different lengths spindle/chain thingies that go inside the hub, but to no avail.

[MikeF]

She did best part of 5000 cycling to work over 7 years. Not bad for a none cyclist.

A non cyclist would have travelled zero miles. Anybody riding a bike is a cyclist (or rather cycling) to me however many miles he/she travels.

[niggle]

Thanks Colin. What one measures for that kind of frame is what I was after.

She's Latvian and recently returned home. I've been in her local shop.....I wouldn't waste a phone call, that's why I'm trying to help her out.

Another question to anyone in the know........the bike she's looking at comes with either a Nexus 3-speed or Shimano cassette/derailleur. Where she lives is flat so she doesn't need the gears. Is the Nexus 3-speed any good? I seem to recall reading they were problematic.....but that was a long time ago when they first came out.
When she was over here I got her an old Raleigh in excellent condition from the 70's. She did best part of 5000 cycling to work over 7 years. Not bad for a none cyclist. That had a S.A. 3-speed. She took it home with her but the gears won't adjust correctly anymore. I don't know why. She knows how to adjust the S.A. - I showed her and she's done it several times, but now she can only get 2 gears instead of 3. We've tried all sorts, including different lengths spindle/chain thingies that go inside the hub, but to no avail.

Surely it would be better to get the Raleigh repaired? It is probably a better bike than the new one and once repaired will give a loner service life. Even fitting a new hub internal is not that expensive or difficult, but usually the fault is much simpler and cheaper to fix than that anyway. SA AW 3-speeds are pretty much immortal, I rescued a quite abused one for my daughter's uni bike with new cones and pawl pins for about a tenner.

[jamesofyorkshire]

Yes, that was my initial thought but neither I, nor her, know of a decent bike shop where she lives where someone actually knows what they're doing......and even if they did, S.A. stuff is totally alien to them.
The other thing is that her Raleigh is a 'Shopper'....and she wants a full size bike now.

I know what you're saying though....the kind of bike she's looking at, and at that price, ain't going to be up to much is it. Made in Romania I think, which of course instils a lot of confidence in the quality.

[Ruadh495]

I've done a couple of thousand miles on a Shimano Nexus 3 hub with a coaster brake. Seems to work OK. In my opinion the change is crisper than an S.A. and the "click box" shift system much easier to adjust. It does still need to be adjusted from time to time though. Long term durability may not be as good as the S.A. These are grease lubricated hubs and the lubricant isn't always in the right place. I take the push rod out and squirt gear oil up the shaft about once a week, the excess finds it's way to the floor via the chain.

I have a vague idea that there were some changes in the design of these hubs in about 2014 and the later ones are OK, while earlier ones are dubious.

[jamesofyorkshire]

OK. Thanks for that.

Is it much of a job to take that rod out to squirt some lube in?