Bike Size Calculator: Height & Inseam to Frame Size

Frame size charts are everywhere and most of them disagree. This calculator uses two standard methods — height, and inseam where you know it — and shows both. It gives you a starting point, not a fit.

The two methods, and why they disagree

Inseam × 0.65 gives a seat-tube length for a road frame. It is the older of the two methods and it is why a 175 cm rider with long legs gets told 56 cm while the same-height rider with short legs gets told 54 cm. Leg length matters more than total height.

Height alone is the fallback when you do not have a tape measure. It is less accurate by about one size in either direction, which is exactly the margin that makes a bike feel wrong.

If you can only measure one thing, measure your inseam — standing against a wall, book between your legs, floor to the top of the book. It takes two minutes and it is the single number that most affects whether a frame fits.

Size chart by height

Rider heightRoad / gravelMountain bikeKids’ wheel
120–134 cm——20″
135–149 cm——24″
150–157 cm49–50 cm (XS)S · 15–16″26″ / 27.5″
158–164 cm51–52 cm (S)S · 15–16″—
165–171 cm53–54 cm (M)M · 17–18″—
172–178 cm54–56 cm (M)M · 17–18″—
179–185 cm56–58 cm (L)L · 19″—
186–192 cm58–60 cm (L–XL)XL · 20–21″—
193 cm +60–62 cm (XL)XL · 21″—

Three things the calculator cannot tell you

1. Sizing is not consistent between brands
A “54” from one factory is not a “54” from another. Seat-tube length has been losing meaning for twenty years — sloping top tubes made it a number that no longer describes the bike. Compare stack and reach if you can get them.
2. Your position matters more than the frame
A rider who wants a short, upright position and a rider who wants to be long and low can be the same height on the same frame and need two different sizes. Decide which you are before you buy.
3. Between sizes, go smaller
A smaller frame plus a longer stem and a set-back post can be made to fit; a frame that is too big cannot be made smaller. This is the one rule that holds across brands.

What actually determines fit

Three contact points do all the work: saddle height, saddle setback, and the distance from saddle to bars. Everything else — frame size, standover, wheel size — is a proxy for those three. If you already own a bike that fits, measure these three numbers and compare them to any new bike; it is far more reliable than a size chart.

How to measure inseam properly

  1. Stand against a wall, heels together, in the shoes you ride in.
  2. Put a spirit level or a hardback book between your legs, snug against the pubic bone — the same pressure a saddle would apply.
  3. Mark the top edge of the book on the wall and measure from the floor to that mark.
  4. Measure twice. A 1 cm error moves your frame size by most of a size.
Cite this tool
Meihanda Bike Size Calculator, October 2026. Uses the inseam × 0.65 seat-tube convention for road and gravel, and standard height-based ranges for mountain and kids’ bikes. A starting point only — always check the specific model’s own size chart. Link: meihanda.com/bike-size-calculator

Related data

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