Have bikes sizes started to slide downwards?

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I just saw Ribble's sizing today. I wonder what's behind this? In clothings I see the opposite trend - XXXLarge, XXLarge etc.

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Julia9054

Guru
Location
Knaresborough
Women
The sizes you quote show that medium means medium sized man not medium sized human.
A medium sized woman would buy an X-small.
 

GuyBoden

Guru
Location
Warrington
It's good to know what size bike fits your body. I take measurements from my comfy to ride bike.

I use:
Seatpost c/c to handlebar c/c
Chainring c/c to top of saddle

I know my measurements for these, so I can see if a bike will fit, but it could need a different size handlebar stem, but I don't want too much seatpost showing either.

That's why I think that you need to see the bike.
 

Kajjal

Guru
Location
Wheely World
It will normally be whatever best fits most customers while being profitable. Given the recent surge in cycling it is likely to cover that.
 

battered

Guru
That sizing is bonkers. I'm 5'6, in old road bike sizing I was 21" road and either 16 or 18 MTB. Since the advent of the sloping too tube I'm 19 road and S to maybe M in MTB . But XS? Get a grip.
 

Julia9054

Guru
Location
Knaresborough
Ribble have different sizing charts for different bikes. Sadly at 5ft2” I’m too small for the Ribble bike I want. It starts at 5ft3”.
And given that the average height for women is only 5ft4 or 5ft5 depending on your source, that’s an awful lot of women unable to buy that bike
 

Dwn

Senior Member
And given that the average height for women is only 5ft4 or 5ft5 depending on your source, that’s an awful lot of women unable to buy that bike
While looking for a bike / gear for my wife it’s pretty apparent that many cycle companies couldn’t care less about women under that height.
 

Ian H

Ancient randonneur
Small, medium, large, etc., are pretty meaningless as far as fit goes. What you need are actual frame measurements,
 

fossyant

Ride It Like You Stole It!
Location
South Manchester
And given that the average height for women is only 5ft4 or 5ft5 depending on your source, that’s an awful lot of women unable to buy that bike

I bought a mate's XS Full suspension (not sold as a womens bike originally) for my wife (super deal) - fits her fine, but I'm only 5-9 and its way too small on 'reach' for me - shame as it's an ace bike and I'm only medium in frames, and it's a fast MTB. Grrrrrrr.
 
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