Measuring my frame

Hi,

I have just bought a new frame and now I need to find some nice parts for it.
This may seem a ridiculous question but how do I measure all the parts of my bike.

For example, I need to masure the rear drops to get the right axle length. Is this done from inside or outside the back of the frame. ie do I include the width of the frame in the measurements. Do I need to take into account anything else. Also, seat tubes. There seems to be some which differ by 0.2 of a mm. How the hell do I get something to measure that accurately.

Also are all stems the same width. I have campag chorus headset already in it. Can I buy any old stem? Sorry for being an idiot. But this is my first attempt.

I have read the transmission database thread so I think I know where I am going with that.

give us some clues what type of frame did you buy ? if it is a track frame then 120mm is more than likely the rear spacing most track hubs will fit 120mm if it is a geared i guess it could be 126mm 130mm spacing if it's a steel frame you should be able to squeeze the frame a bit to close the gap steel can be squished a bit without causing damage alloy / carbon i wouldn't

Hey mike, check out the park tools website.

This might be handy?!

http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=130

I found their road positioning chart quite useful for understanding measurements etc, although I've never used it properly...

mike get one of these...calipers good for tube, stems, etc.

give us some clues what type of frame did you buy ? if it is a track frame then 120mm is more than likely the rear spacing most track hubs will fit 120mm if it is a geared i guess it could be 126mm 130mm spacing if it's a steel frame you should be able to squeeze the frame a bit to close the gap steel can be squished a bit without causing damage alloy / carbon i wouldn't

Thanks for the replies Everyone.

It is a steel Simoncini track frame

is that the one you got off roberto? if so he should be able to tell you

Steel ruler will work too, although it can be tricky to measure tubes. Inside to inside is generally the measurement to take for drop-outs and tubes.

I have no idea where the 27.2 standard comes from - prob some sort of imperial measurement. All my frames are currently 27.2, it's pretty common now, I think. The only frame I have which is not is my Gitane - I think it's 26.something or even 27.0. I seem to remember that Columbus tubing used to be 27.0, but I could just be making that up. That's the sort of thing that only a real tyre-kicker like dogsballs would have a definitive answer.

H/bar stem. If it's a quill (which means that it inserts into the the head-tube - where the h/set is), then it is standard 1" width. I can't recall ever seeing anything else in a quill stem.

where does one measure from to on top tube and seat tube ?

is it centre of the headtube to the centre of seat tube for the top tube measurement
and top of seat tube to middle of bb for the seat tube ?

where does one measure from to on top tube and seat tube ?

is it centre of the headtube to the centre of seat tube for the top tube measurement
and top of seat tube to middle of bb for the seat tube ?

Yes.

That would be Top tube (C-C), seat tube (C-T), which is most common.

Silly really as the amount the seat tube extends past the toptube is'nt actually standard.

Which is why you can provide c-c and c-t to give a better indication.

My FTP frame is a 61cm c-t, but in reality it's a 58cm c-c seat tube.

Fuji badge it as a 61cm which is a little odd.