Hello Curtis -
Dale is right about the bell-shaped curve. Fewer short men (like me) and fewer tall men than average sized men. Hard to beat those statistics. However, I think there are some additional subtle influences at play. (Caution - most of what follows is opinion.)
I am near average height for the half the population that is WOMEN. So - there should be plenty of used bikes made for women that would fit me? Except - there were not nearly as many serious women riders as men, especially in the 50s, 60s and 70s. For serious here I mean buyers of mid- to high-level bikes.
In years prior to 1970 there was a tendency for riders to ride bikes that are larger than what is customary now. This meant that there were relatively fewer smaller bikes made.
I believe the problems with making a good-handling bike in small sizes, using 700c wheels, was also a factor. Beating the geometry problems meant making a frame that in some way is not as good as a larger frame. I think this may have reduced the number of smaller riders who wanted to ride, or who wanted to pay big bucks for a frame/bike that was still inherently problematic. These problems are now solved routinely with smaller wheels.
For current bikes I find there are (relatively) lots of used bikes in smaller sizes. More women are (and have been) riding and more are spending the bucks for a good bike. My experience is that the smaller used bikes often go for less than the equivalent larger sized bikes. (The exception is for collector bikes of interest to buyers in the Orient.) This may have to do with the relative scarcity of buyers of smaller bikes. One has to work harder to find an appropriate purchaser because they are rarer than average-sized purchasers. Another dynamic at work for current-era used bikes is that (I believe) women prefer to buy new bikes rather than concern themselves with the increased maintenance and uncertainty of a used bike. This results in a weaker market for current used small bikes, and results in a $ bonus for those of us who live closer to the ground.
Cheers,
Skip Echert Renton, WA vintage-trek.com
At 09:11 AM 11/5/02 -0500, you wrote:
>Just a matter of personal curiosity. There don't seem to be many small frames
>for sale, 48-52 cm. Is there a particular reason for this? Is there a bias
>against short people or do short people never give up their bikes?
>
>Curtis (kleine sheist) Whatley
>riding a 50cm frame
>Mission, Texas