Let’s be clear. The metric system is better than imperial.
In metric, there are 1,000 grams in a kilogram and 1,000 kilograms in a tonne. In imperial, there are 16 ounces in a pound, 14 pounds in a stone and 2,240 pounds in a ton (which is also 1.12 US tons because America uses its own version of the imperial system).
In metric, there are 1,000 litres in a cubic meter. In imperial, there are 6.22884 gallons in a cubic foot (or 7.48052 US gallons).
It’s a mess.
But old habits die hard. Many people, especially in the US and the UK, love to use pre-enlightenment units.
It seems this is slowly changing in the bike industry – you often used to hear bottom bracket heights and chainstay lengths described in inches, but not so much anymore.
We still use a confusing mix of the two systems. For example, you might have a 1.5 to 1&1/8-inch steerer on your 170 mm travel fork; 2.5″ tires on your 30 mm rims and 1,000-gram tires on your 30-pound trail bike.
For now, we try to include both in reviews, but which units do you prefer to measure bikes with?
Author Info:
seb-stott
Member since Dec 29, 2014
260 articles