Read about how we tested ClassPass for several months, attending dozens of classes to see if it is worth the monthly membership prices compared to signing up for those studios and gyms directly.

How we tested

For two months, we gathered reviews and data from four team members on their personal experience using ClassPass in Southern and Northern California, including any previous experiences they have with ClassPass dating from 2018. We originally started with free trials and continued with paid memberships. Some of our reviewers upgraded membership tiers to fit their workout preferences. 

We tried a variety of in-person classes and studio locations, in addition to virtual on-demand classes including yoga, pilates, weight training and even a nail salon. This review describes our personal experiences using ClassPass: signing up for sessions on the ClassPass app or desktop site, traveling and using our memberships, comparing class prices with drop-in rates, and if it’s worth the price.

How does ClassPass work?

ClassPass is a subscription-based fitness model that allows you to try different studios and sometimes for a discounted price. If you like pampering yourself, they also feature wellness and beauty companies that offer massages, meditation, spa services, and even haircuts. With studio partners in over 2,500 cities, ClassPass lets you continue working out even when traveling. 

Depending on your membership level, you can pay between $19 to $159 and receive 8-80 monthly credits. You sign up for classes or appointments on a desktop, laptop, or app with the credits. We prefer using the personalized app because it’s easy to sign up for available classes on the go or cancel as long as you have Internet access. 

ClassPass even has 4,000 on-demand virtual classes (audio and video) so you can work out in your home. These videos are available on every membership tier, and you can choose from various workouts to exercise. 

ClassPass membership plans

There are five membership plans. You get a set number of credits each month. The higher the membership tier, the less expensive credit costs. After the trial membership, individuals will start at $49, giving you 23 credits. Depending on the studio, this will provide you with anywhere between 2-4 classes. 

Membership plans and prices

For someone just starting with working out (or ClassPass in general), we recommend starting with the default membership tier and adjusting as you go on. Of course, you can always add more credits until the next billing cycle or opt to upgrade early. 

Additional credits and prices

If you need to buy more credit during the month consistently, upgrading your membership may be a good idea to reduce the amount of money you pay–since it’s typically cheaper to pay for credits upfront. You can also roll over credits if you don’t have the opportunity to use them within the same month. 

Note that there is no pro-rated price, so you will pay the total upgraded tier price no matter when you upgrade. So, for example, if your billing date is the first of every month, but you run out by the 15th and you want to upgrade to the next tier, you will still need to pay for the total price of the next tier. 

Classpass Cost vs. Direct Price comparison

If you’re wondering if paying for ClassPass is cheaper than paying for a drop-in price for a studio, it can get a little complicated to figure out because it depends on the credit price of each class and how much you pay for each credit based on your membership tier. So here’s a breakdown of some popular studios nearby us in Orange County, California. 

During our tests, we noticed that credits change depending on each class’s timing, demand, availability, and popularity. So a CorePower C1 class on Monday at 10:00 AM could be 8 credits one week because it was empty, and the next week, the same class could be 11 credits because more people have signed up. 

Mobile app & class booking experience

Booking a class was the most accessible experience, and we loved using the app. The ClassPass app is available on IOS and Android. The app allows you to book classes, cancel classes, add friends, view on-demand videos, manage your account, and adjust your membership.

Homepage

On the homepage, the app shows you options for similar classes you’ve previously attended, price drops, and new classes you might be interested in. We didn’t run into any issues throughout our time using the app. We especially liked the options to customize the homepage to our liking with buttons under each category that let you “see more of this” or “see less of this” category. 

Finding & booking classes

You can filter by activity, location, availability, and time when searching for a class. The search also gives you a visual map to see nearby studios with open spots. 

Once you click on the studio, you get more information about the company, including reviews, contact information, amenities, parking instructions, and similar businesses. The “view schedule” button is super easy to spot because it’s bright blue at the bottom of the screen. Each class is listed with a date, time, title, teacher, and how many credits it takes to join. 

Once you reserve a spot, the app informs you about fee cancellation deadlines (typically 12-14 hours before the scheduled class). If the class is booked, you can also add a notification if someone drops out and opens a spot.

What’s great about the app is that if you have a workout partner or friend, you can add them on ClassPass and send them information about your upcoming class so they can join. Of course, you can also send them a direct link to the class to sign up. 

On-demand video classes

We do have one caveat, and that is trying to find the on-demand videos on the mobile app; They are located at the VERY bottom of the search page. Using your phone for on-demand videos can also seem annoying with such a small screen. The ClassPass mobile app offers both visual on-demand videos and audio workouts. To use on-demand videos on the desktop site, click on the “Videos” link located on the upper right corner. There is currently no option for on-demand audio class for the desktop site.  

There are many different types of workouts available, and you can use a filter to find the class you want. For example, you can filter by specific activities, workout length, body focus, equipment, or collaborative partners, like Sweat Factor or Daily Burn. What’s great about these on-demand videos is that they don’t require additional credits; you can do as many as you want.

After testing several virtual classes, we thought it was a good option for days when you can’t get to the studio or travel without any ClassPass studios nearby. In addition, each virtual class is already filmed, so you can go at your own pace and pause the video if you need extra time between sets.

On-demand audio classes

Audio classes describe the type of workout, time frame, level of exercise, and calorie burns. The interface of each audio workout is similar to other audio apps with a movable timeline, play/pause button, 30-second skip or back buttons, and volume, and it also includes music genres based on your preference in between the reps. This is great for intermediate to advanced customers familiar with workout moves and can take directions easily. 

ClassPass pros

After trying out ClassPass for two consecutive months at home and during travel, here are our pros and cons about using it as a way to exercise. 

• Variety – There are various types of workouts and studios available and even beauty and wellness appointments like haircuts or acupuncture. 
• Try new gyms without commitment – You can try a new studio or gym without initiation fees or fear of signing up for additional trial memberships.
• Travel – If you travel & want to continue working out, ClassPass has 2,500 studio locations all over the world. This is an excellent option for popular studios with multiple locations to continue working out when traveling.
• Price – Depending on the studio, some ClassPass classes are cheaper than drop-in rates directly from the studios. Some gyms also offer a half-off discount on your first class, so it’s even more affordable! Some classes drop their prices if there are still spots to fill – even by 30-50% off. 
• Achievements badge – If you’re motivated by earning badges, ClassPass also offers achievement goals to make exercising feel more like a game and less like a chore. 

ClassPass cons

• “Free” but lacking trial – Some things like massages or beauty services are not available on the free trial. You must upgrade to a paid membership to view the prices and sign up. 
• No pro-rated prices for upgrades – If you want to upgrade to a higher membership tier mid-month, you must pay for a full-price membership. So it might be worth it not to upgrade until it’s closer to your billing date. 
• Sold-out classes – Many classes are already waitlisted or sold out even a week in advance. In addition, some studios only open a certain amount every week, or spots open specifically for ClassPass. 
• Class variety on ClassPass – Not all classes from the studio are available to ClassPass students (like Pure Barre only opens up Classic barre classes but not their Empower, Foundations, Align, or Reform classes). 
• Credits change based on the individual – We’ve tested this with multiple users and noticed that sometimes credits would differ from person to person even though they sign up for the same class simultaneously.

Tips to make the most of a ClassPass membership

• If you want to sign up for a sold-out class, check the app about 13 hours before the class begins because some people may drop the class before the fee cancellation deadline. 
• We have also noticed that the cost of a class will decrease closer to the date because there is availability, and the studio wants to fill the class. We sometimes canceled and re-signed up for the same class the day before to use fewer credits. However, this is also a risk because your spot might get quickly taken up. 

If you have health insurance plans with Kaiser, you may be eligible for discounts on memberships.

Is ClassPass worth it?

We believe ClassPass is worth the price if you are interested in taking a variety of exercises, are just beginning your workout journey, or want to work out while you are traveling. Paying on membership for ClassPass to exercise in 3-4 different studios per month will be cheaper than signing up for 3-4 individual memberships at every location. However, if you prefer working at a specific gym or have a dedicated workout plan with a committed gym, you might be wasting your money. 

After using ClassPass solely for working out for several months, we tried almost a dozen studios and locations throughout California. We have thoroughly enjoyed signing up for different exercises, and working out feels less like a chore and more like a game. 

While there are cons with any workout membership, like some popular classes selling out when they’re released, we could still find workouts nearby. There are many pros, especially if you need motivation to exercise. Read below to see our experience. 

Conclusion: who benefits from ClassPass?

If you are ONLY interested in pilates, have found your favorite studio, and want to take multiple classes a week, you might consider the studio’s monthly unlimited membership if you have a dedicated workout at a gym and don’t want variety. 

If you love variety in exercising or are just getting into working out, we think ClassPass is a good option because you spend less money and don’t need to commit to just one studio. ClassPass allows you to try different workouts and teachers to see which fits your body best. Even just visiting two studios within a month seems worth it for a membership class because drop-in rates are so high. 

Comparing drop-in class prices versus ClassPass credits, you are saving money. Where typical pilates drop-in class prices are about $30, a single ClassPass session can be half the price. The highest membership price from ClassPass is $159 for about 7-16 classes per month, which is still a lower price than popular studios’ monthly unlimited memberships.

The post How Does ClassPass Work & Is It Worth It? appeared first on Your Best Digs.

For context, my group went to Universal Studios, Hollywood, on a Wednesday in late July 2023. Super Nintendo Land has been open for five months and is still insanely crowded. I also opted for the early entrance add-on for Super Nintendo Land due to the Mario Kart restriction on Express Passes. 

How much is the Universal Studios Express Pass?

The Universal Studios Hollywood website states that the Universal Express Pass costs $199 and up, depending on the day you visit. During the off-season, like September or January, you can find the lowest-priced Express Pass tickets at $199 in the middle of the week. And during peak season months of July and August, prices can range between $209-$319. Guests ages two years or younger are free and don’t need tickets. 

For a Wednesday in July 2023, one-day general admission cost $149, and the Universal Express Pass was $295 per ticket–a $146 upgrade. So it’s typically double the price of a regular one-day ticket. 

How does the Universal Express Pass work?

The Express Pass is an upgraded ticket with special line privileges. It’s still the same sized physical piece of paper as a regular ticket that you need to carry with you throughout the day. Ride operators scan a barcode on your ticket at the entrance to every ride with an Express Pass lane, helping you skip long lines. But let’s see if the pass is worth it for you.

Benefits of the Express Pass

The Express pass lets you bypass a typically large crowd in the standard standby line and save yourself from hours of standing in line. Only a limited number of Express Passes are sold daily, so they can sell out beforehand. 

The Express Pass allows you to bypass 10 of the park’s 11 rides and attractions ONCE each ride that day by scanning the barcode on your ticket upon ride entry. However, if you want to ride an attraction again, you must line up in the regular standby line. Note, even though you bypass a majority of the standby line, some wait time is included, but it stays within 10-15 minutes. 

These are the attractions that have an Express Pass line:

• 10 Rides:
  • Despicable Me Minion Mayhem
  • Flight of the Hippogriff
  • Harry Potter & the Forbidden Journey
  • Jurassic World – The Ride
  • Kung Fu Panda Adventure
  • Revenge of the Mummy – The Ride
  • Studio Tour
  • The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash
  • The Simpsons Ride
  • Transformers: The Ride-3D
• WaterWorld show with priority seating
• Access to Super Nintendo Land without a reservation when the park has reached capacity for the day and a reservation is required to enter Super Nintendo Land. This can happen during peak season months like July and August. 

What the Express Pass does not include

Almost all of the rides and attractions at Universal Studios Hollywood have Express Pass, there is one ride restriction currently, and it’s the most popular ride, Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge. So if you’re thinking about getting the pass for Mario Kart, it won’t work, and you’ll have to wait in the general admission line. 

If your main reason for visiting Universal Studios Hollywood is for Super Nintendo Land, I recommend buying the Super Nintendo World Early Access Ticket and the Express Pass ticket. This lets you enter the park and Super Nintendo Land ONE HOUR before the general public.

With this early entrance, we could ride Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge in under 40 minutes instead of the two to three-hour wait it became once the park opened. The early entrance ticket starts at $20 daily and rises during peak season. 

Is the Universal Studios Express Pass worth it?

The Express Pass is not cheap, so it takes some consideration to weigh out the cost. Overall we saved over SEVEN HOURS of waiting in line this day, letting us ride just about every major ride we wanted to. Without this, we would have to spend more time in line and less relaxing, eating, or enjoying the park.

The pass let us ride nine out of 11 rides and attractions in the entire park long before closing. Note, the only reason we didn’t do all the rides was by personal preference (some people weren’t up for huge roller coaster drops). 

Here’s a breakdown of our day WITH the Express Pass:

• Time spent in line: 10 minutes per ride, 1 hour 30 minutes total  
• Time spent relaxing/eating/wandering/exploring the park: 13 hours 30 minutes

WITHOUT the Express Passes, it would be more like:

• Time spent in line: 1 hour per ride (minimum), 9 hours total
• Time spent relaxing/eating/wandering/exploring the park: 6 hours 

The Express Pass is a must-have if:

• You’re visiting from out of town or out of state and only have one day to visit the park
• You don’t have time to spend the whole day at the park but want to see multiple rides
• You have kids that you know could not handle 60+ minutes wait in line

Consider skipping the Express Pass if:

• You’re buying an annual pass and will return to the park multiple times anyway
• You don’t plan to go on at least three rides with Express Pass lanes
• You’re visiting during a time of the year you know it isn’t crowded
• You’re on a tight budget and just want to enjoy the shops, games, and walking around the park most of the day

It’s worth paying for an Express Pass if you have the option because you spend less time in line and have more opportunities to do other activities, like playing games, relaxing in air-conditioned stores, and staying away from the heat. 

Tips for using the Express Pass

• Park tickets require you to choose which day you’ll attend the theme park, so make sure your schedule for that day stays clear. Universal Studios Hollywood states that all tickets are non-transferable, non-refundable, and non-exchangeable.
• Make sure everyone in your group purchases an Express Pass; otherwise, your trip might exclude some members who can’t bypass the general standby line. Or you might end up choosing to wait in the standby line with non-Express Pass holders, which negates the use of the pass altogether. 
• Purchase your Express Pass tickets at least one month ahead because a limited number are available daily.
• The Express Pass includes one-day admission, so you only need this ticket to enter the theme park.
• When you first scan your online tickets at the front gate, make sure you receive a physical ticket from the workers. Each ticket includes your name and a bar code you must scan at each Express Pass ride entrance. 
• Download the Universal Studios Hollywood app to keep an updated notification of wait times and if rides and attractions accept Express Pass tickets.

How to buy the Express Pass

Since Express Passes are limited in quantity per day, I recommend purchasing them on the Universal Studios Hollywood website. You can also buy Express Passes at the front gate, but they can sell out which would change your entire day’s itinerary, so I recommend buying them online as soon as you can confirm a day you want to attend the park. 

To purchase tickets online, click the “tickets” button on the Universal Studios Hollywood website. Then, click on the “Universal Express” option and continue to choose your specific date. Each price differs by date. Finally, add the number of guests. Guests two years or younger don’t need a pass and are free to attend. 

How much is it to upgrade to the Express Pass?

The minimum cost to upgrade is $90, but it can be up to $170 extra. The price of a regular ticket ranges from $109 to $149, and the price of an Express Pass ticket ranges from $199 to $319. So on typical low-season days which aren’t busy you can expect to pay about $90 to upgrade to the Express Pass. During busier seasons, the prices of both tickets go up so you can expect to pay up to $170 to upgrade your ticket to Express Pass.

Suppose you originally purchased a general admission ticket and want to upgrade a regular ticket to an Express Pass. In that case, you can upgrade your ticket by calling Universal Studio Hollywood at 866-258-6546, or you can wait until the day of your trip and upgrade at the front gate. 

However, I recommend upgrading over the phone since Express Passes can sell out early. If you try to upgrade at the gate you may not be able to if they have sold out. Currently, there is no way to upgrade tickets online. 

What hotels include the Universal Express Pass?

The Universal Express Pass for Universal Studios Hollywood does not come with any accommodations. The Express Pass only comes with one-day admission inside the theme park on the specified date you choose from online or at the front gate. 

The post The Express Pass at Universal Studios: Is It Worth It? appeared first on Your Best Digs.

Table of contents

• Range & battery life calculations
• Charging the battery
• Cargo space
• Tesla camping accessories
• Camp mode, sleeping & bathroom breaks
• Final thoughts

Range & battery life calculations

With regular internal combustion engine cars, we never really think twice about range since there are gas stations everywhere. But with an electric car, even though charging stations are growing at an impressive rate, they are still sparse enough that you need to look up where chargers are going to be on the way to your destination.

Total range: 327 miles. The max charge our Long Range Model Y can hold is 327 miles of range. This figure is what Tesla uses based on EPA findings and we’re unsure if it adjusts for loss of capacity on older batteries.

Actual battery range used per mile driven: 1.5. In other words, 50 miles driven would use “75 miles of range” according to the Tesla app. 1-2 weeks before the trip we were keeping track of the power we used in kWh. We averaged around 280 kWh/mile with typical fan, AC usage, and mixed city & highway driving.

Camp mode battery usage: 1% per hour of running this mode. We watched some other videos and read articles of others using this. Of course extreme temperatures will use more, so we erred on the side of caution and went with a high estimate of the car using 1% of charge (3.14 miles) per hour that camp mode is on. So about 25.12 miles for 8 hours of sleep.

Campsite distance: 50 miles from home. Driving there would use 75 miles of range, and same on the return trip.

Final tally: 75 miles of range to reach the campsite, 50.24 miles of range used to sleep two nights, 75 miles of range to get back home = 200.24 range miles total.

This gave us a buffer of about 114 miles left over in case we used more than anticipated for any reason like steep mountain drives, extra cabin cooling for overheat protection in hot weather, keeping food cool, or extreme temps at night.

Charging the car

We’ll need to do some planning here regarding how often we need to charge. We need enough power to drive to the campsite, run camp mode (which we learned uses 1% of charge per hour), so factor in how many days you’ll be tehre, and enough power to drive home.

First charge at home. We set the battery to charge up to ~95% capacity, around 314 miles, since it’s better for the battery and regenerative braking works out of the gate. Charging to 100% shuts off regenerative braking, so the total range ends up being the same, but puts more strain on the battery.

Charge before arriving to the campsite. Let’s say you’re staying at the campsite for three days, and using camp mode each night. You should factor at least eight hours of camp mode each night (24 hours total) including some power for overheat protection during the day. So if the car estimates you’ll arrive at the campsite with under 24% of charge, you should find a charging station before arriving at the campsite. There was a Supercharger station about 11 miles before reaching the campsite in case we wanted to top off before reaching camp, or if we needed to leave mid-camp to charge. So given our 114 miles of charge buffer range we didn’t stop to charge the battery before reaching the campsite.

Charging at the campsite. Some campsites you can book have charging outlets for RV hookups. However these may be low wattage so unless you’re camped out for a while, it’s probably not a good idea to rely on this for anything other than topping off for camp mode.

I also want to be ready for emergencies, in case we need to leave unexpectedly. Ideally there’s enough charge to make it all the way home when we arrive. This means not arriving with barely enough power to last camp mode, even if we’re able to get a trickle charge in at the campsite.

Cargo space

We had two people sitting in the front and packed the rest to the brim. We filled in the sub trunk, front trunk, leg area in the back seat, folded the larger backset forward and loaded up. The Tesla Model Y is rated with a max cargo space of 68 cu. ft. Here’s everything we managed to cram into the 5-seater Model Y in order of largest to smallest.

• 13′ x 13′ canopy for shade
• 1 twin size folding foam mattress
• Solo Stove – Bonfire camping stove
• 54 qt Coleman cooler from our cooler review
• 47″ x 28″ x 28″ folding camping table (Mountain Summit Gear)
• normal queen sized pillows (not compact camping ones)
• 2 seventy-two quart plastic bins for food and cooking & cleaning supplies
• 1 Coleman – Triton two-burner stove and fuel cans: propane, isopropane mix, butane
• 1 large Osprey backpacking pack
• 1 Incase – ICON backpack from our college backpacks review
• 1 gym bag from our gym bag review
• full size tripod & mirrorless camera

Tesla camping accessories

For a more thorough guide of all Tesla accessories for the Model Y and 3 see our other post here. However, for any camping trip’s good night sleep you need to stay dry, stay warm, and not break your back during sleeping.

1. Twin-sized mattress. There are some sites that sell Tesla gear and offer a mattress that fits in the back of the Model Y. Some are actual custom solutions for a perfect fit, but many as we’ve found out, are simply taking a product that already exists and rebranding it as their own! We found out one of those are using a certain brand of foam mattress, which we tracked down to be the Milliard – Tri Folding Mattress, available at a much lower price at other retailers.

We typically use a super compact blow up sleeping pad but since we had more cargo space, we went for a thick folding memory foam mattress. This is a huge comfort upgrade because we’re side sleepers and the REI blowup pad starts to get uncomfortable when side-sleeping quickly. We used a normal twin-sized bedsheet to cover it and it fit perfectly. We also used two queen-sized pillows from home for comfort and it fit perfectly.

2. Windshield sun shade. Necessary for keeping the un-tinted windshield from scorching the seats and damaging the dash. This sunshade (we got one from BASENOR) is a standard accessory for every day short trips around town but helpful for sleeping in the car too. This is the type that has black on one side, and a more reflective silver on the other, and you can awkwardly maneuver a fold-up when not in use. It’s not as insulating as the thick, foamy, folding type, but its much more compact.

3. Window privacy shades. This provides privacy and blocks out light. We bought these camping side window shades from TGBROS since BASENOR was out of stock. We were camping with around 15 people, with the bonfire right next to our car so we wanted privacy if we went to bed while anyone was still awake. No companies seem to keep this item in stock for very long, perhaps because it’s a niche product. But we got lucky and snagged one before it went out of stock shortly after. The side shades just kinda snap into place and stay with wire tension similar to a typical windshield shade. The back shade however was sized too small so there was no tension on the shade frame and the window frame, we had to supplement with duct tape to hold it in place.

4. Roof privacy shade. If you thought installing the windshield shade was awkward, meet the roof’s privacy shade. This one is version 2 of the Tesmanian roof shade, which I believe the only difference from version 1 is including two self-adhering magnets to keep the shade from sagging in the middle. This thing is huge, so you need to have it folded as it enters the car, or unfold it in the car then hope you have it in the right orientation since the roof is not the same in the front as the back. It has 8 clips to slide into the gray frame of the car which can easily fall out during positioning.

Due to the size of this shade, I’m certain other brands will have the same pitfalls. But this, paired with an optional fully opaque 2nd layer to block out light over the mesh fabric, does the job to cut down or block all the light on the roof for camp nights.

5. All-weather floor mats. It’s camping so naturally we’re going to drag a lot of dirt and rocks back to the car. We were camping next to a beach so for sure there was going to be moisture, sand and then some that we didn’t want to deal with on carpet mats. Out with the carpet, forever in with these all-weather mats.

The two most popular brands for all-weather floor mats are 3D MAXpider and Tesmanian. I don’t love the huge logo the 3Ds have and have only seen the Tesmanians in photos and videos but it looks flimsy or cheap the way the finish of the material is so I skipped both. I found a set of mats from Taptes that looked exactly like the texture of the 3Ds but without the huge brand logos.

Camp mode, sleeping & bathroom breaks

Contrast it with the more basic Climate mode you can toggle from your car which is meant only to cool the cabin down and maintain a temperature, camp mode adds more functionality. Released in December 2019 via a software update, “Camp Mode” is one of the temperature settings you can toggle on the fan/AC screen. Camp Mode lets you keep the fan on, set whatever temperature you like, maintain lights, play music, and charge devices.

We tried this out for two nights with manual settings the first night at 72F, and accidentally discovering you can leave “auto” mode as well at 72F but prefer the manual mode with a slower fan around 2 or 3. Temperatures were pretty pretty mild, dipping into the 60s at night, and not really heating up until 8-9am to the high 70s, but having a stable 72F inside was very cozy, needing only a light blanket to stay comfy.

One concern we had was dealing with bathroom breaks in the middle of the night. At home we occasionally will go once at some point, so we were concerned about how this would play out in terms of comfort and noise. We were parked pretty close to another car so we’d need to be pretty careful opening the door to step down from a pretty high distance from the foam mat to the car or the floor. The way the doors are designed, you can hold the latch on the outside and press the door in, so you don’t wake your partner with slamming to door, but the problem is once you’re back in the car you have no choice but to slam the door shut.

Similarly the trunk opening and closing latch and motor are pretty loud with the extra concern about watching your partner’s feet so they don’t get slammed. Given this foot slamming risk, the side door was a safer option, but we needed to remove the privacy shade before leaving the car (since the window moves down when opening the door), and putting it back on after returning. Given its polyester-like material it is loud topped with a door-slamming cherry on top. Bathroom breaks are definitely doable, but a bit different than with a zipping tent door.

Final thoughts

Sleeping on a mattress, with cabin temperature control is a nice upgrade from tent camping, and it’s not something you can really do in a normal internal combustion engine car without running the engine all night. There are many upgrades from blow-up mattress pads to a thick foam mattress, better sound insulation, full light blocking if you choose, and of course not having to set up a tent. If your campsite is close enough to home, or if there’s a charging station close enough to the campsite or even an electrical outlet at the campsite, camping in a Tesla is better in many ways, with a few tradeoffs that are to me, worth it.

The post Tesla Camping in a Model Y: Accessories & Planning appeared first on Your Best Digs.

To use our calculator, fill out how many cups of coffee you want to brew and how strong you prefer your coffee. Then, use our recommended measurements by weight or volume to brew the perfect cup. Once you’re ready to make a cup, make sure you’re using ground coffee at a similar grain size to table salt and quality water.

Cups of coffee

1 (6 oz.) 2 (12 oz.) 3 (18 oz.) 4 (24 oz.) 5 (30 oz.) 6 (36 oz.) 7 (42 oz.) 8 (48 oz.) 9 (54 oz.) 10 (60 oz.)

Strength

strong (1:15) medium (1:16) light (1:18)

Water

By weight: 182.6 g.

By volume: 6.2 oz.

Ground coffee

By weight: 11.1 g.

By volume: 2.0 tbsp.

Tips for Perfecting Your Brewing Method

Once you the coffee-to-water ratio that suits your taste, there are a few extra steps you can take to make the perfect cup. Take an extra 2 to 3 minutes to run through the list below, and your friends and family may mistake you for a barista.

Clean your coffee maker. Nothing is worse than your coffee passing through oily build up. Run vinegar through your coffee maker once every few weeks to remove any build up, but make sure to run it with water after to remove any reminisce of vinegar.

Buy fresh beans. Recently roasted beans will make all the difference. Try to buy from trusted local roasters, or from brands that consciously packages their beans to last a while. It’s common for beans from large bins at the grocery store to be sitting for weeks, so you may want to rely on packaged beans. And, once you purchase your beans, remember to store them in an airtight container, away from light.

Perfect the ground. We recommend that you grind only enough beans just before brewing since coffee begins to lose its quality once it’s ground. Avoid blade grinders at all costs and opt for burr grinders for better grind consistency. For drip and pour-overs, you’ll want to grind the beans so that the consistency is similar to granulated table salt, and adjusting size as needed.

Use quality filtered water. Tap water can ruin the taste of coffee with its contaminants, so opt for bottled water or filtered tap water to maintain the full flavor of the coffee.

The filter makes a difference. Bargain filters can be thin, affecting the brewing process. Plus, many are bleached, which is bad for the environment and some claim it affects taste. We recommend that you select a thicker, unbleached filter.

Turn off the coffee maker when brewing is complete. If your coffee machine doesn’t shut down automatically, make sure to turn it off when brewing is complete to avoid a burnt taste.

Sources: National Coffee Association | Forbes

The post Coffee Ratio Calculator appeared first on Your Best Digs.

The answer is complex. To choose the size of an air conditioner, you need to know how big your room is, but you’ll also need to know where the heat in your room comes from. Heat coming in through sun-facing windows is different from the heat that naturally circulates through your house on a hot day. The humidity outside and what you’re planning to do inside are also important to know when you’re calculating air conditioner sizes.

Calculating sizes for window air conditioners

The easiest air conditioner type to work with is a window unit, since they only cool one room and they’re very efficient compared to other types that you can install yourself. We’ve made a calculator widget that can tell you what size to look for, based on the official Energy Star guidelines.

You Need A
BTU
Air Conditioner

In our review of the best window air conditioners we focused on 8,000 BTU units, since they’re the most popular. Just because an air conditioner is easy to find in stores and you can afford the sticker price doesn’t mean it’s necessarily a good pick for your room, though. Take the time to find out the right size, and you’ll save yourself some headaches.

Knowing how much capacity you need means knowing where the heat in your room comes from. For example, more than two people using the room adds extra heat, averaged out to 600 BTUs per extra person. A very sunny room needs 10% more BTU capacity. Adding a kitchen makes the most difference, with stovetop or oven use adding 4,000 BTUs to the recommendation.

Choosing the right size for split AC systems

The big difference between a split system and a window system is that instead of using a window to separate indoor and outdoor components, split-system installation requires drilling holes, running coolant and drain hoses, running dedicated electrical wiring, and hanging the hardware from your walls. The system is also typically more expensive to begin with, from three to five times more expensive than a window air conditioner for the same BTU capacity.

Sizing for a split-system or “ductless” air conditioner is the same as with a window system. It’s still only cooling one room, and you’ll have the same problems with humidity if it’s cooling too quickly. If you’re cooling a big room, though, it’s far easier to find a large ductless air conditioner that can cool more than 1,300 square feet of space, and you have more flexibility to install it in a location that gives you the most effective airflow.

Choosing the size of a central air conditioner

Moving from room air conditioners to central systems, the calculations become more complex. Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (“HVAC”) systems rely on a large central fan blowing air through ducts to cool or heat each room in a building.

The shape and size of ducting in your house will change requirements for the central fan (or “air handler”), and some installations may need additional circulation fans to keep an entire building at a more even temperature.

Aside from the extra calculations for an air handling system, with the amount of money you need to invest in a central air conditioner it’s also important to tweak your system capacity to match the demands of your climate. Air conditioners this large are often rated in “tons” of 12,000 BTUs with a standard rule of thumb being 1.5 tons per 1,000 square feet. A home on the Florida coast will need more cooling capacity and will have far different humidity concerns than a home in Nevada, even if summer temperatures reach similar highs.

While it’s possible to buy parts for do-it-yourself work on a central HVAC system, a professional will help you install a system that actually does what you need it to do. HVAC technicians in the U.S. are certified by either the North American Technician Excellence (NATE) program or the HVAC Excellence program, though certification is not required. Finding a bonded local contractor who will be able to inspect and service your system for the next 20 years isn’t always easy, but asking other homeowners for references is well worth the time it takes.

Choosing the size of a portable air conditioner

Portable air conditioners work differently than other systems, and there are a few facts that make buying them a bad idea in most cases:

• Portables use far more power than window units, and don’t cool rooms well
• Single-hose ACs heat up your room when it’s hotter than about 85 °F outside
• Tower fans are better than small portable ACs for most conditions
• So, if you can’t install anything else, get the biggest, quietest dual-hose portable you can afford

A window air conditioner will be far quieter and more effective, if you can find a way to install one. But if you just want to add some comfort in milder heat below 90 °F, and you don’t mind the noise, portable air conditioners can work fairly well.

We tested them in a bedroom, great room, and at our open-floor-plan office. In our experience, a 12,000 BTU portable can work well in a bedroom up to about 200 square feet, and a 14,000 BTU unit will make some difference up to 400 square feet if you can tolerate the noise.

If you have to survive a serious heat wave, though, running most portable air conditioners will actually make your situation worse.

The biggest difference between these and other air conditioners is that all of the hottest components, the condenser coil and compressor motor, are in the room with you. This fact puts a hard limit on the efficiency of the portable air conditioner — the more heat it collects, the more difficult it will be to remove that heat from your house. It’s rare to find a portable with a capacity of more than 14,000 BTUs.

The only way for a self-contained air conditioner to remove heat from its condenser coil and compressor is with forced air vented outside – usually through a window. This works fairly well in temperatures up to about 85°F, though even then it’s not nearly as efficient or quiet as other systems.

Where does the air come from?

But there’s another catch: If the portable air conditioner only has a vent hose, and no air intake hose, the air blowing out the window is the air you’ve just cooled. Worse, this air will be replaced with hot outdoor air coming in through doors, windows and cracks. When outdoor temperatures are above 85°F, a portable air conditioner can’t absorb enough heat to offset the extra load, so the room temperature will start to rise.

Dual-hose air conditioners like the Whynter – ARC-12 and Whynter – ARC-14 use a dedicated air intake hose, so the air being cooled stays in your room. But even after solving that problem there’s a limit to how effective a portable air conditioner can be: The department of energy down-rates the big ARC-14, which is technically capable of capturing 14,000 BTUs, to an effective performance of only 9,000 BTUs in average conditions.

This chart shows our tests of 12,000 BTU single-hose and dual-hose air conditioners against an 8,000 BTU window unit in 97°F heat. It’s no contest. All the inefficiencies add up to make portable air conditioners a bad solution for anything more than moderate 85°F heat. A bigger portable like the Whynter ARC-14 has a bigger fan and can circulate the air in a bigger room, but of course it’s also louder.

What happens when an air conditioner is too big?

The biggest problem with oversized air conditioners is humidity. The hotter air is, the more humidity it can hold. This is why we usually talk about “relative humidity” rather than a specific amount of water present in the air: Desert air at 10% relative humidity in the heat of summer actually has more grams of water trapped in it than when it measures at 30% relative humidity during cool winter evenings.

When relative humidity is at 100%, the air is holding all the moisture it can, and a sudden drop in temperature will force the water out of the air — like when the saturated air from your hot shower bumps into your bathroom mirror and leaves a heavy fog.

An air conditioner naturally pulls humidity out of the air the same way it does the cooling. The air moves past the extra-cold fins of the evaporator coil, and the heat moves out of the air into the fins. The excess humidity (now more than the air can hold) condenses on the cold fins.

Here’s where air conditioner size is important, though: Heat is pulled out of the air more quickly than water is. The above graph shows the temperature and humidity we recorded in a 115-square-foot bedroom with an 8,000 BTU air conditioner, which is about 30% too much heat-absorbing capacity.

The air cooled off quite quickly, and the air conditioner turned off while there was still plenty of excess water to extract. As time went on, the air conditioner did a good job of cooling any heat that built up or leaked into the room, but as the walls and objects in the room got colder the humidity problem got worse. If you kept up these conditions for a long time, water could start to condense on cold surfaces in the room.

The solution: Dry mode

If you’ve got a very small room to cool, you may not be able to find an air conditioner with the “correct” capacity — 5,000 BTUs is usually the smallest model. But on some air conditioners, there’s an optional setting to help offset the problems by turning the fan speed down. This means water has more time to condense out of the air while it flows past the coil, since your air conditioner will have to run for longer to hit your target room temperature.

Since the majority of air conditioner power consumption comes from the compressor, not the fan, “dry” modes use almost as much power as regular settings but cool more slowly. So, buying an air conditioner that’s larger than you need will mean you spend more on power as well as the initial price of the system.

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Some oscillating fans might be too old and neglected to attempt cleaning them. If that’s the case, consider buying a new fan; we’ve reviewed the best fans on the market. We also recommend tower fans, including the new Dyson TP01, for a different kind of cooling experience that uses bladeless-fan technology.

How to clean a fan

If your fan is relatively clean, you could use a damp towel to wipe the grates and fan blades, and let it dry before use. But if it’s really caked with dust, you’ll want to dismantle it and give it a thorough soapy wash, which we’ll show you how to below.

Before you begin cleaning your fan, make sure that it is powered off and unplugged. Don’t try to clean the fan in the living room or a bedroom, since dust and debris could scatter when you’re taking the fan apart. It’s better to clean the fan outdoors or in the garage or kitchen.

1. Remove the fan’s grill. The front half of the grill is held to the rear half by four clips or screws. If your fan has screws, use a Phillips head screwdriver to unscrew them. The fan in the following photos has four clips on the front grill that attach to the rear grill. Unlatch each clip, and remove the front grill.
2. Fill a sink with warm, soapy water. Dishwashing liquid works fine. If you’re doing this outside, you can use a large tub or a cooler, and make sure to use biodegradable soap if you’re dumping this onto your yard or drains.
3. Unscrew the blade nut. Usually, it’s a reverse nut, so to loosen, hold the blade and turn the nut clockwise.
4. Pull the fan blade off, and put it into the soapy water.
5. Loosen the nut that holds the rear grill to the motor stem. It’s a regular nut and will unscrew counter-clockwise. Put the nut into the soapy water.
6. Remove the rear grill. You’ll be washing this too.
7. Check the front of the motor for any dust. Use a can of compressed air to spray it off. Also check the rear of the motor, and spray a few quick bursts of air to clear any dust or dirt.
8. Wash the front and rear grills, fan blade and the two connecting nuts in soapy water. (Alternatively, if you’re washing the fan outside on a lawn or driveway, use a hose with a spray nozzle.)
9. Dry everything completely.
10. Reassemble in this order: rear grill, rear grill nut (tighten clockwise), fan blade, fan blade nut (tighten counter-clockwise), front grill. Hold the two grill halves together as you latch the grill clips.
11. Wait 15 minutes before plugging the fan in to make sure that all the parts you washed are dry.

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Tower fan cleaning, step by step:

Unless you’ve invested in a Dyson bladeless fan, it’s likely that yours is similar in shape and style to our top pick, the Seville Classics – Ultraslimline.  If you’re unsure that your tower fan is a bladeless fan, our article explains in detail how they work.

1. The essential first step for cleaning any electrical appliance is unplug it, and put the fan on an elevated surface, such as a countertop or table. Also, cleaning the fan will be easier if you wrap up the cord so it’s not dangling.
2. Before opening up the fan, use a vacuum’s brush attachment to vacuum dust or any other particles from the vents. If you don’t have a brush attachment, hold the vacuum hose end to the vents and brush the dust into it with a dry paintbrush.
3. Depending on your fan’s brand, locate the two to eight Philips-head screws that hold the casing to the fan’s frame. Use an appropriately sized Philips head screwdriver to unscrew them. Put the screws in a place where you can find them when it’s time to put the fan back together.
4. Using a flat head screwdriver, gently pry the casing from the top, working your way down. Be aware that there are usually two tabs in the bottom interior of the casing that can break if you apply to much pressure.
5. Lay the fan down on the surface. With a can of compressed air (for example, for cleaning keyboards), spray the fan’s blades to loosen built-up dust and other debris.
6. Using the brush attachment, vacuum the fan blades, moving up and down the length of the cylinder and slowly turning it. If you don’t have a brush attachment, apply the vacuum’s hose end to the fan blades, and brush the loosened dust with a dry paintbrush.
7. Don’t forget to also vacuum the casing behind the fan blades and the fan’s motor and brackets.
8. At the top of the fan-blade column, you’ll see the fan’s bearing, which holds the fan blades to the revolving column. Spray the bearing with WD-40 or other lubricant, and slowly spin the column, so the lubricant lightly coats the bearing.
9. You’re now ready to reattach the casing. Insert the casing into the bottom tabs first, and then snap the casing onto the fan’s frame, working your way up. Screw the casing in place. Plug the fan in, and turn it on. Let it run a couple of minutes so any dislodged dust you may have missed in the fan blades can be blown out.

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It’s not hard to do, but the process has several steps that take a bit of time. Read on to learn how to clean a deep fryer using the boil out method.

How often should you change cooking oil?

After each use of your deep fryer, run a skimmer across the surface of the oil to filter out burnt bits. If you use your fryer on a regular basis, you should change the oil once a week. If you’re an occasional fryer, then once every two weeks is fine. A few indicators that you should change your deep fryer’s oil are:

• Burnt odor
• Burnt taste to fried food
• Darker color of fried food

If it’s time to change the oil, then you should clean your deep fryer at the same time. Drain the cooled oil into a disposable container — never pour it down your kitchen sink since the oil will solidify and clog pipes — and discard in your trash. Some communities recycle cooking oil, and you can use Earth911’s search engine to find a location near you.

How to clean a deep fryer

The most common way to clean a deep fryer — in both home and commercial kitchens — is the boil-out method:

1. When the oil has cooled, drain it into a container for reuse, disposal or recycle.
2. Remove the basket, and let it soak in the sink or a large container with a few drops of grease-cutting dishwashing liquid.
3. Scrape the inner sides of the deep fryer to remove built-up residue.
4. Fill the deep fryer with water to the same fill level for oil. Don’t submerge the deep fryer in water. Use a measuring cup or some other vessel to pour water into the deep fryer.
5. Stir four or five drops of dishwashing liquid into the water.
6. Turn on the deep fryer, and bring the water to a boil. (Boiling point is 212 ℉ or 100 ℃, which you can monitor with an instant-read thermometer.)
7. Keep the water boiling for 10 minutes.
8. Shut down the fryer, and let the water cool completely.
9. Using a tough scrubber or scraper and a 50-50 mixture of dishwashing liquid and water, remove any grease residue that didn’t boil off. For stubborn bits, don’t scrub with an abrasive or oven cleaner; instead make a paste of baking soda and water.
10. Rinse with water, then rinse the deep fryer with white vinegar to neutralize the dish soap.
11. Rinse the fryer with water, and dry thoroughly with paper towels.
12. Use a scrubbing brush or toothbrush to remove food particles from the fry basket. Rinse and dry.
13. Make sure your deep fryer and fry basket are completely dry before adding new oil.

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How to clean an air conditioner air filter

The first part of an air conditioner that gets dirty is the air filter. Room air conditioners pull all of the air in your room through this filter — usually many times per hour — so it’s designed to catch as much dust as it can without slowing down the flow of air.

A plugged up filter can be messy, just be thankful you don’t have to get all that hair and dust off the coils inside!

How often should you clean your air conditioner?

You should clean a washable screen filter before it has collected enough dust to slow down the air going through it. If you can’t see the metal fins anymore because of dust, it’s definitely time to clean. Also check the filter if the sound of air flowing through it changes from a low “whoosh” to a whistling sound.

Tools for filter cleaning:

• Garden hose with sprayer, or a bathtub or big utility sink
• Kitchen sponge

Filter cleaning steps:

1. Remove the filter carefully, and try not to knock any clumps of dust onto your floor. If your air conditioner has a paper filter inside the mesh screen, remove it before rinsing
2. Take the filter somewhere you can spray it thoroughly with water, like in a tub with a hand-held shower head or outside with a garden hose nozzle
3. Use warm (not too hot) water to rinse away the dust until the filter is clean
4. Use a sponge if there’s built-up hair
5. Tap the filter to shake off most of the water, and let it air-dry
6. Re-install the filter

Disposable air conditioner filters

If your air conditioner uses a disposable filter — this is the case for all central air conditioners — you should replace it if it starts to smell or if it’s clogged with dust. Usually the trapped dust and hair will smell bad long before it has a big impact on performance, but if you live in a dusty area you may want to replace the filter more frequently, or consider using an air purifier to cut down on the dust in your home.

If you smell mold when you turn your air conditioner on, definitely check for a damp, dirty filter.

How to clean air conditioner coils

Every air conditioner has two coils: An evaporator coil, which pulls heat out of the air in your house, and a condenser coil that pushes that heat into the air outside.

Tools you’ll need for coil cleaning:

• Vacuum with soft brush attachment

or

• Garden hose with sprayer
• (Optional) Foaming coil cleaner
• (Optional) Fin comb

Coil cleaning steps:

1. Disconnect power from the air conditioner
2. Remove covers or shrouds so you can access the coil fins
3. Vacuum with a soft brush or rinse with water to clean light dust
4. Use a foaming cleaner to clean heavy grime, then rinse
5. Replace all covers
6. Reconnect power

Repairing coil fins

The metal coils are covered in fins, and keeping these clean is an essential part of keeping your system in top shape. If fins are bent, they can block air from flowing the same way an obstruction can, so if you see dents it’s a good idea to straighten them with a fin comb when you clean your coil.

Central air conditioner coils

In a central HVAC system, the condenser is the big box sitting outside. A once-over with a vacuum or leaf blower might be all you need for yearly maintenance, but for some systems it’s easier to just wash it with a hose (after you disconnect the power.)

The evaporator coil in a central air conditioner is more difficult to get at. Consequently, evaporator coils have filters installed to keep dust out, but if the filter is leaking or not installed correctly dust and hair can still slip by. If your air conditioner is not performing as well as it should, an HVAC technician will probably do a pressure check to see if there’s an obstruction before they take apart the air handler cabinet.

How to clean a window air conditioner without removing it

Window air conditioners have the same set of two coils, but on a smaller scale, with the condenser coil hanging out of your window and the evaporator coil sitting just inside.

The outside of a window air conditioner is sometimes tricky to access without removing it from the window, since the upper window sash is really the only thing keeping the unit from sliding or tipping out.

If you can’t reach the back of the unit with a vacuum, LG’s maintenance guide suggests a gentle rinse with a garden hose.

The inside evaporator coil is easy to access, and after you clean the filter you can spray the fins with a mild household cleaner or a foaming cleaner like professionals sometimes use.

Both condenser and evaporator coils are waterproof, but it’s still best to unplug your air conditioner before cleaning it.

Mold, rust, and water build-up

Evaporator coils collect water from your air whenever they run. If that water can’t drain away, you can get mold or rust growing in the system.

Central air conditioners

You should be able to find a clean-out port for your evaporator drain pipe, and you can test this every season with a glass of water to make sure water is draining. If it’s not draining, the same strategies that apply to sink and shower drains also apply here. If you have mold or mildew growing in your filter, check to make sure that water isn’t dripping down from the evaporator coil into the rest of the air handler.

Window air conditioners

Window units are designed to drain condensation into the pan at the bottom of the unit and then outside, which is why they need to be installed with a slight tilt. Most new window units are designed to keep a small amount of water in that drip pan, rather than draining it through a hole, so that a “flinger” fan can splash the water onto the compressor and condenser and make the system more efficient.

If you use a window unit regularly the water in the drip pan shouldn’t cause any problems, but if water sits for a long time mold and rust can start to grow. Make sure to let a window air conditioner dry completely before storage, or mold can grow all over the styrofoam baffles inside. A mild bleach solution will take care of mold, but you’ll have to take the air conditioner apart to get at it. Minor rust in the drip pan is easy to clean with a rust remover.

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If you don’t have access to a bike shop, though, you’ll need several measurements — your height, inseam, torso length and arm length — to buy a bike online. There is no industry standard for bike sizing, and sizing varies from one manufacturer to another. So it’s a good idea to have your exact measurements at hand.

Choosing the style of bike — mountain, road, hybrid — is your first step before measuring since their frames are somewhat different in design. How and where you want to ride your bike is a crucial factor in determining the right size for you.

Bike frame terminology

When researching the type of bike you want to buy, you’ll see several terms of which you need to be aware to ensure that you purchase a properly sized bike.

Top tube

This is the horizontal tube that runs from the seat post to the handlebars. The length of the top tube will determine your reach to the handlebars and your posture while you’re riding.

Bike frame size

The industry standard is that road bikes are measured in centimeters, while mountain bikes are measured in inches. Some manufacturers provide sizing charts that are based on a person’s height, such as x-small, small, medium, large, etc. This vertical measurement is taken from the middle of the pedal crank to the top of the seat tube.

Standover height

An important measurement is standover height, which, for road bikes is 2″ higher than your inseam and for mountain or commuter bikes is 3″-4″ higher than your inseam. This additional height allows for safe and comfortable standing over your bike when you’ve dismounted.

However, these sizes are different for different styles of bikes, so it’s not a one-size-fits-all scenario. For example, a top tube that measures 54 centimeters is usually considered to be a medium, but in some cases, it may actually be a small, depending on the bike’s model and manufacturer.

So although it may seem the easiest to choose a bike size like you would choose clothing size, it won’t necessarily be accurate, which is why you should take certain measurements to ensure a good fit.

Figuring out the right size bike for you is a lot easier than properly fitting a bike helmet.

Example of bike-sizing process

1. First, measure your inseam with a measuring tape from floor to your crotch. In this example, a 6’1″ man has a 33″ inseam.
2. Next, measure your torso from your crotch to your sternum (the v-shaped indentation at the base of your throat. Our 6’1″ man’s torso measures 25″.
3. Measure your arm from the tip of your collarbone to the middle of your closed fist (where you would grip the handlebars. In our example, it’s 30″.
4. Add torso and arm lengths together, divide by 2, then subtract 6 from that total, and you’ll have the top-tube length, so for our 6′”1 man, the ideal top tube length would be 21.5″

According to the following bike size chart, a 60 centimeter road-bike frame or an extra-large mountain-bike frame should fit our 6’1″ man.

Whatever size bike you decide to buy, one of our top picks for the best bike rack will support it securely in your garage or home.

Road bike sizing chart

A road bike is designed for smooth and fast riding on paved areas. It has a lower-placed handlebar to encourage a forward-leaning position. A road bike’s frame is rigid, which transfers the power of your pedaling directly to the wheels. Road bikes are always measured in centimeters because it allows for a more precise fitting to your body.

Mountain bike sizing chart

A mountain bike is designed for control and stability over rugged terrain. Its frame is more upright than a road bike and allows for better visibility for the rider. A mountain bike’s frame often has forward or full suspension to absorb bumps. The industry standard is to measure a mountain bike in inches.

Kids bike sizing chart

When buying a kids bike, it’s important to remember that a child will soon outgrow it. Experts recommend buying a bike that’s slightly larger, which will allow for the child’s growth. The child’s height and inseam measurements (in inches) are necessary for ensuring the bike is a good fit. Sizes for kids bikes are grouped together by wheel size; for example, 12″, 14″, 16″, etc.

Final thoughts

Every bicycle expert strongly recommends sizing a bike to fit your body on the actual bike you want to purchase. Even if you use our sizing charts to buy a bike online, it’s worth your while to find a bike shop to make adjustments because all bikes will need to be adjusted to ensure that you have an enjoyable and comfortable ride.

Our guides, however, are a great starting point, and if you’ve measured yourself correctly, it’s likely that you’ll be able to make the adjustments to your new bike yourself.

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