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My "poor student" son is looking for a second hand 456 frame/bike in order to be able to ride more "trail" as opposed to the hipitty-hopitty-jumpy stuff he does on his AtomLab GI (24" wheels). An 18" frame would suit him (he used to "borrow" my 18" Inbred) but he was wondering if a 16" frame would be better for some "rad and sick" moves whilst still being XC ridable? He's 6'2", btw. Any ideas?
Definitely an 18" at 6'2", or even a 20" as the size chart suggests. A 16" will be ridiculously too small. No doubt some idiot will be along in a minute telling you that they are 6' odd and they own one.
He may struggle to get the seat high enough to be able to pedal it efficiently.
It depends though, if he doenst value "uphill efficieny", then it will probably be fine. Still possibly a bit big for getting "rad and sick" on though.
He's 6ft 2, and wants a 16" frame?
You are Hora's Dad, and I claim my £5!
[i]He may struggle to get the seat high enough to be able to pedal it efficiently. [/i]
That's what I said.
[i]A 16" will be ridiculously too small, although some idiot will be along in a minute telling you that they are 6' and own one. [/i]
I may have, once, conversed with said idiot, hence, the query.*I didn't believe him*
[i]He's 6ft 2, and wants a 16" frame?
You are Hora's Dad, and I claim my £5! [/i]
Splutters! 🙂
*opens anoter bottle of Rudgate Ruby Mild and waits*
I'm 5'10" and despite being tempted by the 16" I'm glad I went for the 18".
I ride a 16" and im 5'9". I have a 400mm seat post at maximum for xc riding and drop it a few inches when the going gets tech
If he wants to ride jumps and drops and downhill then the smaller the better really. I'd say a 16" would even be a bit too big (on ones are fairly long) for that sort of riding. Its all about compromise
Most people on here cant even do a wheely/bunnyhop/endo etc. Never mind get "sick and rad!"
He may struggle to get the seat high enough to be able to pedal it efficiently.
this..
I'm only a very small 5'8 and feel like I have a lot of post showing on my 16" 456..
(but I have the legs of Gisele Bundchen and the torso of Warwick Davis.. 😳 )
18" it is, then.
*starts looking*
I'm 6'1" and ride a 20" 456. I did ride an 18", but felt I was over the front too much. The 20" is perfect.
It may soon be up for sale too...
It's not merely about height. There's a lot to do with body proportions and spine flexibility. I ride a 20" XC frame with a 50mm DH stem to reach the bars comfortably. Does he think the toptube is too long for him the larger frame size he goes? I can use a 19" frame to throw the bike about more, but then there is too much seatpost sticking out and the frame will eventually start cracking at the welds (like my soon to be retired commuter bike has done)
6ft3 and ride a 20" with my saddle quite a way out even at that.
Rode it in the alps last year barely lowering saddle
Plenty room to move around , never felt the need to buy a frame thats too small and most folk i see that have either regret it or are oblivious to the fact that its making their ride much harder than it needs to be putting their weight in all the wrong places.
Could get away with an18 but a 16 is wayway too small even for a dh bike for that height -
6ft3 here too and ride an 18" with quite a lot of seatpost showing. I'm happy with it 🙂
6ft3 and 20" here