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have an XL framed HT for family rides and commuting.
I would like a full sus bike for my local trail centre. I have test rode a few but im curious to see if others who are also as tall think the same? yes I do believe XL frame is the one for me. When I was looking for my hardtail the only bike I liked geometry wise was a 29er specialized. it suited my riding position and felt comfortable.
I totally understand that people have and prefer different riding positions. im just comparing to see if different manufacturers mostly suit a certain person because of there height.
Trek fuel ex8 XL - 26"
Large c456 - 26"
Edit: ninja edit
Large Nicolai AC 29er here, fits me really well. Spent a decade on a 20" Orange Sub Five, which now feels small 🙂
All I can say is each manufacturer sizes bikes differently, try as many as you can and get the one that fits best. Having said that my bike shop measured me up for the Nicolai prior to pushing the order button.
It's hard because the difference in size with each manufacturer can be so great. I'm 6'3 and normally just automatically opt for XL, but i've been caught out a couple of times unfortunately when i've bought without test fitting/riding. My Spesh Camber was an XL and it was enormous, waaay too big. The only sure way to get the sizing right is to try them out, which can often be really difficult to organise.
I'm 6'3", odd shape with long legs and arms but short torso, so I tend to ride small frames to rein the reach in.
I rid a large (19.5 inch) 2006 vintage Turner 5 spot. It's looking a bit tired nowadays though!
I'm only 6'2" but have long legs and recently had a ride on a (taller) riding buddys' Cube carbon Stereo 27.5. Rode really well and worth a demo.
21.5 trek remedy for fs at 6'3"
6'4" and I ride a large 19" Alpine. Had a nerve am XL 22" before that and a 20" Cube Reaction before that .
After my Nerve I realised I really don't want another XL frame. My Alpine fits me very nicely, im comfortable on it and after a few months with it I feel at home, can ride it well and it's never caused me any discomfort in any area. That's the real test IMO, does it cause you any pain or numbness or does it affect your abilities negatively in the mid to long term? If the answer is no then you've got a bike you can use.
Of course this is no use when buying a bike as you only get a short test ride, but I wouldn't automatically assume you need an XL just because you are 6' 4" .
Salsa Horsethief in XL , 22 inch
I've got long legs so a lot of seatpost out and I need a lot of stem spacers and risers!
No way would I fit anything smaller, but anything bigger gets too long, even though I could do with the longer seat and head tubes.
I'm 6'7" with a 23" Turner Sultan, their XXL Sasquatch size. The XL would be about right for you.
Fuel Ex8 19.5
I am 6'2 and right on the cusp of L/XL
Opted for a smaller frame, some XL frames felt like a gate
Just over 6"2" and riding XL Rocky Mountains, around 20.5" I think.
Only 6ft 1" but long legs, short body, on a large Blur. Perfect for me as they are relatively short compared to other brands.
My large Enduro was too long for me
XL SC heckler
Pretty varied results so far. A couple of treks and no stumpjumpers FSR'S. Got a demo day next week and week after and will be trying XL in cube Stereo & stumpy FSr.
I've a 22" turner 5 spot and 21" inbread and scandal (both 29ers).
I did have a 20" inbread but just felt small with stupid amounts of seatpost stcking out.
XXL Tallboy
At 6'2" my Large Transition Bandit is a perfect fit but I reckon I'm at the upper limit as I quite like a short top tube.
XL Norco sight for me at 6'4". Really comfy bike. A vast improvement on the XS Norco i had before!
Mattbee
Beautiful bike and good spec. Where you purchase from mate ?
I find 20"/19.5" is right perfect to me on 26er or 29er and I am 6'4". Anything bigger just felt too big.
6'6"
Previously rode a XL Titus Racer X, now have a XL Banshee Prime.
Im only a short un- 6ft2 18" 08Patriot 😀
6 6? Are you black and play professional basket ball? 😆
6'4" - XL Tallboy. First bike I've ridden in years that really feels like it 'fits' properly.
6'2" with a large Stumperjumper 26er. The stumpy frames are pretty long and the fit is perfect for me.
mattrgee - Member6'2" with a large Stumperjumper 26er. The stumpy frames are pretty long and the fit is perfect for me.
Posted 21 minutes ago # Report-Post
think im into the XL bracket with this bike but I know what you mean by long. that's why I ended up with a carve HT. fits me lovely.
6 6? Are you black and play professional basket ball?
yes and yes
6'4" salsa horsethief in XL
6'4" - XL Tallboy. First bike I've ridden in years that really feels like it 'fits' properly.
Exactly this, except for LT after the Tallboy
6'4" Large Covert, but it feels too short on long climbs.....
6'4" and I ride an XL Canyon Nerve XC8.0.
Turner xl would prob be a good fit for you - I'm riding a flux in that size and it's perfect.
6'4" - ride a 22" Kona tanuki... I have come to the conclusion however that its too big...
my next bike will have more stand-over and shorter reach
Canyon nerve xl, I am 6'2" and found the xl just a tad too big for me, so would probably fit you nicely.
6'4" and on a Trek Fuel Ex 8 (the 26" version). Feels spot on with a 70 mm stem for me.
I also have a L Cotic BFe, it's too small but a lot of fun.
6'4" also and XL stumpy fsr 29er.
In the flesh it is enormous but doesn't feel like it when you're on it.
Previously rode XL enduro SL (26")
I'm not 6'4" and I ride a hardtail.
Hope that helps.
6ft4, on an XL 2012 Nukeproof Mega. I probably could have gotten away with a large, but I'm used to bikes that are too small for me. I might try a 35mm stem this summer to shorten it up from the current 50mm.
It is all very personal though, I have a pretty good idea of the TT & ST lengths I want, currently building up a 29er hardtail, and looking at the canyons really wanted the ST off the large and TT off the xl. So ended up going for a santa cruz highball with was much more suited to the dimensions I wanted. For a full sus however I would have gone for a large nerve.
Im 6'4" and ride a 20" orange five. Fits me perfectly.
6'4" and on a 21" xl Sultan with 70mm stem and 780mm bars, feels perfect. Previously I had an xl dw 5 spot which was a good fit but not as good as the Sultan, also looked a bit stupid with a big frame and it's silly little wheels. Before that always used to run large 19.5s or thereabouts as I was in the smaller is more nimble school of thought. Whilst there is some truth in that it just makes the bike too compromised 95‰ of the time
6'4" with 36" leg on 21" (XL) Trek Rumblefish 29er.
Looks pretty big but feels just right to ride with a 70mm stem rather than the 90mm standard.
The XXL - 23" Rumble is a monster. I reckon you'd need to be around 6'7" to ride that.
6'4" long arms long legs, short torso - XL carbon nomad, fits like a glove 🙂
Large ASR5. Tried an XL SB95 but it felt like a gate.
6 6? Are you black and play professional basket ball?
Really? A new level of stupid, even for you.
6'3 on a Large stumpy evo (18.5) with 150mm dropper.
Fits pretty well as spesh generally have long top tubes.
6'4" on an XL 2010 Commencal Meta 55.
Spot on.
Jeff
6'4" also and XL stumpy fsr 29er.
In the flesh it is enormous but doesn't feel like it when you're on it.
Same for me.
6'5" riding a large Stumpy Evo (19.5), a 20" 456 and a 14" DMR. I've a 50 and a 70mm stem which i swap between bikes depending on how much climbing there's going to be. All are 26" wheelers.
I'm 6,3" and ride a Fuel Ex8 19.5 29er. I was previously on a large Canyon Nerve 26" which always felt on the small side.
6'3" on a large 1999 Marin Mount Vision. Looks enormous on its own, looks like a moulton under a gorilla when I'm on it.
CaptainSlow - Member
Turner xl would prob be a good fit for you - I'm riding a flux in that size and it's perfect
I'll second that. Not least because I'm about to put a 2011 iteration in XL on the market. Absolutely perfect trail centre bike and ideal for people who are 6'4" (like me). Only being sold as I a) Need cash and b) my riding is much more focused on gnarly natural stuff in the Peaks and North Wales and it was being taken out of its comfort zone. Will be going for a competitively priced £995 with a good spec. Let me know if you are interested 🙂
I had an xl stumpy that felt a bit big, and a large pitch and large RIP9, both of which felt a bit small. My xl Solaris is a perfect fit.
No one on a giant anthem but tested XL 2 weeks ago and it felt good and very fast bike. I've fell in love with the new stumpy fsr. Best looking bike for 2500 if you like the stealth look. Sat on the large 29Er in shop but sales guy reckons I should try XL. Will be testing it on the demo day on 15th at cannock. Can't wait.
6'4" here and I ride a 22" Orange five with a 60mm stem and it's been perfect for everything from days in the peaks to mucking about in the woods to uplift days. Never felt so comfortable on a bike before!
Personally I would think a test ride would answer most of the questions ...
6ft3 here had a large giant yukon fx It was very slightly small for me but great fun and I would buy one again.
6' 5" and and XL Nicolai Helius AC. I've got 36" inside leg. The XL size has got longer over the years on the XL and it's only now with a TT of 635mm/Reach of 461mm that I've been able to drop to shorter than a 100mm stem (though I still ride fairly narrow bars). Shorter top tubes just don't give me the space to move around on the bike (and I smack my knees on the brakes/shifters too often).
You really can't judge anything from either a manufacturers size and on MTBs at all from the seat tube (which, with dropped top tubes doesn't even give much idea of standover - it's purely an indicator of how low you can drop the saddle and even that's not relevant with dropper posts).
My experience is that most tall people ride a bike that's too small. Saying that, on my first bikes I had a 21" Marin Rocky Ridge the felt good but looked huge (pretty horizontal TT) followed by an Airborne Ti hardtail that I never got on with as it was too long (probably have been sorted out with a shorter stem/inline post/wider bars but it was a long time back). The XL Superlight that followed always felt spot on.
6'6" here, with humongous legs. XXL Stumpjumper 29er and 22" Orange Five 26er. Both fit really well, the Stumpy being the bigger of the two.
The bizarre thing is, you'd imagine tight switchbacks would be harder on a bigger bike, since swapping to bigger bikes I'm finding them drastically easier. Just having a bit more space over the bike makes a world of difference.
The XL Ibis Mojo I once had being the most tragic, very short wheelbase, I couldn't climb or descend on it, very simple switchbacks I was embarressingly bad at. Lifting the front wheel was easy on the plus side! :/
Personally I would think a test ride would answer most of the questions ...
In my experience (of being a hobbit married to an ent), demo days and test fleets can be seriously limited when it comes to the smallest and largest sizes...
Which is funny, as this thread shows that tall chaps who enjoy biking aren't exactly a rarity.
ive got a Ventana XL El Capitan 29er frame for sale very cheap if anyone is interested
Gary Fisher Hi Fi (29er), though I'm not sure that's still available in UK, might have been superseded by Trek Rumblefish. XL
6'3" with long legs.
20" Five (26-er)
18" Patriot
Previously had a XL meta 5 but found it far less manouverable on tech.
Got an XL Liteville 301 on the way, 26" rear/27.5" front
simons_nicolai-uk - Member
The XL Superlight that followed always felt spot on.
6'4" - XL SC Superlight which is spot on. Also 20" ti456, previously XL Rockhopper.
6'4 and a large boardman fs
6'7 Tallboy LTC XXL arriving this week, should be an improvement on my too small 2004 rim braked Kona Fire Mountain 🙂
6'4", XL Yeti 575, Thomson 50mm stem, perfect.
Yeti SB95 XL
Scalpel 3 - 29er - XL
Trigger 1 - 29er - XL
6ft3.
I also ride the XL salsa horsethief (22inch) with a 50mm stem. Perfect fit
6'4" and on a Trek Fuel Ex 8 (the 26" version). Feels spot on with a 70 mm stem for me
Mines an ex 6 but snap
6'5 on a cube ams150 22" frame, sounds and looks huge but rides well, also have an xl giant xtc, both 26ers