[Closed] I've seen the future and its 505mm reach in size large

My Bird Aeris 145 from around 4 years ago has 506mm in large, mine is XL with 528mm reach. A lot of brand have been slow to increase reach, Santa Cruz come to mind.

Runteli Karu hardtail. 500mm reach. Medium…

https://www.runtelibike.com/karu

My five year old geometron has a 515mm reach in size large. I'm not compensating for anything, honest 😳

Bloody hell. My new bike has a 487mm reach and that feels like a revelation thus far!

Good thing too. As a very tall rider (2metres+) I'm sick of having to fit humungously long stems. And then finding that the cables are now too short. The next great innovation will happen when manufacturers finally realise that it's insanity for S and XL frames to have the same length chainstays. And don't get me started on crank lengths!

A lot of brand have been slow to increase reach, Santa Cruz come to mind.

I would have agreed a couple of years back - I think SC were very slow to go long. But the more recent ones have gone a fair bit longer and they're pretty on-trend now, if not goundbreaking. E.g. My current gen 5010 is 510mm in XL (with v low standover). And has size-specific chainstays.

I'm not a >2m freak though! :~P

I think my remedy is 460, my Rocketmax is 465 and tbh that feels good to me. I've tried some longer ones and sure there's advantages without a doubt but it's all about where you want to put your compromise... every longer bike I've ridden has felt less good as an allrounder, more steam in and smash everything.

But that could just be the bikes I've ridden. But to me it feels like we're probably out of the phase where pretty much every bike could be improved by making it longer.

My SC Tallboy 4 XL has a reach of 490. I thought that it would be too much but it's not. It does feel very different to my old Tallboy 3.

I'd like to try one of these 'reachy' bikes, but with long legs/short'ish torso, I think the problems I've always had getting bikes to fit, would be compounded even more

I’d like to try one of these ‘reachy’ bikes, but with long legs/short’ish torso, I think the problems I’ve always had getting bikes to fit, would be compounded even more

I’m the same and had a ML size Bird Aeris 145LT a few ye are a back. Reach of 481 - I’m 5’9 / 32” leg bit short arms / torso.

There are a few trails where my pb is still on that bike - generally quite straight rocky ones that are really fast. The extra stability from the long reach must have been key to it.

However I had a few crashes where I lost the front wheel - generally going relatively fast and in corners with no supportive berm / flat. I had cos chi img and really worked on her trying in the right position to weight the front wheel but I think ultimately it was just a bit too long.

My happy medium on a full suss bike seems to be between 450-465mm. Chainstay length seems to be less of a concern - current has 440mm chainstays (previous 425mm / 650b)and a stack of 622 (29er). I like the bike to have a high front end too.

Last bike was a similar reach (457mm previous / 451mm current) and both are slack. Current is 63.7mm and it’s the best bike I’ve ever had for all round trail use - leaning towards more steep tech stuff at the moment.

I’m on a antique from 2018 - 505mm on a MEDIUM 😂

I suppose what I was getting that is that yes 5 years ago some out there brands were making mahooosive long reach bikes, but now even the more conservative ones are , well, not conservative. What will be the new 'niche' crazy reach.

I've seen that the new strive from Canyon, a traditionally quite conservative brand with a winning rider famous for liking 'old school' geo,  will have 505mm reach in large. a jump of 44mm.

I think the largest size of any bike should be getting close to 500mm reach, perhaps excluding jump bikes. Though I am probably biased given I've spent most of my life on chronically undersized bikes!

And don’t get me started on crank lengths!

165mm for me, with a near yard inseam.

I think my remedy is 460, my Rocketmax is 465 and tbh that feels good to me

I think we're about the same height, and my Large 2019 Enduro is bang in the middle of that at 462 and feels pretty nice

My old G16 was 520mm 4 years ago. I'm 6'2" with long arms and it's the bike I waited all my life for.

All I know is that my 2015 Nicolai has a 455mm reach and looks like a kids bike compared to a friends Vitus (not sure on the model but it's a 29er and is MASSIVE)

Long legs/short torso so the reach feels fine. My Stooge is similar at 459mm.

I think the largest size of any bike should be getting close to well in excess of 500mm reach, perhaps excluding jump bikes.

FTFY.

Under 500mm for the biggest size on a FS bike? Get away with you, back to 2017...

At 6ft 3in, my 3 year old (2019) FS bike is 510mm reach, my next one is likely to be 535mm reach.

My hardtail is 'only' 495mm reach but then I wanted that to be agile, less for riding fast/steep/tech and more for mellow local stuff + gravel duties.

Under 500mm reach on an XL size FS is an instant no from me.

I don't think you can have a meaningful conversation about reach without mentioning ETT and seat tube angle in the same sentence tbh.

I've just gone to 485mm on a size large and that's plenty for now.

I am a mere 5ft 8in though.

@ta11pau1 I'm 6'5" so I like that big reach is available but my comment was taking account of bikes that don't need to be as long. My full sus is 528mm but my hardtail is 510mm, I enjoy riding both of them but could definitely see me riding something nearer 500mm reach if it was a less extreme bike.

So what I was getting at was I feel that even the more playful/agile bikes should have around 500mm reach in the largest size. Enduro/DH bikes should be way beyond that.

I find it interesting that until the last few years I haven't been able to buy an MTB big enough for me yet my road bike which is 10 years old isn't even the largest size available and fits perfectly.

I got a Marin El Roy in Grande. Long bike but really fun when it gets steep and rough. Reach 510 at ETT 647/78deg SA. Got back on my old 2018 capra CF today in large and it feels tiny.

I’m 6’5″ so I like that big reach is available but my comment was taking account of bikes that don’t need to be as long. My full sus is 528mm but my hardtail is 510mm, I enjoy riding both of them but could definitely see me riding something nearer 500mm reach if it was a less extreme bike.

So what I was getting at was I feel that even the more playful/agile bikes should have around 500mm reach in the largest size. Enduro/DH bikes should be way beyond that.

Ahh, you meant the smallest 'XL/biggest size' should be near 500mm reach - gotcha and I completely agree, as you can see with my 495mm reach hardtail. 😁