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Having flip-flopped from a Salsa Fargo, to a Surly Ogre I've finally ordered a Brother Big Bro from the rather lovely people at Keep Pedalling and whilst I wait for it to be built I wonder if I'm right in going for an XL as there are none available to try. I'm 188cm (6'2") with 90cm inner leg (35"). Does anyone have either a Brother Big Bro (or a Shand Bahookie as they seem to have very similar geometry) who's similarly proportioned or can comment on fit?
Cheers.
I've got a drop bar Big Bro, medium, 60mm stem with the big, wide, Curve Walmer bars. Fits like a dream. I'm 5'11 on a good day. If I was going to run it with 'normal' bars I'd want the size up for sure. Only criticism I've got is the suspension corrected geo makes for a lack of space in the frame for luggage. Other than that, absolutely love it. HTH
Thanks @timmycee . I hate buying bikes blind. I just wish I could find one in large or xl to try.
No worries, I'm sure you'll be fine with the XL with your height. The geo is on the old school end of the spectrum, and I guess you're not going to be doing rad to the power sick dude-bro gnar sends on it, so will be fairly adaptable with some stem length experiments, so long as your spuds aren't on the top tube.
Head tube is too short for an XL frame IMO (that's a bugbear of mine, I'll admit).
I’ve looked at the Big Bro since it was released back in the dim and distant.
I’m approximate 6’2 and a bit and typically ride an XL or a 58 in road bikes. The XL frames I have range from 19” CtoT and 21.5’’.
I’ve always thought that, for me, the L Big Bro would be too short but the XL would give little to no stand over as it’s a 22” frame without much of a dropped TT.
I guess it depends if you will be using it for more touring or trail.
I'm 5'11" on a straight bar Medium Bahookie.
@montgomery aaaaall head tubes are too short! But yep, I would really like it to be a bit higher on the Big Bro but at least it's a steel steerer so I can get a few spacers on.
@letmetalktomark it's more for tour. More of a flat bar gravel bike really. Hopefully one of its first outings will be the Loch Ness 360
@timmycee looks great to me!
I have a medium Big Bro and before buying it test rode a large at the shop. The large wasn't ridiculously too big for me, but the medium is a perfect fit. I am 5'9" with 33' leg, so I suspect, as you do, that the XL will be the right fit. Totally understand though about having a test ride. I love my Big Bro. @mrsprestoo my account on instagram on which I only post photos of my big bro if you're interested 😀
5’9″ with 33′ leg
noticed too late to edit....
I'm interested in knowing if the OP had this discussion with Brother or Keep Pedalling?
Thank you @Anna-B
@seventy I certainly have. I've had a lot of communication with Keep Pedalling both face to face and via email but unfortunately they don't have anything similar to try due to stock issues for me to try.
I've also spoken to James at Brother via email who's advised that XL would normally be for 6'2" to 6'6". I'm bang on 6'2". Looking at the geometry again, the XL will only give 1" clearance on standover (plus shoe sole) so I have requested the order be changed to a large. My thoughts are it's easier to make a smaller bike bit than one that's too large.
Now all I need to do is wait 3.5 weeks until the build and not drive myself crazy second guessing myself. Though obviously if I can find something to 'prove' it one way or another it would be great.
do you have anything you can supply that has your body dimensions? Something similar to the attached pic? If so, I'd be happy to take a look for you.
I was going to send you this as a message but figured it might be useful for someone that stumbles across this as a result of a search in the future.
The short answer is that I think you could get either size to work.
One thing to consider is if you'd be using a dropper post (inline) or a seatpost with a layback. This changes your reach (saddle-tip to bar) by anywhere from 15mm to 30mm. The pictures below (which are linked to pdf versions) are drawn with an inline post, a 90mm x 6º stem, a bar with a slight rise (20mm I think) and 10mm of headsetspacers. If you have any other bikes you could take a tape measure to then the highlighted dimensions are the ones to pay attention to. I didn't get an arm measurement from you but assuming you're not a freak then I've estimated that based on the rest of the dimensions. To get a reach that I think would be good for the type of riding you describe (more touring that techy off-road) then I actually think the XL would be a better fit than the large. Saying that, fitting a layback post to the large will get you a similar reach and a few spacers under the stem will get you a similar drop. Your saddle setback (how far behind the BB you are) will be increased but it's not a slack seatangle so that's not going to be crazy. The large will obviously get you more standover (but less room for bottles and framebags). If I was in your position, I'd go with the XL which is probably not what you want to hear. But try and compare those highlighted measurements with something else you ride and see what you think.
Seatposts, layback or otherwise, don't affect reach
Seatposts, layback or otherwise, don’t affect reach
Yes they do.
They don't affect 'frame reach'. They affect 'reach' though. See the highlighted dimension in the drawing. And the part where I say "This changes your reach (saddle-tip to bar)".
That's what 'reach' means - BB horizintally to headtube. You can't just pick some other arbitrary dimension and call it reach.
That’s what ‘reach’ means – BB horizintally to headtube.
No it doesn't. I can be that though if you want it to be.
You can’t just pick some other arbitrary dimension and call it reach.
You're a funny guy. Thanks for teaching me something. Isn't the internet great?
We should probably get together and decide who's going to tell the bikefitting community that they're all wrong and they need to stop just picking arbitrary dimensions and giving incorrect labels. I'll start, here's quick pic from a Retül diagram.
Seriously though, what would make someone read through that post I'd written above and decide that the best course of action is to complain (incorrectly) about the use of a word? What a knob.
@seventy I'm blown away that you would spend the time to do that for me. I really appreciate it. I'm leaning towards the XL again as well.
Keep Pedalling, legends that they are, are holding both frames until the weekend for me. Through the power of instagram I found someone in North Cumbria with an XL which they (with similar levels of kindness to strangers) have offered to let me try on Saturday morning. It's almost a 6 hour round trip but worth it to be certain, plus it gives an excuse to come back via a tour of the lakes.
I will report back on Saturday. Thank you again.
Cheeky PSA while we're talking Big Bros, but.. If anyone has a medium v2, before it went 148 boost, there is an under the counter Invisiframe kit available. There might not be a key sheet for it, so some detective work as to where the parts go, is required for install, but the kit has been designed and is on our system. (FYI I work at Invisiframe)
@timmycee I was hoping there would be a kit for the current model. It will be the first in the last 5 bikes that wasn't either ti or bare aluminium.
@cupoftea Unfortunately, due to the low volume of them we'd sell, I don't think it would be something we could fit in. However a generic kit would be ideal. If you need any alterations, such as pieces lengthening/shortening, we can totally accommodate that. Give us a shout when the frame arrives and we can sort something out. Just mention me, Tim, on the email. Hth