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Hi. I´m 5´10/5´11 with 32 inseam and 5´10 arm span. I considered buying a 18" frame. But my friends told me to size down on a hardtail. I usually ride fullsus. bikes with 450-460 reach, 630 toptube and 1117-1205 wheelbase. We got a lot of narrow single trails here and I like it a little more playful too. The 16,5" frame seems to be quite compact with it´s 605 toptube... Any advice would help.
hi, I have a 16.5 switch 9er and 5'8". I could go a size bigger no problem my full suss has 490 reach. each to there own
I'm not much taller and ride a L SolarisMAX in super-tight jungle trails in the sub-tropics. Works great, but may take a bit of adjustment.
Am waiting on an 18" Switch9er.
Sizing is very personal, but it is worth remembering the following...
-Reach is generally more important than horizontal top tube length on a modern MTB.
-Reach is very dynamic on a hardtail, with no rear suspension to compress, the reach will extend and contract as the suspension fork compresses effectively.
You're bang on the cusp though, could go either way. Maybe see if you could get a test on either/both sizes first...?
Nice. Why did you choose the 18" frame? I might have read too much. Most opinions are 40/60 downsizing/ upsizing on a hardtail.
My Trek has a 455 reach and my Spectral 460. They feel different.... cause wheelsize/wb/ stack and headangle dont match.
Personally, I prefer 27.5 wheels, but the Switch9er also seems to do quite well in corners. I leaned towards the Switchback5 first, but I've never ridden a bike with a 415 chainstay before. Will it be very unstable at speed?
Quite hard to decide. I dont want to "waste" 2k....