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Hi Guys I'm 6ft4 (195cm), and I'm trying to find an enduro/freeride bike for my size.
Untill now was riding a Moondraker Summum in size L with 445mm of reach, this bike was quite too samll for me. I thought about buying an enduro because they often have more reach than dh bikes and are cheaper. I still mainly ride bike park and i like the tecy stuff but because of corona i'd like to have a bike that at least has somehow uphill capibilities so i have thought of the Propain spindrift Al. The guy at the local bike shop told me i should buy a bike with at least 515mm rach the spindrift only has 500mm do you guys think it will fit still?(My budget is about 2,5-3k)
Sorry i know my english is very bad.
The guy at the local bike shop told me i should buy a bike with at least 515mm rach
Reach of "at least 515mm" puts it firmly into the longer end of long low slack territory.
Buy the bike you want, put a slightly longer stem on if it feels a touch short and ride it. 500mm is still plenty long enough. Also don't fixate too much on the reach, it's important but so are all the other numbers, you could easily build a long bike that still doesn't fit you. There's a good reason DH bikes tend to be shorter than enduro bikes (and part of that is enduro bikes and reach numbers are the dish du jour) but all the numbers need to work together and they need to work for what you're riding.
(also 6'4" riding an xl following so 457mm reach, it fits well for thrashing about, pedaling up and going down most things. It's not as roomy and confident as my 480mm hardtail but it's noticeably more fun for throwing about. I'm looking for a longer full suspension bike at the moment to replace the hardtail but that's very much about wanting a bike I can (talentless-ly) throw down stuff which is beyond my skill level.)
Hi I'm 193cm.
I've three mtb's. 530, 520 and 480mm reach.
Given a magic wand they would all have 530 reach.
I rode bikes with much shorter reaches for years and loved them. I wore knee pads all the time as cracking a knee into the bars was normal.
If you can find a longer reach it will probably fit better but it's just down to taste. Some people like bikes that are longer, some like a bike with a shorter reach.
What ever you end up with will feel normal if that the bike you ride all the time.
If I had £3k for a bike I'd buy this. Mostly because I ride a g13 and it's ace up hill down hill and in the bike park.
http://m.pinkbike.com/buysell/2913806/
I'm 6'2" and ride a large Cotic (490mm) - long, long legs and normal arms.
The XL's are 515mm.
I’d be thinking privateer 161?
I’m 6’5” on a transition sentinel, but thinking you’d rather go a bit bigger travel
My pal Greg is 6’4” I think and rides an xl rocketmax. He loves it. As above, 515 reach. I’ve demoed a L with 490 reach, as I’m only 5’11”. Amazing bike superbly confidence inspiring on steep tech. Climbs well too. Shame I can’t afford one so bought a calibre sentry instead. 487 reach in the L but only 506 in the xl
6ft 3in and 9n an XXL Jeffsy with 510mm reach.
I wouldn't look at anything much under 500mm on a FS bike now.
Capra shred? https://www.yt-industries.com/uk/detail/index/sArticle/2509/sCategory/92
6'1 on an XL Cotic - I demoed the L and the XL; the XL just fit better. I have a longer torso/arms vs legs than average I guess 😀
Quite a few enduro style bikes are now long enough - just finding one in budget (brand new) lowers the number.
Bird AM9 or Aether 9C
Privateer 161
German brands - YT / Radon / Canyon
How do you other giants (Im 6'3")deal with the unnerving sensation of being giant on a trail. I always feel when the terrain slopes, im going to get pitched off.
I am so jealous of those of you closer to the ground 😆
Always wondered how a mullet would suit :?. 26" rear,29" front.
How do you other giants (Im 6’3″)deal with the unnerving sensation of being giant on a trail. I always feel when the terrain slopes, im going to get pitched off.
I find walking very helpful
My riding buddy is 6'5 and rides an XL Scott Ransom at 500mm reach. I'm 6'2 and ride a medium Commencal Clash at 465mm reach. We only tend to ride DH/freeride. He wants something slightly shorter next time and I find mine perfect for my needs.
im 6ft 3" on a XL Rocket which I demoed and fell in love with after a few years on a large bird aeris (mk1) which gave me back pain which i thought was normal for a day out on a bike. (sub text too small for me). The bikes fit so well a few months after owning my rocket I sold 2 bikes to fund a XL Solaris max that i brought without even demoing. For me the biggest plus of Cotic is Cy is also a tall bloke so I feel like he shares our pain for awful fitting bikes. As said I wouldnt look at anything with less tan 500mm reach but if you want a really long bike how about a Geometron?
How do you other giants (Im 6’3″)deal with the unnerving sensation of being giant on a trail. I always feel when the terrain slopes, im going to get pitched off.
A long reach and long wheelbase make such a difference. I recently put a -2 degree headset in my Flare Max, and still as good climber but even more stable and confidence inspiring.
For me the biggest plus of Cotic is Cy is also a tall bloke so I feel like he shares our pain for awful fitting bikes
+1
In addition to looking at reach numbers, I have to carefully look at stack height and seat tube angle and I'm only 6'2".
I have found that as more and more people want a longer reach, some bike companies have put really short seat tubes on bikes with low stack heights, so shorter riders can ride much longer frames. As a taller rider, this is bad news as the combination of a steep seat tube and a low stack height feels awful for seated riding, like holding onto your knees as you sit on a pole.
Something extra to consider, but long doesn't always equal a good fit for taller people.
I'm 6'7" with long arms for my height. I recently started riding a Pace 529 which is WAY more comfy than my old bike, especially when climbing. 508mm reach compared to 410. Still feels like an offroad BMX a bit, which is nice. To the OP probably depends a bit how you want to ride it, like if when you say freeride you mean dicking about plopping off cliffs then it being a bit shorter than a race bike might be good. But all day bike maybe check seat angles too just to be sure that cockpit is long enough despite big reach numbers I'd say.
Best to take other measurements than just reach into consideration. The Propain has a very steep seat tube angle and the top tube isn't particularly long. So the seated riding position may actually feel a bit small.
I think reach is less important than top tube length. Because of offset seattubes not all long reach bikes will have a long top tube.
Bird Am9 or geometron would get my cash.
6ft4 here and I have a Last Glen in XXL it has a reach of 522mm and I love it, I came from a Transition Smuggler with 500mm and it was definitely an improvement.
I don't know how to embed an Instagram post, but I posted this recently which shows how much geometry/fit has improved:
But as others have said you definitely have to keep other measurements in mind, take a Santa Cruz hightower, long reach but very slack actual seat angle which is going to put you further over the rear wheel, not so great for climbing, the new Spesh Enduro is the same. But then you have the Privateer which is the complete opposite and could very easily feel short!
As said above, short seat tubes are also going to start affecting how many XL bikes will actually fit us tall guys, the latest commencal is around 440mm,thats alot of exposed and unsupported seatpost!
I don’t know how to embed an Instagram post, but I posted this recently which shows how much geometry/fit has improved:
+1
My Chromag has a 525 reach on a hardtail, it feels too long with a 50mm stem, I will change it to a 35mm to see how it feels.
I'm 200cm.
I'm 6'5" and my hardtail has a 510mm reach, my full sus has 528mm reach. Arguably they are a little less playful than my older, shorter bikes but the wheel size probably plays a part(old bike was 26", hardtail is 29" and full sus is 650b). Overall I feel having a bike that properly fits trumps everything else, I don't miss a playful feeling at all and would now never buy a bike with reach shorter than 500mm.
6'7" currently riding an XL Triple B with a 200mm dropper. Geometry chart says 476mm reach.
At first i put a longer stem on it thinking that i needed more space to move. Eventually have settled on a 35mm stem with 800mm bars and the bike feels (to me) better than ever.
Don’t look at just the reach figure.
For example The privateer 161 has a long reach but due to the steep seat angle they feel quite cramped when riding. The top tube length is only 630mm which is only 10mm longer than a Santa Cruz nomad in L(460 reach) The XL has a TT of 660mm but a reach of 490mm and
You need to look at a mixture of the geometry figures.
Have a look at whyte bikes.
A bit of a random addition to the thread, but one little thing I have found as a taller rider is the DMR Defy stem. Additional front end height in a decent looking short stem which can be run above a good few spacers has saved me from needing weirdly high riser bars, if frame fit needs tweaking.
Useful to know about the DMR stem, I've been eyeing one up for exactly that purpose!
196cm here with a Giant Reign 29er XL that's got a reach of 516mm and climbs really well. Might not have enough travel for you though.
198cm / 6’6” here and looking at Orbea as one of the best options for me in terms of sizes and models available.
Agree with what everyone else says on this. I'm also 195cm.
Long reach (+500mm) feels great.
Watch out for too short ETT, and also very low stack.
Also watch out for too short seat tube - on some daft low frames' even with a 210 dropper, I'd be awfully close to min insertion on the seat post.
The addition, is if you are going full sus, be very careful about Effective seat angle Vs actual. You will have a lot of seat post showing, and if the actual seat tube angle is Pole, Cotic are examples where their angles are good. Specialized and Santa Cruz are horrifically bad examples.
You can end up with a 4m ETT and an effective 60degree seat tube angle with your arse parked somewhere behind the rear axle. bad news!
I give you exhibit a, a rental XL 2020 Tall boy, which has just about everything wrong with it for a tall bloke: low stack, too short reach, hideous seat angle, ridiculous ETT:
Specialized and Santa Cruz are horrifically bad examples.
Just noticed that there are 3 SC's (including Renton's latest purchase) for sale in the classifieds, all with the saddle somewhere over the rear axle.
I give you exhibit a, a rental XL 2020 Tall boy, which has just about everything wrong with it for a tall bloke: low stack, too short reach, hideous seat angle, ridiculous ETT:
That looks like an alu frame so it's "only" an XL and genuinely too small for you. sc sizing is tiny (always has been) and you'd need to be on a XXL at much over 6'. But that said that means a carbon frame...
That looks like an alu frame so it’s “only” an XL and genuinely too small for you. sc sizing is tiny (always has been) and you’d need to be on a XXL at much over 6′. But that said that means a carbon frame…
Agreed, absolutely. I just flag an extreme example to illustrate my point. This picture was taken before I actually rode this rental (was the largest they had!), and I had to raise the saddle even further 😂
I'll echo the reach thing again because it is important when comparing bikes with different seat tube angles. 6'7" rider here.
I had an XXL Turner Sultan and it was a great fit. Snapped it eventually, needed a new bike. Oohh, look at those long reach frames!
I bought a Guerilla Gravity Trail Pistol in 2018 - alu, not their current carbon - cos it had some of the biggest stack and reach figures on the market. It's a great bike, but it isn't any longer than the Sultan was because of the much steeper seat tube. That angle is fantastic for climbing and keeps my weight well centered and not over the rear axle like slacker tubed bikes. What it does mean is there is very little cockpit lengthening going on when you put the seat up where we need it.
So, long doesn't necessarily mean long like it used to for us tall people who put the saddle right up.
6’5” riding a large bird am9 v2 and an xxl Santa Cruz tallboy v3.
The bird is better in every way apart from the SC being a bit lighter (mostly due to build I suspect).
the new bird am9 is also rated to 170 forks too.
Definitely get a demo on a bird
Specialized and Santa Cruz are horrifically bad examples.
The silly seat tube angle was the main reason I sold my Hightower. Last year I emailed Santa Cruz to ask about effective vs actual angles and what height they measured at. It's well known they measure seat angle at stack height, which is useless for tall riders, confirmed in reviews/articles online and their own drawings. After 3 months, I kid you not, someone replied, answering a different question to what I asked. So I pointed this out and asked again, then got a reply from one of their engineers. He denied this and even included a different drawing that had no bearing on reality to back it up showing 74 was accurate at my saddle height. Unbelievable. Almost like he thought I hadn't ridden a real 74 before and didn't have other bikes to measure it against. The fact that I suck at wheelies but could suddenly do them on a Hightower raises questions about weight distribution for a start!
The thing about Santa Cruz sizing is they only put a 195cm rider on XXL if they make that size. XL apparently fits just fine otherwise. The sizing chart is made to suit what they sell. I'm the same height. For me the stack/160mm headtube is too high on the latest XXL Tallboy. SC already lengthened the head tube far enough to 140mm on XL.
Shameless plug: geometrygeeks.bike, the website I run, lets you search by geometry numbers for a fiver. Might help you find something big with a reasonable seat angle!
Reach >515 and seat angle >75 gives 79 results, including those mentioned above plus Trance X, Commencal Meta AM, Last Glen & Coal, Trek Slash... some ideas.
Happy hunting!
Bob
Cheers Bob, good to know that exists.
I'd go for Reach >500, seat angle >75 and stack >635 (>650 on a HT) for my next bike. Good to know there's an option to narrow the search.
If you could also add in a "mega-tough wheels as stock" criteria, that'd be ace 😉 🙂