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Although I've been riding a full suspension 29er for the last twelve months, I've still got the forks and wheels from my last bike which was a 27.5
I want to use these to build up a winter hardtail and really fancy a Soul. At 6'4 I'm a little over the recommended height but was wondering if there is anyone my height riding a Soul comfortably.
Looking at the geometry, although the seat tube is shorter on the Soul, the top tube is longer than my xl full sus and there's 1mm difference in reach.
I'm very close to ordering a frame but real world experiences would be useful.
Cheers
I 'think' Cy is only a little shorter than you so might be worth giving Cotic a ring and having a chat. I rekon you'll be fine though!
I contacted Cotic, who said it's borderline but may be OK with a slightly longer stem than they would normally suggest.
Is it a longshot Soul? If so you should be okay ....
I had a Gen 1 Soul in L and it was very short ( I was 6ft 3inches but as I am getting older , I shrink). But it also depend on body proportions...
As you have the wheels anyway it doesn't help, but at your height I would go Solaris ( and maybe run a 27.5 plus )
I'm 6ft 1 myself on a new MK5 Soul and found it a real stretch to start with. Just to get the build started I used a 50mm stem I had lying around and with the saddle in the middle of the rails on the reverb it was a good 50mm longer from the tip of my saddle to the centre of the bar on my T130. I've gone to a 31mm Chromag stem and moved the saddle forward 5-10mm and it's still 20mm longer! I would imagine at your height a 45mm stem as Cotic have on the longer side of their recommended range and as far as reach goes you should be fine.
I have a 150mm reverb post and have about 30mm, maybe more exposed post though, so you would probably need a pretty long post to get it at the right to you as the frame is pretty low for the length.
I tested the new soul when it came out. At 6.3 I felt it didn’t fit particularly well, but if they did an XL version I’d be tempted as it was lovely frame. Reach is fine just didn’t feel ‘right’. Not very descriptive or helpful I know. Had a lot of seatpost showing and felt I was on a bike too small even if I could get it to work.
Im looking at an XL Solaris instead FWIW, could you do that and put bigger rubber on your wheels to run that in + rather than 29 format?
I'm 180cm exactly, and have a large longshot BFe. Sizing is spot on for me, but doesn't feel as long as I expected at all. At your height, it's probably fit fine - hell, for years we've all been riding bikes way too small for us, and not really complained.
If you don't have a longer bike to compare it to, you'll probably not know the difference.
However... A properly sized bike is gonna be better for you.
Sell your bits & get a 29er... you won't look back!
Despite Cy being tall, I don't think Cotic have catered for the taller end of the spectrum very well for most of their time. That is one reason that kept me off their bikes for so long. I think the Longshot bike are better, and I'm quite happy with my XL LS SolarisMax.
I'd be tempted by an Escapade if they did an XL size.