Tall rider input.....

2tall2ride26 · Dec 31, 2006

After researching 29er hardtails, I am looking for some experienced advice on a purchase. At 6' 6'' 220, I find myself at the extreme of stock frames. Short of purchasing a custom build, does anybody have any suggestions for a frame.

I am currently looking at a On-one Inbred. :madman:

thanks in advance....

G-Live · Dec 31, 2006

The Fisher Ferrous 29 seems to have a pretty long top tube that might be a good fit. Worth a look when available.
G

WEBERTIME · Dec 31, 2006

Big frames...

I'm 6'5" 2(much)lbs and LONG arms. I rode an XL KM with a Titec layback post and a 135mm stem... Yeah pretty cobled together, but it worked. The Inbred/Scandal, XL Fishers, are about as LONG a stock frame you'll find. However they are still a bit too short for you, but they could work until you can go custom. Ventana's got some longer toptubes as well but the price approaches what a custom steel frame starts at (Teasdale, Clockwork, Walt) so they might not be in the budget.
I'm hoping to have a custom built for me by a local buddy for this Spring with a 25.75" TT. HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Padre · Dec 31, 2006

most stock frames too small for you.
depending on where you hide your height...a Niner could work for you.

i rode a Niner Sir9 for few months and it fit me pretty good with a 120mm stem....i'm 6'6 also. my pedal to saddle height is 39.5" fyi

obviously, custom is best route for you...but the Niner's are most generous in TT length I think.

HardTail29er · Dec 31, 2006

Turner Sultan XXL >26" EffTT...IF you want to "bust big"

Soupboy · Dec 31, 2006

Check out the largest frames by Ventana.

http://www.ventanausa.com/frame_elpadrino.html

The 24" frame might just work for you. Great products and customer servicio.

Ryder1 · Dec 31, 2006

Fisher's 29er EffTT lengths, proportionate to seat tube length, are about as long as they come. And since the Ferrous shares its geometry with the Rig, XCaliber, Paragon, and Cobia, you shouldn't have a problem checking out the fit at a shop.

If you consider a short-travel rear suspension, The Asylum OCD comes in a 25" XXL. The similar Titus Racer-X 29er offers a 21.5 and a 23.0. I read its supposed to be out next month. The OCD has 3" rear travel, the X 3 or 4. These frames start close to $2k...

jDubELu · Dec 31, 2006

I'm 6'5" and 225, and the 21" Redline Monocog 29er fits me great! A 25.2" top tube allows me to get away with a 115mm stem--the shortest of any bike I've owned in the last 20 years.

For whatever reason Redline changed the sizing on the Flight 29er which is somewhat shorter in the top tube.

willtsmith_nwi · Dec 31, 2006

I believe Lenz offers the Leviathan in XXL. It's definitely not cheap. But it probably costs less than custom.

29erchico · Dec 31, 2006

A lot depends if you have long or short femurs. Most tall men have long lower legs with short upper legs and if this is the case with you a layback seatpost to give you a longer cockpit may put you too far behind the center of the cranks.

However if you have long femurs, the layback post is just the thing to make you fit one of the longer ETT XL frames pretty well.

Since you are thinking about the On One is it safe to assume you are thinking of going SS?

Cloxxki · Dec 31, 2006

jDubELu said:
For whatever reason Redline changed the sizing on the Flight 29er which is somewhat shorter in the top tube.

The reason was that 29" top tubes are relatively long, for technical reasons. By dealing with the geometry challenges, top tubes can be reduced to levels known from the 26" days.
While for tall riders it's a bonus that 29" bikes fit "long", to fit taller riders really 29" should have XXL's with adjusted seat tube length.
If you can handle a 21" frame height, Fishers sure are nice. For me at 6'4" with loooong legs, 21" is the lowest I'l consider, but I have multiple of those and another on the way now.

jDubELu · Dec 31, 2006

jDubELu said:
For whatever reason Redline changed the sizing on the Flight 29er which is somewhat shorter in the top tube.

Cloxxki said:
The reason was that 29" top tubes are relatively long, for technical reasons. By dealing with the geometry challenges, top tubes can be reduced to levels known from the 26" days.
While for tall riders it's a bonus that 29" bikes fit "long", to fit taller riders really 29" should have XXL's with adjusted seat tube length.

Yeah, I figured the 21" Monocog was an anomaly but I'm sure glad they sized it the way they did--it's a great fit for me!

I had a killer deal lined up on a Flight but when I saw they adjusted the sizing back to "normal" for a 21" I was extremely disappointed. Oh well, at least they saved me the struggle of having to decide which bike to ride every time I go out.

yz400e · Dec 31, 2006

I'm 6'5" the GF's fit me fine as far as TT length goes. I thought the Cannondale 29'er felt a bit short.

The dimension that no one adressed here and I think is just as important is the height of the head tube. I think everyone makes their head tube too short and the stand over too low. I run 40mm of stack, a 10 degree stem and a riser bar (this is the way it came stock) and I still have 5 inches of drop from the saddle. At slow speeds in technical rocks, I can feel play in the head tube assembly (yes the bearing preload is correct).

It just seems to me the manufacturers are trying to keep stand over and handle bar heights equivalent to 26" wheeled bikes. That is probably a good idea on the smaller frames but I have to believe that a rider looking for a XL 29'er is going to be taller than 'normal' and can ride with a bike with a bit higher stand over and a taller head tube. They shouldn't size the XL's to fit someone 6'2 but someone 6'5 or more. Taller than average people are probably the largest market segment for 29'er bikes.

My seat post is a Sals Shaft and 11.5 inches of it extend out of the frame. There isn't much more that it can be raised. I'm not sure how a taller rider would fit a GF.

Have any other taller riders noticed this? Would your bike fit better with 1 more inch of head tube height and 1 inch more standover?

willtsmith_nwi · Dec 31, 2006

XXL denied ...

yz400e said:
I'm 6'5" the GF's fit me fine as far as TT length goes. I thought the Cannondale 29'er felt a bit short.
...

It just seems to me the manufacturers are trying to keep stand over and handle bar heights equivalent to 26" wheeled bikes. That is probably a good idea on the smaller frames but I have to believe that a rider looking for a XL 29'er is going to be taller than 'normal' and can ride with a bike with a bit higher stand over and a taller head tube. They shouldn't size the XL's to fit someone 6'2 but someone 6'5 or more. Taller than average people are probably the largest market segment for 29'er bikes.
...

Have any other taller riders noticed this? Would your bike fit better with 1 more inch of head tube height and 1 inch more standover?

As someone who has to search for tall shirts, I can sympathize (I'm 6'3" with a a long torso and long arms. I LOVE the long top tubes). But I also know that I'm the tallest person in pretty much every room I walk into. I think the manufacturers have the charts and they have the #s for how many bikes are sold in any given size. They also have the numbers that show that 29ers are an even smaller percentage of that number.

The scarcity of XXL frames is lamentable (especially for 29ers). I rode a XXL 26er as it had a short top tube. But for the bike people this is just business. Unfortunately people above 6'4"-ish are likely going to need to go custom for a really good fit. The only XXL 29er I know of is the Lenz Leviathan.

Fortunately, there seems to be a lot of good frame builders out there that can help.

Cloxxki · Dec 31, 2006

Manufacturers lack info on how many didn't buy a bike because of sizing. Or how many are too tall for their XL's.
Bikes are great for tall athletes. Bikes are the great equalizer. As long as you're fit for your body height and style, you can compete with the skinnies and the beanstakes alike.

willtsmith_nwi · Dec 31, 2006

Good point ...

Cloxxki said:
Manufacturers lack info on how many didn't buy a bike because of sizing. Or how many are too tall for their XL's.
Bikes are great for tall athletes. Bikes are the great equalizer. As long as you're fit for your body height and style, you can compete with the skinnies and the beanstakes alike.

This is a good point. But I'm 100% sure they have the numbers for the distribution of the bikes they do sell. I'm sure that the "sweet spot" is in the medium-large. I also know that Trek and Giant offer exactly ONE XXL bike in their hardtail frame lineups but only at one performance level. I'm sure they know how well it sells.

I have a closet full of shirts bought for me that do not fit in the arms. Believe me, I wish the world was more sympathetic to the tall. But the taller you get in height, the farther you get away from the 5'9" average adult American male. If the shorter folks get the benefit of more bikes, It's probably because there are children and women to sell those bikes to.

We see opportunities to ride. They see unsold frames and bicycles tied to a fixed setup cost for low production runs.

The solution to this problem is to get more people cycling in general. This is where I think the whole bike industry falls down is that they can't throw money into a common pot (like say, the auto manufacturers) and promote the growth in their sector.

miSSfit · Dec 31, 2006

Kona Unit/Explosif XL 22. It's the only stock steel hardtail 29'er with a 6 in. HT, Which is great if you have a long inseam and don't want a lot of bar drop. I love mine and it handles great with niner's rigid fork.

klydesdale · Dec 31, 2006

willtsmith_nwi said:
The only XXL 29er I know of is the Lenz Leviathan.

The Asylum OCD is available in an XXL size. Ventana offers the El Capitan in 23" and 25" frame sizes. And Turner offers their new Sultan 29er FS in an XXL.

Speedgoat is offering the Asylum OCD with a King Headset and either a Reba Race 29er or White Brothers Magic 29 100mm fork for $1999 right now. That's one of the better deals going in the 29er world, IMO.

klydesdale · Dec 31, 2006

yz400e said:
I'm 6'5" the GF's fit me fine as far as TT length goes. I thought the Cannondale 29'er felt a bit short.

The dimension that no one adressed here and I think is just as important is the height of the head tube. I think everyone makes their head tube too short and the stand over too low. I run 40mm of stack, a 10 degree stem and a riser bar (this is the way it came stock) and I still have 5 inches of drop from the saddle. At slow speeds in technical rocks, I can feel play in the head tube assembly (yes the bearing preload is correct).

It just seems to me the manufacturers are trying to keep stand over and handle bar heights equivalent to 26" wheeled bikes. That is probably a good idea on the smaller frames but I have to believe that a rider looking for a XL 29'er is going to be taller than 'normal' and can ride with a bike with a bit higher stand over and a taller head tube. They shouldn't size the XL's to fit someone 6'2 but someone 6'5 or more. Taller than average people are probably the largest market segment for 29'er bikes.

My seat post is a Sals Shaft and 11.5 inches of it extend out of the frame. There isn't much more that it can be raised. I'm not sure how a taller rider would fit a GF.

Have any other taller riders noticed this? Would your bike fit better with 1 more inch of head tube height and 1 inch more standover?

At 6' 5" I think the headtube height on XL GF bikes is pathetic.

When I had my first custom frame made a few years back, I had owner of my favorite LBS helped me come up with dimensions for it using the Serotta "Size Cycle" he had at the shop. The dimensions of my custom Curtlo 29er FS are based on what we came up in that fit session to locate my saddle and handlebars relative to the BB. It has an 8" headtube with a 22" ST and a 26.12" ETT. (Note: this bike was designed for straight handlebars and normal angle stems.)

I've never been more comfortable on a bike.

Ryder1 · Dec 31, 2006

klydesdale said:
The Asylum OCD is available in an XXL size. Ventana offers the El Capitan in 23" and 25" frame sizes. And Turner offers their new Sultan 29er FS in an XXL.

Speedgoat is offering the Asylum OCD with a King Headset and either a Reba Race 29er or White Brothers Magic 29 100mm fork for $1999 right now. That's one of the better deals going in the 29er world, IMO.

Good deal, especially since that Reba is about $500 and the 29er standard right now.

Also, the largest Ventana, Asylum, and Turners all have head tubes longer than 6 inches. Then again, you've been looking at a steel hardtail, and these are aluminum full suspension. But at least one's 3", one's 4" and ones 5" I think.

Tall rider input.....

2tall2ride26

G-Live

WEBERTIME

Padre

HardTail29er

Soupboy

Ryder1

jDubELu

willtsmith_nwi

29erchico

Cloxxki

jDubELu

yz400e

willtsmith_nwi

Cloxxki

willtsmith_nwi

miSSfit

klydesdale

klydesdale

Ryder1

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