Big Mama for a 5' 8" Female... Sm or Med?

cycljunkie said:

Planning stage for a new bike for the Missus. In the 26" world she has always ridden a medium frame (SC Blur = med, Titus Motolite = med). In the 29" world she has ridden two medium frames (Canzo and Supercaliber). Both bikes seemed big for her. The Canzo a little too tall and the Supercaliber TT was way too long. Should I try to fit her on a small Big Mama? I plan on building it up with a 100mm fork and flat bars...

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Just reading that, I'd have to say size Small.

Of course, it all depends on her legs, torso and arms in terms of proportions. She sounds like a classical "tweener" and could go either way. Based on her height alone, she falls right on the edge for either being the tallest height for the size S or the smallest height for the size M. Compare the frame measurements of the S and M for the Big Mama to the Canzo and Supercaliber she had. If the Mama size M is similar, you don't want to repeat the poor fit you had on those bikes. So step down a size and enjoy.

Any chance for her to test/demo a Big Mama in either size in your area?

BB

Stop by the Pig and have her test ride my Selma. Its a medium.


edit: meh, nevermind... for some reason I saw Big Mama and was thinking Mamasita.

I'd say stick to the medium. Supercalibers had extremely long ETT's (med was 25.2"!!!! vs a Blur at 23.5-24"), and I always felt my Canzo was as bit too tall myself.

Thanks for the feedback...

My gut tells me to go with a M. I think I can fit her nicely on the medium since she'll be running a flat bar and 100mm fork. The Big Mama has great stand-over too so I think she'll feel comfortable un-clipping on the trail, etc. Wish I could find one built up for her to throw a leg over...

funboarder1971 said:

Stop by the Pig and have her test ride my Selma. Its a medium.

edit: meh, nevermind... for some reason I saw Big Mama and was thinking Mamasita.

I'd say stick to the medium. Supercalibers had extremely long ETT's (med was 25.2"!!!! vs a Blur at 23.5-24"), and I always felt my Canzo was as bit too tall myself.

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The Selma would be very close to the fit of the Big Mama. Head tube height may be the only significant difference. Stand over is more than 2" less on the Big Mama.

I would go for small, and play with stem length from 100 to 110mm +

I am 5'8" and i ride a Medium Big Mama.
I also have a Medium Pivot that has slightly larger dimensions than the BMama, the stand over is higher on the Salsa but once you get her rolling that doesnt matter at all.

Sorry to confuse things, but I'll vote for the small. I am 5'10" and ride a medium with a 90mm stem. If we are talking about normal female proportions - longer legs, shorter reach, the small sounds perfect to me.

The measurements are on the website and she has plenty of former rides to benchmark from. Doesn't sound like too hard a job.

I ended up going with a small for my wife. I took a look at the fit chart on the Salsa site and she was clearly a small. Seeing as my two Salsas fit me very nicely I figured I would trust the chart. So far seems to be the right choice. Will post up pics of the wife's new ride soon.

Vote is Small......I am am abount same height...the med will be a little high to stand over

Sweet ride- I think you made the right choice with the small- though only the rider can tell for sure- Have fun Salsa is blowing those things out right now- let us know how it feels-