I’d personally choose trek over the diamond back. You should also check out the Salsa Timberjack. NX1 27.5+ is $1099. My wife rides the Timberjack and loves it. Santacruz chameleon is another good option. When in between sizes, smaller is going to be more nimble and confidence inspiring, while larger may be more comfortable on longer rides. If you’re riding aggressive trails, I’d definitely go with the smaller size. You can probably get away with larger frame for more tame trail riding. Each bike sizes differently, so it’s always best to test ride and have a shop fit you properly.

 

If a bike is a bit too large you can put on a shorter stem and move the seat up an inch. Stretching out and dropping your torso,,low is fast on single track...
Go too far with this and your back, neck and wrists will hurt.
This mostly depends on your core strength,
Fat and soft In your middle = Pain and Six pack abs means No Pain, Simple

If a bike frame is too small reverse the above BUT you may feel cramped.
Top heavy, feel like your going over the bars, Limited movement on/around/over the bike. Once you turn those bars the longer stem will mean nothing.

Longer stems slow steering, tiller effect, I don't like that.
Shorter is faster and feels more precise IMHO, others may differ, call It ,'Twitchy'
Twitchy is bad. I ride a 60mm stem and It's not twitchy. More Important to me was riding a 'Slack' bike, My 66.7 degree head tube angle gives me much stability when I need it the most like Going down steep stuff, Railing berms.
Any time my speed comes up It just feels more stable, makes me want to go faster.
I bet this was no help..

If I was on the border I'd go Up In size, more aggressive/skilled riders who ride wilder trails may choose smaller IDK. I am dead center of the mark for Large frames and cannot ride a medium.

For the money your going to spend I'd want the Rosco, Second reason, Treks come In SIX different sizes (I Ride a Scott Scale 720 Plus), Much like the Rosco

First and foremost I'd want the bike brand my favorite local bike shop sells.
I try to always support my LBS, I even will pay a few dollars more to buy from them.

What ever you buy GET A DROPPER SEAT POST ! I use it more than my gears. I wont ride a bike without one and consider It a safety device just like my helmet

 

If a bike is a bit too large you can put on a shorter stem and move the seat up an inch. Stretching out and dropping your torso,,low is fast on single track...
Go too far with this and your back, neck and wrists will hurt.
This mostly depends on your core strength,
Fat and soft In your middle = Pain and Six pack abs means No Pain, Simple

If a bike frame is too small reverse the above BUT you may feel cramped.
Top heavy, feel like your going over the bars, Limited movement on/around/over the bike. Once you turn those bars the longer stem will mean nothing.

If I was on the border I'd go Up In size, more aggressive/skilled riders who ride wilder trails may choose smaller IDK. I am dead center of the mark for Large frames and cannot ride a medium.

View attachment 1195440

I agree 100%, get a larger frame if in doubt. You can put the seat down anyway or as Osco mentioned get a dropper post.

Small frames do feel cramped and top-heavy, and it's very annoying/scary on steeper downhill stuff. You feel like putting on the brakes early because there is a sensation that the whole bike is going to tip over forwards. Also the smaller frame causes more wheelies going uphill.

 

The Mason 2 is a great bike. There are quite a few people on these boards who have Masons and they love them. Nothing wrong with them. With the corporate discount the Mason 2 can be bought for just under $1100.

I am similar to you in bike fit. Being 5'10", I was between the medium and large for a Diamondback Catch 1. I ended up buying the medium and the fit is spot on. Now, this may or may not be the case for you and if you have any stores nearby that sell DB bikes, I would test a Mason out in the different sizes. For me, it was a crapshoot because there are no DB dealers near me. I based the fitting off the geometry for my old bikes.

 

I have a 2016 mason trail, it is the same frame but mason 2 has better components I have upgrade my bike to most of the upgrade on the mason 2 minus the front shocks. Mason 2 colors is what I like alot. I would go for it.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

Medium. I'm 5'6" with a +2 wingspan. My wife has a size small Mason and while I can ride it just fine it is a bit tight. You will most likely fit better on the medium.

 

Difference between Small and Medium reach is 18mm, stack is the same, standover difference is 4 mm.

 

I have also been considering the Mason 2 as it seems to be the best bang for your buck 27.5+ bike you can buy. I was also considering the Salsa Timberjack, Norco Fluid, Trek Roscoe, etc as other options but there is one thing that steered me away from those bikes. They follow a new standard of 141 x 9 mm boost QR. This means that if you plan to upgrade later on, it will be much more difficult. It is also not as rigid as a thru axle. The mason 2 has the standard 148 x 12 boost. The mason 2 is sold out on their site now so I'll have to decide what I want to do. I would love a 2018 Norco torrent 2 but its a little out of my price range.

 

I'm 6' 0.5" and my large '16 Mason Comp fits me like a glove (I definitely wouldn't want to be any taller). To be on the safe side, you might want to size up and change to a shorter stem if necessary.

I'm a big fan of the Mason line. I'm kind of bummed that DB did away with the Comp and Pro models, but the Mason 2 looks decent. The geometry is pretty sweet, and the damper on the fork is better on the Mason than the Roscoe 8. Everything else is comparable, more or less.

 

I just picked one of these Mason 2 bikes directly from DB as I get a corporate discount. From DB's website it looks like they might be phasing this one out as well as it went from $1,399 to $1,219. I got a corporate discount on top of this so IMO it was a steal. It was out of stock for a while but as soon as I received the email notification I jumped on it.

I still have my Specialized Pitch Sport which I just bought in November, but the Mason was too good of a deal to pass up. I still like the Pitch so I just might keep it as a backup.

I went with the large as the dimensions were closer to my Pitch, than the medium. YMMV.

BTW, the bike should be here on Friday so I'll post up again once I put it together and give it a go.

 

3% cash back from Active Junky on DB bikes on top of the corp. discount and if you dig around you should also be able to find a 5% off coupon so the total price for the Mason 2 will be around $1012.

 

I paid a lot less than that! [emoji1591]

Sticky shoes & sharp pedals.

 

I have a 2016 Mason trail. I like the mason 2 mainly because of the frame and wheel colors. I have upgrade my bike to everything but the dropper post. But I love mine as you should too.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

Check Amazon.com periodically for deals on this bike. Several months ago they had the 15.5 inch version on sale for an insane $679 price, normally $1400.

 

Yay for databases! This and 3xcamel.

 

So the bike arrived last night. Put it together and all dimensions are perfect with the exception of the seatpost being too tall. It's a Large BTW. The medium would have been too cramped otherwise.

Any way to limit how far the dropper travels, or would I just have to go with a shorter post?

Sticky shoes & sharp pedals.

 

Unrelated question, I'm considering a DB Mason bike and looking at potential fork upgrades, does anyone know what's the Axle to crown and steerer tube length are on a Large frame?
Thanks!

 

I actually sent the Large back and exchanged it for a Medium, so I don't have the spec with me, but you can view them all on their website. They are pretty detailed with their measurements.

I am in between sizes (5'10") and the Large was just a bit too tall for me, so make sure you really check before buying.

Edit: are you asking Mason or Mason 2? Either way both have spec on the website, just make sure you select the right one.

 

Thanks for the info, I'm 6'0 I'll certainly get a Large. The measurement I'm looking for is not something they have listed,

 

OK. They are out of stock on the website now but be on the lookout for the Large that I just sent back. They should get it back in stock on Friday.

 

I will, I'm also considering the Mason 1 and upgrading it to air fork and 1x11.
Price just went up on the Mason 2 to $1,150 I think, which is over budget for me. Hiw much did you pay for yours?

 

Mason 2 is $1,399 MSRP. I just IMd you.

 

So the Medium size came back and all is good now, perfect fit. But what I did notice (not that it matters) is that the head tube does not have the diamond logo. Not a problem as I have my own logo to put there, just seemed strange.

 

I ended up getting the Mason 1 which I received today as well. Happy riding!

 

Pics or it didn't happen.

Sticky shoes & sharp pedals.

 

 

So first report back on the Mason 2. Really enjoyed the suspension on this bike & the +tires feel great. The DHR and DHF tires really carve into the corners and it's really easy to maintain speed. I did have to carry it a few times and it's light enough to do so.

The stock pedals are pretty decent, keeping those. The grips are a bit thin, but that's just personal preference so I might eventually swap them out. I've already put in custom end caps to replace the plastic plugs.

A few things that I did notice, not so much negative points but just something to be aware of.

The dropper lever feels a bit cheap. Works fine, but feels flimsy. I already have a Crank Brothers lever that I'm replacing it with.

The rear tire will catch small rocks and scratch the frame as it goes around. I still want the aggressive tread and plus tires, so just put some clear vinyl tape to protect the frame from that. Either way, I don't see it so I really doesn't bother me. The only thing that annoyed me for a while is not knowing what that clicking sound was when I was riding. Once I found out that this was the issue, all was good.

The grips are a bit thin, but that's just personal preference so I might eventually swap them out for something thicker.

If I think of anything else, I'll come back & update.

 

I have a 2016 mason comp, and after 2 years of riding, it is still great. The only issues have been the novatec rear hub issue that took a while to sort out, and a front derailleur cage that goes out of shape from time to time, but that’s been it. I’m 6”0 and I went with a large mostly because I’m in L.A. and spending a lot of time descending steep stuff.

FWIW I just put a jones h-bar 2.5 on it and it totally changes its character and makes it even better. Super light on the front, but not twitchy. And crazy comfortable for climbing.