[sipman]

Hi all,

Irony is I'm looking to upgrade from my 1999 Diamondback XR4 to a Release 5C. So 20 years of geometry has passed on me. The XR4 is a 17inch frame I think.
I'm 5'10" with a 31.5" barefoot inseam and the Release Medium is suggested for up to riders 5'10" in height and the large is for 5'10" and up.
I took a look at my measurements for the XR and I believe it's a 600mm from BB to saddle height, with 175mm cranks. Stack is 530mm and reach is 420 with 80mm stem and a ETTube length of 620mm. I'm not sure on seattube angle, but it's from the late 1990s, so probably pretty slack.

If I look at reach alone, the Medium Release is 429mm with 40mm stem, and the Large is 451mm with same 40mm stem. stack is 597 and 603mm for the M and L respectively.

Which size would you go on this?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Dry Pivots]

5’7”, 30” inseam, short arms and legs. I got a size small in the 4C. I have not changed any of the geo with components or anything. The small seems to fit me fine even though I’m at the top end of of the height range.


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[Rockadile]

I'm 5'10" and I just pulled the trigger on a large Release 29 3.

 

[ocnLogan]

I’m 6’1”, and did too very short test rides on both an L, and an XL release. I also rode a mission 1 in size L for about 30 minutes at a demo event.

My takeaway was that diamondback runs kind of small on their bikes. I felt much more comfortable on the xl release than the L. The mission felt small as well. A buddy of mine who is 5’11” rode both of the releases with me and said the L felt just fine to him (although he didn’t try a medium).

If I were you I’d go with a large. But your mileage may varry of course.

 

[krl80]

I'm about your size and went with the medium, but I like a smaller feel over a larger one. I'm able to run a 170 dropper, where on the large a 150 might be a little too tall. The medium will probably feel more like you're used to with your old frame. You'll probably want to adjust to the raked out head angle, shorter stem, wider bars and short chainstays of the newer bikes before fine tuning your fit.

 

[DETarch]

I'm 6'1" and rode an XL Release. It's not super modern geo, and runs a touch on the small side IMO, so I felt most comfortable on an XL to get a long enough reach. If you've got a longer wingspan, I suspect you might feel better on a L.

However, the Release has a pretty long seat tube- I was only able to run a 150mm dropper and it was slammed to the collar. Keep that in mind if you try a L vs. M.

 

[watermonkey]

DO NOT get the medium, its way way too small. My son's 5'5" now, and been on a large for over a year. These bikes are tiny. I'm 5'10" and feel like the large is too small (way too short in reach).

 

[sipman]

Hi all,

I pulled the trigger on the release 5c in medium last week cause DB's running the anniversary sale and the price/return policy got me.

I just built it up and I gotta ask about the sizing.

I inserted the dropper post to my ideal riding height, set sag on shocks and got in the saddle

My immediate impression was the distance from the saddle to the bars is shorter than my current bike. So i put them side to side and sure enough the distance is about an inch to 1 1/2 inches shorter. The BB is definitely closer to the rear wheel, on the Release than my previous bike, so that will feel different, i'm sure, but the distance between saddle and bars bothers me.

I moved the saddle back as far as the rail markings say is allowed, and I'm still feeling cramped, BUT, when I look at the dropper, I have about an inch to go before it's collar is hitting the frame.
When I look at the specs for the Medium and Large, the 432mm vs 483, which equals a distance of 51mm. The 'inch' I'm talking about would be about half of that.
So if I exchanged the bike for a Large, I will gain about an inch in Top Tube Length (610 vs 635mm) but the seat tube will go up in length by 2 inches, meaning I would never be able to extend the current dropper to it's max setting.

Would you recommend I buy a new stem and learn to love this Medium size, or exchange it for the Large and either live with less dropper travel or buy a shorter travel seatpost?

 

[ocnLogan]

That’s more of a stylistic preference than anything.

Do you prefer a smaller, nimbler bike for throwing around? Or do you want a bike that is more stable at speed?

Sounds like you’d need a really long stem to make up that difference in size medium right? IMO, if you’re needing to run a 100mm stem on a trail bike these days, it’s because you got too small of a bike.

I’d go with a large, and buy a Oneup or PNW dropper. Both of those have are the shortest dropper posts for a given drop length (ie, the collar/etc takes up less room, so you can fit more drop), and they let you adjust dropper lengths.

So that way you can maybe run a 150... but if that doesn’t work, you can run a 140, or 145mm post instead of settling for a 125mm.

Good luck.

 

[sipman]

My first thought was, no way I need a 100mm stem, but upon reflection, I guess I'd be looking to go from a 40mm to 60-80mm. So it's not far off from 100 at that point. I think I'm going to go towards the large.
It's my first Dropper post and the way people gush about them, I was figuring using the seatpost to it's max is the most important. But really, a longer stem makes the turns more difficult, and using 125mm of drop vs 150 isn't that big a deal, right?

 

[ocnLogan]

Longer droppers are more important on bikes with steeper seat tube angles, because without them, they’d be squarely in your way when going down a hill. I’d obviously try to run as long of one as you can, But I think I’d rather be on the right size bike with a short dropper, than a too small bike with a longer dropper.

What kind of dropper comes on the 5c again? Like I said, a different dropper may give you more room, and the option to run exactly the amount that you can fit. Instead of 100mm post with 20mm left above the seat clamp, you could shim it to 120mm (as a random example).

 

[R_Pierce]

Large for sure.

 

[sipman]

I'm well within my 30 day return window and DB is ok with me ordering the large while keeping the medium here. Once it arrives, I'll so the comparison and send back the one I dislike.
It's a little strange to hold onto this much $ in bikes, but I suppose that's their business model. Thanks DB!! Thanks posters, I'll update on my final decision and impression.

 

[Rockadile]

I received my large and it looked huge after I put it together. It's my first 29er and my first large frame...I previously only rode mediums. ocnLogan was spot on...the bike fits me perfectly but the dropper post is slammed as low as it will go in the seat tube but at full extension it is a bit too high. So the bike fits but I needs a smaller or adjustable dropper.

 

[ocnLogan]

Glad that the Large fit you . Like I said, Diamondback seems to run short/small (compared to current trends anyway).

Its taken manufacturers a few years to figure out that shorter seat tubes are beneficial nowadays, as it allows you to get the most drop out of your dropper.

I'd check this calculator, and see what size dropper they say you can run. Notice that you can run a longer oneup V2 than most of the competitors it mentions.

https://can.oneupcomponents.com/pages/oneup-dropper-post-selector-v2

The oneup V2 dropper fits more drop into the same space than most (all?) other posts on the market. So you may be able to get 150mm of drop after all. And on top of that, you can shim it to less travel if needed, to get a "custom" dropper length (like 130, or 140mm).

https://www.oneupcomponents.com/collections/dropper-posts/products/dropper-post-v2

And here is the PNW Rainer 3. Its very similar in design, but slightly different execution.

https://www.pnwcomponents.com/collections/affordable-trail/products/rainier-dropper-post-gen-3

Its a bit more money on top of the new bike, but if you sell the old dropper, you shouldn't be out too much.

 

[sipman]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I just got back from a night ride on my Large 5C and I love it. I had been deciding between the two and packed up the medium in the box to go back, but I hadn't sealed it yet. I kinda felt unsure. But after riding the large on my normal trails, my body feels nearly the same I had been feeling on my previous bike.
I believe that tells me the fit is close to what I am used to and the tape measure confirms it.
Now my brain on the other hand is totally different! The bike feels so much better, much more solid, tracks better, more responsive suspension, quieter, .... so much to take in. I really like this bike and am glad to have made this choice. Now to shorten the cable and housing on the dropper (it's all the way in the frame and I'm just comfortable with shoes/cleats/clip-ins on, and switch to tubeless.

Any thoughts on the finish? Do I need to protect it?

 

[Dry Pivots]

Glad you got your sizing sorted out. A good layer of mud and dirt will protect the finish nicely.


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[Sleepy1]

How much of the dropper travel are you getting to use? I'm right at your height and in the same dilemma as you've been. I've been riding a medium Mason; but, tried a large stumpjumper and it felt about right too. I've tried comparing all of the stumpjumper and R3 measurements and they seem close(?) I can't find measurements on my ol' Mason trail.

 

[adam.cvanwinkle]

I'm 5'10 32" inseam. The medium is a little too short in the reach department.

I went to a 55mm stem at the suggestion of a local skills coach which brought the reach to about the same as the large. Small draw back to that is the steering is slightly slower now.
If I had the choice I would swap to a Large frame without a second thought.

I bought used and got a screaming deal on my 2018 R3 and at the time I thought I wanted the medium so it would feel more playful but really these bikes are already super playful and sizing down isn't necessary.

 

[mack_turtle]

is it too late to send the bike back? you're 5'10" and riding a bike with a 420mm reach? by modern standards, that bike is made for someone who is half a foot shorter than you. that is a tiny "medium."