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Rocky Mountain Vertex 50 RSL 2009

5747 Views 9 Replies 8 Participants Last post by  Clarabow, 
M
I have recently purchased a Rocky Mountain Vertex 50 RSL 2009 medium size frame, I am 5ft 8 but after a taking it out for the day could not help feeling cramped on the bike. I was told in the shop that medium was the right size for me.

I am just wondering if other people have felt the same with this bike, and if anyone has any suggestions. Is it worth exchanging for the bigger frame ?

I am probably just being anal about it all but when your paying that sort of money you want to get it right.
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C
Not at all, I'm 5ft 11 and bought the Med Vertex 70, I did later take it back and go for the Large, I've spoken to a number of people about it and a friend of mine who is 5ft 8 also said the Med was more his size, so I think you should stick with the Med.

Try flipping the stem, that may help a bit.

Good luck.
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Slowup
I'm 5'-9" and while I don't ride a Vertex I did go with a 19" frame when I chose my Element which I think has similar dimensions. I found myself too cramped on the 18" frame as I like to be stretched out and have lots of room to move around. I would suggest to at least try the next largest frame and see how it feels.
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M
Clarabow said:
Not at all, I'm 5ft 11 and bought the Med Vertex 70, I did later take it back and go for the Large, I've spoken to a number of people about it and a friend of mine who is 5ft 8 also said the Med was more his size, so I think you should stick with the Med.

Try flipping the stem, that may help a bit.

Good luck.
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I agree. I am 5ft 8 and have an 18 Vertex 70 (2008 alum version). It felt cramped, until I flipped the stem over. Once I flipped the stem, it fit me perfectly.
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MagyarBika
Can someone elaborate on flipping the stem? That's new to me. I realize that the length of the stem can affect your arm reach, ride feel and overall handling of the bike, but flipping it?
How do you "flip it"?
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rockyuphill
6 degree drop instead of 6 degree rise, so you literally just flip the stem over. With a 100mm stem that would drop the bar height by about 20mm. You'd pickup about 5-6mm in effective HTT length because of the 71deg head angle. Because the fork steer tube slopes back toward the saddle, if you place the bars lower along that 71 deg angle, the bars end up further forward. By the same token, the more spacers you have underneath the stem, the shorter the effective HTT.

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J
I am 5'7" and I ride the size Small. You should be fine on the medium as long as it is set-up correctly. Bring it back to the shop and tell them how you feel on the bike and they will be able to make appropriate adjustments.
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M
Try a longer stem (100-110-120mm)

How many spacer do you have under your stem ?

I am 5'7 and ride a medium with a 100mm negative 8deg stem.
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MagyarBika
Haha. Thats funny, thanks Rocky, leave it to you to illustrate with nice blueprint.
Makes sense, I just might have to experiment with this on my Element. I have monkey arms and the 19" feels good, but could be a bit more roomy.
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C
Hmm, perhaps a 6 degree drop with a 110mm stem!? (Med comes with 100mm Std) I got a 110mm ea70 stem I don't need!
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