[Naveed]

Well I was all set to get a Karate Monkey but delays getting the frame from my lbs resulted in an order cancellation and now I'm 100% going for a Rumblefish or Niner Rip 9.

I'm 6'6'' tall with a 36' inseam and like the fact that the Rumblefish comes in a xxl with 34.5'' standover.

The Niner XL Rip 9 seems to match the dimensions of my old Giant Trance XL. That bike had a 22' seatube with a 32' standover and always felt a bit small. This resulted in loads of seatpost hanging out.

The GF Rumblefish looks perfect but the only thing that concerns me is the intended use of the bike.

I like to do am/cross country with a bit of aggressive riding/freeride light thrown in. Nothing more than 1-2 ft drops here and there.

The Niner's got 10mm more rear travel than the Fisher and I also like the rear maxle option that the Niner offers.

The GF has the abp rear and this almost looks like a bolt through in terms of design.

The only thing that confuses me is that the Niner def suits my more aggressive riding but the GF Rumblefish is meant to be good for gnarly trails but has the same travel and design as other 29er bikes suited for x country.

 

[NCtrailX]

Either will make for a great bike. The Rip has a great reputation and stiffness is much improved. It pedals well, but doesn't quite have a snappy feel under hard pedaling efforts. Haven't ridden a Rumblefish, but owned a HiFi 29er and the bike is responsive to pedaling efforts. Minor pluses and minuses for each design, but both should be really good bikes - you can't go wrong.

Take a trip to a local Specialized dealer and take a ride on a new Stumpjumper. You probably won't find a 29er that you can ride, but you should be able to find a 26" demo bike that you can take to the trails.

The brain is suited well to guys like you since you can dial in the kind of responsiveness you need for a particular ride or a particular trail. Firm it up for a faster ride with your buddies or back it off for a more aggressive ride. Long travel that pedals well and geometry better suited to aggressive riding. The new brain design works very well and production has gone back to fox.

 

[LyNx]

WOW That's quite the change in thinking going from a KM to either of these 2 :eekster:

OK, can give no help on the comparo between the 2, but can tell you that if the #s stayed the same from the original RIP9 to the new hydroformed version the XL RIP9 is actually about 3/4" longer in the ETT than the XL Trance - I own both.

I hear you on wanting more room in the cockpit, I'm only 6'2.25" tall with about a 35.75" inseam and I like my RIP9 with at least a 110mm stem (I do have quite long arms and legs proportinate to my height though). I think if you find the trance needing more room, then getting the XXL Rumblefish wold be the way to go, but would advise you try to get a test ride on both bikes before you make the decission. FYI there is a thread on the Rumblefish on this board down a bit, do a search and read what the posters had to say about it, you might be surprised.

 

[Naveed]

Thanks for the great advice guys, it really helps in what is sure to be a tricky decision. It's weird because I'm 6'6'' tall but my 36' inseam means I'm pretty proportioned. My torso isn't that long so I'm going to do my utmost to test the xxl GF Rumblefish before buying.

I think what made life difficult on my xl trance was that I had to have the seatpost really high to get what I felt was a reasonable leg extension. This in turn took me further up and away from the bars and gave me a stretched out feel despite the 25' tt.

On the xxl GF the top tube is about 26'' so I may go with a 50mm stem or so. The whole G2 geometry is about longert tt and shorter stems anyway.

Gosh, decisions, decisons, just hope the GF Rumblefish will be strong enough for riding aggressively.

Thanks again!:thumbsup:

 

[LyNx]

Weird because the inseam you're stating would say it's less than a 1/2-3/4" longer than mine and I thought I ran very little post TBH, somewhere around 7" or so. How have you measured your inseam, did you do it standing against a wall with feet about 8" apart and a phone book rammed up there and then measure to the ground? If you didn't, that's the correct way to measure cycling inseam, do not use your pants inseam it is anywhere from 1-2" shorter.

FYI in all the measuring of the Trance TT I never could come up with Giant's claimed 25", it was 24.7" on mine.

Thanks for the great advice guys, it really helps in what is sure to be a tricky decision. It's weird because I'm 6'6'' tall but my 36' inseam means I'm pretty proportioned. My torso isn't that long so I'm going to do my utmost to test the xxl GF Rumblefish before buying.

I think what made life difficult on my xl trance was that I had to have the seatpost really high to get what I felt was a reasonable leg extension. This in turn took me further up and away from the bars and gave me a stretched out feel despite the 25' tt.

On the xxl GF the top tube is about 26'' so I may go with a 50mm stem or so. The whole G2 geometry is about longert tt and shorter stems anyway.

Gosh, decisions, decisons, just hope the GF Rumblefish will be strong enough for riding aggressively.

Thanks again!:thumbsup:

 

[Naveed]

Weird because the inseam you're stating would say it's less than a 1/2-3/4" longer than mine and I thought I ran very little post TBH, somewhere around 7" or so. How have you measured your inseam, did you do it standing against a wall with feet about 8" apart and a phone book rammed up there and then measure to the ground? If you didn't, that's the correct way to measure cycling inseam, do not use your pants inseam it is anywhere from 1-2" shorter.

FYI in all the measuring of the Trance TT I never could come up with Giant's claimed 25", it was 24.7" on mine.

Ahhh, I thought my pants inseam was the same as my cycling inseam. I'm a 36'' inside leg in my jeans so my cycling inseam is probably 37-37.5.

Do you think an Rip 9 xl would be on the small side - i won't be able to get a test ride on an xl here in the uk because you can never test framesets.

I think I'm going to go for the Fisher in the end, my only concern is the 110mm rear travel. I love 5-6'' of rear travel on 26'' bikes as it makes the bike a bit more flexible.

On 29ers though it seems that 4'' is plenty of cush, maybe more than enough.

 

[BruceBrown]

On 29ers though it seems that 4'' is plenty of cush, maybe more than enough.

That's what I thought as an owner of a 3" and a 4" rear travel 29"er. Then I got the 4.5" rear travel RIP 9 with 120mm fork up front. Ooooooo....la......la....!!! Now that's some nice rear travel. It certainly shoots the 4" is enough theory all to hell.

I'm just about 6'4" on the XL RIP. 105mm stem, a bit of seatpost showing:



I did cut about 3/4" more off of the steerer tube after that photograph and removed some spacers. But I would say the XL RIP would work for you. However, both the Fisher and the Specialized Stumpy FSR come in XXL sizes which will give you a bit longer ETT (22-24mm) and a bit longer head tube (10mm) if that's what you are looking for in your fit.

If you are riding really aggressive, I wouldn't rule out the 5.5" travel WFO....

As far as 29"ers.......1 inch of rear travel is nice. 3 inches of rear travel is really good. 4 inches of rear travel sure is sweet. More than 4 inches of rear travel is the cat's meow.:thumbsup:

BB

 

[gfs69]

Ahhh, I thought my pants inseam was the same as my cycling inseam. I'm a 36'' inside leg in my jeans so my cycling inseam is probably 37-37.5.

Do you think an Rip 9 xl would be on the small side - i won't be able to get a test ride on an xl here in the uk because you can never test framesets.

I think I'm going to go for the Fisher in the end, my only concern is the 110mm rear travel. I love 5-6'' of rear travel on 26'' bikes as it makes the bike a bit more flexible.

On 29ers though it seems that 4'' is plenty of cush, maybe more than enough.

I am 6'6" with a 38.75" cycling inseam, and very long arms, and I am on the XL RIP. I am running a 100mm stem. To me it fits great, although I am running 30 mm of spacers as well to get the front end up, which is usually my fit problem. I don't like to be all stretched out myself. I absolutely love this bike btw, but have recently switched to the high volume canister on the RP23, it made a noticeable difference, (I also had PUSH tune it as well). Good luck.

 

[LyNx]

I'd love to see a pic of you riding this bike seriously, if you have one very intrested to see how someone with 3" more inseam and 4" more height fits this frame :eekster:

I am 6'6" with a 38.75" cycling inseam, and very long arms, and I am on the XL RIP. I am running a 100mm stem. To me it fits great, although I am running 30 mm of spacers as well to get the front end up, which is usually my fit problem. I don't like to be all stretched out myself. I absolutely love this bike btw, but have recently switched to the high volume canister on the RP23, it made a noticeable difference, (I also had PUSH tune it as well). Good luck.

 

[gfs69]

I'd love to see a pic of you riding this bike seriously, if you have one very intrested to see how someone with 3" more inseam and 4" more height fits this frame :eekster:

I know it may sound crazy, but I really love how the bike fits. I used to have a custom with a much longer top tube, and it felt all wrong compared to this. I do ride in tight single track most of the time, so maybe the more compact cockpit is better for that? Plus on a scale of 1 to 10, my flexibility is at most a 5. I just may have a photo around somewhere.

 

[CaveGiant]

Late entrant to the thread, but having owned a RIP, now have a WFO and am a normally proportioned guy at 6'7", probably a good start for sizing advice.

Truthfully both the RIP and the WFO felt a bit big to me!
I dropped to a 4cm stem to shorten the bike and now the fit is great.

They are HUGE!!!!

If you do get the RIP you MUST get a dropper seatpost, the efficient pedal seat height is too high for good manuaverability.

hope this helps,

P

p.s. no experience of other bike.

 

[CaveGiant]

Late entrant to the thread, but having owned a RIP, now have a WFO and am a normally proportioned guy at 6'7", probably a good start for sizing advice.

Truthfully both the RIP and the WFO felt a bit big to me!
I dropped to a 4cm stem to shorten the bike and now the fit is great.

They are HUGE!!!!

If you do get the RIP you MUST get a dropper seatpost, the efficient pedal seat height is too high for good manuaverability.

hope this helps,

P

p.s. no experience of other bike.

 

[CaveGiant]

Late entrant to the thread, but having owned a RIP, now have a WFO and am a normally proportioned guy at 6'7", probably a good start for sizing advice.

Truthfully both the RIP and the WFO felt a bit big to me!
I dropped to a 4cm stem to shorten the bike and now the fit is great.

They are HUGE!!!!

If you do get the RIP you MUST get a dropper seatpost, the efficient pedal seat height is too high for good manuaverability.

hope this helps,

P

p.s. no experience of other bike.

 

[bonesetter2004]

I know it may sound crazy, but I really love how the bike fits. I used to have a custom with a much longer top tube, and it felt all wrong compared to this. I do ride in tight single track most of the time, so maybe the more compact cockpit is better for that? Plus on a scale of 1 to 10, my flexibility is at most a 5. I just may have a photo around somewhere.

For your body sizing and what your riding terrain, and looking like you prefer a more upright riding position, your bike sizing looks juuust about right. (I'm 6'2" on a M and prefer an upright 'trail riding' position)

Lynx likes the 'stretched out'

OP: Which colour you going for? The red/black RF looks sweet

 

[Boyonabyke]

For your body sizing and what your riding terrain, and looking like you prefer a more upright riding position, your bike sizing looks juuust about right. (I'm 6'2" on a M and prefer an upright 'trail riding' position)

Lynx likes the 'stretched out'

OP: Which colour you going for? The red/black RF looks sweet

I'm in the same boat as bonesetter... upright trail seating position, tight cockpit, 6' 5" and I ride a Large RIP. I have the AIR 9 in XL for the more stretched out feel. Each bike serves a purpose. I also put a big can on my RP23, very nice, plush improvement, no ramping up of the shock pressure. I run a plush Manitou Minute 29er fork also. The RIP is smooooooooooooth on the downs, but you'll give some snap up on the climbs compared to coming from a hardtail.

 

[LyNx]

Just so the Op has a better idea I'll post up some pics of myself on my RIP9 and a few links to relevant threads. There's loads more threads like that, just need to search AND if Randy and Bonesetter are nice they'll post up pics of them on that they have...............
https://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=533068
https://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=454661&highlight=RIP9

My RIP9 when I first built it using a 120/6 stem and low rise bars, setback post.

A GIF showing me on the XL Trance and XL RIP9

 

[bonesetter2004]

'I don't believe it' (Victor Meldrew)

 

[gfs69]

I do have a short video of me riding the rip which gives a decent idea what I look like on it, although the quality is not that great, but I don't know how to post it, please advise.

 

[LyNx]

Come on, post up your pic of you in your "gentleman with a top hat riding to church" pic - that I never can believe when I see it :skep: truly amazing when people are spending good money to get bikes that fit and not "scrunch" them up.

'I don't believe it' (Victor Meldrew)

 

[SyT]

Lamo