[SnakeheadTaskforce.com]

Greetings,
I'm a complete new guy here, I thought I'd say hello rather than lurk forever. I just found the site since I am now getting into riding after recovering from an alcohol problem that some bent on destruction might envy. I was into mountain biking briefly before moving to Virginia and losing touch with all reality. Some might say I prefer to ride girl's bikes; my bike is a GT Aggressor 2.0 XS. In my search for a bike to "get back in it" in 1999-2000, all of the bikes I tried got painfully close to areas I didn't want the frame close to (My legs are pretty short), and I liked the Y frame of shock system bikes but wanted a hardtail. So even my salesperson, a girl, looked at me funny when I said I wanted to try the XS size. Anyway, it fit and I love it, though still self conscious of the top bar of the frame bending like a girl's bike.

Q: Are there any men here that ride extra small XS frames? Anyone outwardly make fun of people like me when you see them on the trail, or is the girl-bike thing not a factor in mountain biking circles?

One other thing,
I'm a musician; I play an instrument called The Chapman Stick (if you've heard of it PLEASE let me know). My music website is my Username - SnakeheadTaskforce.com. I'm finishing mixing my 2nd CD as we speak, I would love for you to visit the site, download, and enjoy the music during or after the ride. Let me know what you think.

If you're still reading, thank you for the time and sorry for the long post. I'm excited to be here.

Chuck

 

[Tracerboy]

Yeah, the stick is way cool. I've known a couple of bassists who've switched over. I dunno about the girl's bike thing. Is it actually a step-through frame (where the top tube goes down and connects to the seat tube closer to the cranks) or is it just a frame where the top tube is bent to allow some more standover clearance? The latter is a fairly common feature, and wouldn't get a second look. The first is sorta silly, the design is weaker and was made for women to wear skirts on bikes.

 

[malariavalley]

OK I took a shot in the dark and went to your website, mainly because I'm bored, and played the song titled Lonely Man. I'm impressed and I liked it. It's a little different but I'm always broadening my horizons. Good stuff man! Keep it up!

 

[SnakeheadTaskforce.com]

Yeah, the stick is way cool. I've known a couple of bassists who've switched over. I dunno about the girl's bike thing. Is it actually a step-through frame (where the top tube goes down and connects to the seat tube closer to the cranks) or is it just a frame where the top tube is bent to allow some more standover clearance? The latter is a fairly common feature, and wouldn't get a second look. The first is sorta silly, the design is weaker and was made for women to wear skirts on bikes.

Yes the standover clearance type, I had to sing soprano to ride even a small, sadly, my feet couldn't touch the ground

 

[SnakeheadTaskforce.com]

OK I took a shot in the dark and went to your website, mainly because I'm bored, and played the song titled Lonely Man. I'm impressed and I liked it. It's a little different but I'm always broadening my horizons. Good stuff man! Keep it up!

Thank you greatly!

 

[dirtdonk]

i think i'd rather be made fun of than be lying by the side of the trail holding my nuts in pain. the more you ride the less you'll be worried about the standover clearance.

 

[SuperNewb]

My friend rides a s or xs small frame. Looks kinda funny since hes using this really long seatpost. Reminds me of when I was riding on a 16" frame that measured more like a 14.5" frame to the toptube.
I wouldnt ride anything that small anymore though. I havent really hit anything "down there" on the frame in a looooooong time.

 

[SnakeheadTaskforce.com]

John Myung of Dream Theater plays one, as does Tony Levin of King Crimson and Peter Gabriel's group.

That's it! I saw your avatar and the name of another member here tone12, I figured he may be 1 better than tone11, if so, very cool. I figured you might know about it. Nice to meet you, nice to meet you all, I'm happy such an obscure instrument was familiar to you guys and got a response in minutes. I'll pass word to the inventor Emmett. I'm very reassured to have read the previous comments about my bike frame being normal. It's a shame vanity enters such things. But since I'm taking this serious now, I'd like to know if I have a butt whoopin' on the trails coming for my bike selection.

 

[punk]

Ride what feels right, don't worry about what anybody else says. Of course, there's more to fit than standover, but that can be a big part of it.

There are plenty of bikes out there with great standover clearance. Mine for example:

 

[Rev Bubba]

I know that frame very well

My wife rides an extra small GT Avalanche and it is definetly not a "girl's" frame. Yes, the tube does drop down and sort of bends by the seatpost but it is an XS frame and nothing more. Good choice.

Welcome to the tribe and all that and enjoy the ride. I'm not in my regular office today and can't download any music but I hope I get a chance to listen tomorrow. I really like differnt types of sounds. It always amazes me how easy it is to suprise the vast majority of people with new music because they are stuck on either top 40, hip-hop, easy listening, country or some other format and have no idea what else is out there. My wife and I like to throw a little get together now and than in which we pick some type of music as a theme and introduce it to people. Last party was Zydeco, if I remember correctly. Lots of spicy food and music.
REV

 

[Christine]

welcome!

Those who truly know and love bikes and riding wouldn't look down on you.

The best thing you could do is ride, ride, ride and ride some more. So if you ever do encounter some know-nothing jerk who needs to "prove" something to himself by making fun (we all encounter this type) then all you do is smoke him with your "girl's bike." YOU know it's just a frame design; HE'LL go home with his tail b/w his legs.

 

[TFloyd]

You play a stick?

Very cool! I used to be a big fanof Kittyhawk.

Welsome and best of luck.

 

[TheRedMantra]

Hey, if you can ride the frame, go for it. Ride what will fit you best and forget about @$$holes. And there is a plus, an xs frame is lighter .

 

[SnakeheadTaskforce.com]

Thanks for the feedback. Do I understand it right, GT changed ownership since I bought mine? I don't know for sure, but I remember hearing that change was coming at the bike shop where I bought it in 1999 or so. They planned on not carrying GT anymore, and that was the brand I wanted, so I grabbed what they proclaimed was the last of it's kind. Was that a sale pitch? Have they fallen out of fashion now? I love the bike and would buy the same bike if I had it to do all over again. I always liked GT from my BMX days when I was far too young to understand the importance of the little sponsorship I did get. The bike (GT Aggressor 2.0 XS) is really light, to me anyway. I can put it just about any where I need to, be it a jump or tight turn. I haven't been on enough mountain bikes, other than to know they were so tall I couldn't get on or off without injuring my... nevermind. The XS has a really good turn radius and I prefer the hardtail personally for jumps, seems more natural to me. I appreciate the comments and hospitality. It's great how this site makes me want to ride, thanks to the administrators and sponsors for providing this forum. It has already been tremendously helpful. Keep the comments coming, I'm enjoying meeting all of you. Thanks for the help!

 

[fliprider]

Q: Are there any men here that ride extra small XS frames? Anyone outwardly make fun of people like me when you see them on the trail, or is the girl-bike thing not a factor in mountain biking circles?

Hi,
I ride small frames myself (14" or 15") and I know some regular size guys that use the same frame as you're using for trials.

 

[summitlt]

Im with everyone else, ride what feel right. I ride a "small" Im 5'6" and its perfect for me. My friend whos 5'9" rides a large.