Any particular frames suit long legs short body?

wingnutLP

I am only 5" 11' but I have really long legs for my height. Most bikes I have hired or tried in a shop I have to lift the seat post so high I am too far from the handle bars and very hunched over...

Does anyone have any suggestions for bikes that might suit me? Most frames seem to have the seat post leaning back so when you raise the saddle to get more height you also move back

It has been suggested that shortening the bar between forks and handlebars will reduce reach but also ultimate control. Is this true?

Generally will a big frame with the post low be better or will the long frame mean I am stretched forward anyhow?

batch78

What sort of riding are you doing?

XC bikes will be prone to longer reach than, all mountain, DH, enduro etc, generally speaking the lower down a brands range you go the shorter and more upright the position, to confuse all this though each manufacturer has differant ideas on geometry.

You can also have inline seatposts, higher rise bars and possibly longer cranks, depending on the frame size, that'll affect fit.

And 5' 11" isn't short, how long are your legs???

Your not a supermodel are you?

wingnutLP

5"11' feels short these days!

I am a 34" insilde leg so my trunk and reach are quite short. I am new to buying bikes but have hired them wherever possible over the last few years and have had a few amazing rides in Afan

I am after something that can do most things so I guess XC?!

I went to evans and tried a few but nothing really felt very comfortable and they didn't haveh the same bike in several sizes for me to try the difference

Think I will go to hellfrauds later and and try their GT aggressor in med and large to see how they feel.

Generally would the advice be for someone with long legs be to get a smaller frame with a short top bar and then lift the bars or is it better to have a bigger frame and then sweep the bars back and maybe seat forward?

Any brands with a near vertical seat post?

nicklouse

Scott bikes tend to have a short cockpit so they will be worth a try.

Bleedproof

I'm a pretty tall guy at 6'7" and have very long legs at around 37 1/2" and found that getting a bike I felt comfortable on was hard. It took nearly 2 years on and off looking at various brands and found most bike shops to be pretty inexperienced at fitting the taller, or unique rider.

In my situations I am fairly well proportioned and found that I had to change the stem and fit a riser bar to get my perfect ride.

If you're looking at XC bikes you will usually find that they adopt a stretched out riding position which may not suit your shorter torso and arms?

There are bikes with shorter top tubes, but you may have to run the seat post higher. This is not an usually sight so don't be too concerned that you have miles of seat post. Look at getting a bike that you reach comfortably . If you get a bike that feels good you can look at reducing the length of the stem and fitting a riser bar. Strict XC bikes will usually have flat narrow bars with long stems (100mm +)

Don't know if this will help, but try as many as you can, don't discount anything at this stage and keep an open mind as to adapting the bike to fit. We're not all the same shape and you'll find the bike that fits you.

big_scot_nanny

I'll second the advice on Scott bikes. Definitely shorter length. I have normal (?) legs for my 6'4" hulk, and had to try a XL Scott to get comfy but it meant the frame was really far to high and knackers were pressed hard against top tube when standing.

Decided not to buy that one, but for you it may be ideal.

Kev

Splasher

Buy a large frame size and ask the shop to swap the inevitable layback post and 100mm+ stem for an in-line post and a 50mm stem. You'll shorten the reach by 3".

wingnutLP

Splasher wrote:

Buy a large frame size and ask the shop to swap the inevitable layback post and 100mm+ stem for an in-line post and a 50mm stem. You'll shorten the reach by 3".

Excuse my ignorance but whats the difference between the seat posts?
http://www.evanscycles.com/product.jsp?style=14869
http://www.evanscycles.com/product.jsp?style=10662

I assume the post needs to be straight! so it must be the top of the post where the saddle attaches?

I was told by the sales dude in evans cycles that shortening the stem also affected the control of the steering making it worse in some way... is that the case?

Thanks

Filligan

www.merlincycles.co.uk if you can get yourself upto Leyland to check them out you might be pleased (dunno) I find their bikes have a short top tube I am 5'11 and long torso and found I felt cramped on a rock lobster 17" frame which I got for the brat gave me backache as I was all hooched up on it BUT if you have a short torso I suspect they would be prefect sir!!!

Bleedproof

the images on Evans are the same. A set back seat post or lay back looks like this:



Sorry for the giant image. But it's the best one I found on google

Shortening the stem will make the steering change a little, but a extremely long stem also affects steering. There's no definitive answer, just what feels right and if the stretch is too long you won't be comfortable.

Splasher

Typical layback seatposts look like this



where the centre of the clamp is behind the centre of the post (usually by 15-25mm depending on the design) The Thomson design above with the bent post is a rare design so don't assume a layback post will have a bend - it probably won't.

An in-line post looks like this



where the seat-clamp is in-line with the centre-line of the post effectively shortening your reach by moving the saddle forward.

As for stems, a shorter stem will make the steering more agile, a long stem will make it more ponderous. What's more important though IMO is that you are comfortable and can more your bodyweight around a bit to control the bike. You can't do this if you're at full-stretch.

wingnutLP

Sweet, thanks guys Off to hell frauds to have a gander at their GT bikes

Back with more questions shortly no doubt

Bleedproof

Sorry if that caused any confusion, but in this instance wingnutLP was using the Thomson items as example in his question. However the image on the Evans site shows the same inline post.

wingnutLP

yah, i was i bit confused that they seemed to be the same.

Thanks peeps, you have been most helpful

Halfords are dire for customer service even though they had some decent bikes. They wern't really interested in letting me even sit on a bike!. They were all chained to each other and all the tyres were flat!

I think it is the reaching down rather than forwards that I find uncomfortable so I think I will go with a bigger frame so I don't have to put the seat too high and then fiddle with things to get the reach correct...

I assume that one could flip a swept back post to be swept forward buyt Ui Guess you don't want your weight too far forward.

This is all jolly exciting...

datsunman

wingnut - not sure on your budget or what you're looking to buy but I'm 5'11" with a 34" leg too.

I've got a 19.5" Trek EX9 and it's very nearly perfect for my size. I've swapped out the 100mm stem for a slightly higher rise 90mm stem and shifted the saddle forward a little on the rails. It's spot on now. :-)