Is my bike too big

Andyslater

I have recently bought a 2010 Orange 5 pro, it is an 18'' model. I didnt have a test ride but assumed the 18'' would be okay. I have a specialised Rockhopper I use as a commuter and that is 17''. When side by side there is almost 4'' difference in the height of the handle bars. The Orange jsut 'feels' too big, like i am riding on it not in it. The forks are currently 150mm Float r's and the stem is 210 mm. Would I benefit from altering the forks down to 140mm and cutrting the fork stem doen to say 195 mm, and remove the spacers, to try and make it feel better, or jsut bit the bullet and by a smaller bike.
I had a Marin attack Trail before the Orange and that was a smaller bike and it felt right.
I am 5'8'' tall
Your thought would be appreciated

M6TTF

210mm stem? Not sure you have that right

Andyslater

Rougly measured it could be 205mm

nicklouse

Andyslater wrote:

Rougly measured it could be 205mm

stem no way.

steerer? head tube?

but yes it sounds like the usual did not test the bike wrong size scenario.

yes a bike with more travel will be higher. but that has nothing to do with size.

arthur_scrimshaw

do you mean 'steerer' rather than stem, most stems are around the 100mm mark?

turnerjohn

man if your running a 205mm stem no wonder it feels to big !
18" sounds about right for your height tbh...althought bikes differ loads in their sizes.
If you can, get a test ride on a smaller one and see what you recon.
....need to get that stem of yours sorted first (you measure stems centre of the bars to centre of the steerer tube btw)

supersonic

You don't have to cut the steerer - just alter the spacer orientation.

But a bike with bigger forks will naturally be higher on average. And one 17incher is not always the same as another.

captainfly

There is less than a half inch difference in the virtual top tube lengths or an 18" orange pro five and a 17.5" rockhopper (602mm and 596mm respectively) so they shouldn't be too diferent in size, but the Orange will be taller and you may need a smaller more upright position for the FS if you were already streched on your commuter it is all about back and arm length with sizing, if your feet don't touch the floor don't worry just get use to having the bike lean over a bit when to pt a foot down

bails87

1. You're talking about the steerer, not the stem.

2.You can move the stem down the steerer and put some of the spacers (that are currently below the stem) above it. This will lower the bars without chopping anything.

3. You could fit a shorter stem, slide the saddle forwards on the rails, play around with the angle of the backsweep of the bars to make to bike feel smaller.

4. There's no reason to be sitting on the saddle when your feet are on the ground, so don't judge the bike size by this.

butcher of bakersfield

supersonic wrote:

But a bike with bigger forks will naturally be higher on average.

Yup, if you're going to run 140mm forks, it doesn't matter what size the bike is, the handlebars are going to sit pretty much the same height on any bike. You can make small adjustments of course, as outlined above.

This does generally mean that you'll have less clearance though, because the top tube will sit very high at the front. But even on a small framed bike, this can still be the case, because the angle of the top tube is so accute.

Andyslater

Thanks for the replies, I meant steerer not stem ( 210mm stem now that would be strange). I am going to play with the spacers and the seat etc. to try and make it feel better

Samps

I'm the same height and I'd have gone for a 16" but hey that's just me... If it's feeling to long reduce stem length and play with bar height and perhaps move the saddle closer to the bars... May compromise handling though but it may feel better? Test

Andyslater

The sizing guide says that I should have an 18'', it might be just that the forks are a lot longer that I am used to. when going up steep hills I have all on keeping the front wheel on the ground, maybe soem talas forks migth help. I am going to persist with it, its a beautiful bike. I wish I had more knowledge of things only been at it a couple of years and there is so much to know.

butcher of bakersfield

Andyslater wrote:

when going up steep hills I have all on keeping the front wheel on the ground

Pretty normal with long forks. They're better suited to the downs, than ups. You'll get used to it.

I'm 5'8" myself and ride a 16" Carrera Fury. And I think, although I'd feel perfectly comfortable on an 18", I prefer the chuckability of a smaller bike having started out on BMXs. But that's all personal preference.

Mr Wu

supersonic wrote:

And one 17incher is not always the same as another.

You been hanging around the gents toilets down the park again?

Herbie The Dog

Mr Wu wrote:

supersonic wrote:

And one 17incher is not always the same as another.

You been hanging around the gents toilets down the park again?

I thought it was Supersonic checking me out!!

rockmonkeysc

I had the opposite experience when I bought my Trance. Because of the longer suspension & it's full sus & has a higher bb than my hardtail when I was in the shop the 18" medium trance felt perfect for me, first ride showed up that it was a bit too small. Fortunatly I have managed to fit the bike to me by changing the seat post & stem. Changing from a 100mm travel xc hardtail to a full sus trail bike with 120mm of travel felt like a big difference to me. It took me a few long rides before I was convinced that I had got a bike that would work for me.

Dick Scruttock

I took so much cocking around to get a bike that suited me it was amazing.

In the end i bought a bike based on top tube length with a good standover clearance. I have had one extreme in the past when the bike i bought was a bit too small. I slid the saddle back and ran a longer stem but hell it was bad. Climbing it felt like i was all over the rear wheel and all it wanted to do was wheelie and descending it felt like i was always going to be spat over the bars.

People say by a bike thats too small rather than too big but i say buy a frame thats right rather than try and adapt it with components.