mtb frame size too big ?

CUBEical

hi there i am quite new to mtb, i bruaght a gt a while back that was a 19inch frame , felt bit small but was great to ride. i lost my job so sold it ,but luckily a friend had a cube for sale I have recently bruaght on the cheap, it has a large frame but I did not know just how large, i think i have measured it to be a 22inch now I am in process of doing it up. my question is is it to big for me i am 5 ft 11inch, i checked a measurement guide online and it says it right hight for a road bike but not mountain bike , now i will mostly be riding it on the roads any way, but i do want to get into trekking and xc.is it worth me getting a smaller frame or could i just adjust other components on the bike to fit me better , i do understand the reasons for needing a smaller frame than if it was a road bike, thats why i am wondering if it going to be to big for trails and xc if any one can help me out with some advice thanks

The Northern Monkey

22 inch frame is pretty big..

I'm 6ft 2 and haven't ridden anything over 20".. it would just be too big - personal preference of course, but its rather large.

Long_Time_Lurker

Maybe, maybe not.
In general, it's easier tweaking a bike that is too small, rather than too large (you can extend seat posts and handlebar stems).

It's all about inside leg measurement and body length.
I ride a 20" framed Cube and am 6ft 1, with a 33" inside leg, so would say that it is probably a bit on the large size.
But before you decide to sell, make sure the bike is set up properly - there are guides on here. You may get away with some tweaking here & there.

cooldad

Unless you are 75% leg, it will be too big.

CUBEical

thanks for your views i have not realy had a good ride on it yet as decided to take it all apart and re do everything clean it all and bleed brakes and change chain, the handle bar stem is realy long so might start by getting a smaller one the one on it is 120mm so thats not going to help, i will not notice it being to big on roads but as i venture into more technical xc trails i think it will be to big , i gues only time will tell as i wont have money for new frame for a while as got no job, i bruaght this as it was a bargain and has got really good stuff on it .

The Rookie

cooldad wrote:

Unless you are 75% leg, it will be too big.

How so? The top tube will then be far to long for the 25% torso.....

My first commuter was a 23" frame and although I'm only 5'9 1/2" with an inline post and a stubby stem it worked fine, wouldn't have taken it off road at all though!

cooldad

All academic until he sits on it. But I'd bet a slice of cold pizza on it being too big.

Thewaylander

MM pizza...

I'm a bit over 6"1' and have never ridden anything over 18" if im honest. bigger bikes are too stretcher out for me.

Giraffoto

I'm 6' 4" and find a 23" frame to be a good fit. But I'd suggest to the OP that he just ride around on it for a bit, get the saddle in the right place and see if it feels too stretched in any dimension. And especially do that before changing things like the stem!

CUBEical

Giraffoto wrote:

I'm 6' 4" and find a 23" frame to be a good fit. But I'd suggest to the OP that he just ride around on it for a bit, get the saddle in the right place and see if it feels too stretched in any dimension. And especially do that before changing things like the stem!

thanks for the advice im just thinking that the 120mm stem maybe to long but i did give it a test ride felt ok, and as for not taking it of road thats the issue i know it will be fine for the road but as soon as i hit xc and drop offs and all that im guessing i might be hitting my man hood allot on the bar lol i guess i will just have to see , i am on the look out for a smaller frame

thekickingmule

How have you measured the frame? From the bottom bracket to the toptube is the way. I'm about 5'10, but my inside leg is about 30cm, so I buy small frames. My Blender and Cube are about 16" (Blender may be 15" actually).

I had bikes that were too big for me before, but I test rode smaller frames and suddenly realised that they were too big. As others have said, keep riding it, then maybe go demo a few of different sizes and see how you feel.

paul.skibum

Sit on bike and get someone to take a picture of you on it and post picture on here. Only real way we will know. A large frame wouldnt generally be 22inch - more like 20 I'd guess.

The Rookie

Yup. for the manufacturers on even numbers s=16", m=18", L=20" XL 22"

Trouble is the most critical dimension is the effective top tube length, its the one with least adjustment yest is never quoted, seat tube height to wherever the hell you want to measure it (and top tube is just as meaningless) is fairly pointless.

m1tch666

I'm 6'1 with a 32 inside leg and both my cubes are 18", 20" was too big for standover clearance alone...

CUBEical

i measured it from top bottom of crank to top of the underside of the top bar along the tube were the seat goes in, it definetly a 22 as the 19inch i had before looked tiny against it it in peices at the moment but when i get it back together will upload a pic

The Rookie

m1tch666 wrote:

I'm 6'1 with a 32 inside leg and both my cubes are 18", 20" was too big for standover clearance alone...

Standover being completely irrelevant, why would you mention it?