Full suspension XC bike for a short legged rider

polvoblanco

Hi,

This post got rather long, so if you don't want to read it all, please skip to the last paragraph, the rest is just the back-story and why I'm asking the question I'm asking.

I'm looking to get a new full suspension bike and need some guidance. I'm 5'9" so technically a medium, but have short legs at just over 2'6", which makes even most smalls a bit touch and go on the undercarriage.

Currently I'm riding a (supposedly) small Whyte T129s, which is far, far, far to big for me. Not only do any emergency stops where I fail to lean the bike to one side to step down end in quite a large amount of pain, but when on the saddle, if I have to put my foot down for any reason, e.g. a technical ability fail on an uphill section, my foot doesn't hit the floor until the bike is so far over I can't save it or myself (which recently resulted in a rather scary experience when the side I fell towards wasn't there, only being saved from a very big drop by a few trees).

I've never got on with the Whyte always feeling like I was perched on top and more hanging on than controlling. I suspect riders of penny farthings had a similar experience back in the early days of the bicycle

I still like the idea of a 29er though, my preference is for XC riding and love how easily the Whyte eats up the miles and how quickly I scale the hills compared to my 26" compadres, I especially like hitting the fast flowing downhill sections (and suspect I would like them even more if I was comfortable with the bike I was on).

I don't care for narrow technical sections, or really anything my more experienced friends would describe as "gnarly". However they do crop up a lot, I have a sneaky suspicion they are actively seeking them out, so perhaps a more nimble bike is in order.

My budget for a new bike is whatever I get for my Whyte, which is a 2014 model, has only been ridden for a few months, has been well taken care of and is in very good condition, so I'm hoping for at least £1500 for it. I can probably find a similar amount myself, for the right bike.

I'm definitely going to ride before I buy this time (an expensive lesson learnt), but as bike shops only stock certain bikes I want to know which are the most likely candidates so I can hit those stockists first. Can anyone suggest a decent bike, within budget, they have seen or ridden that would suit an XC rider who is conned into doing rides with more than their fair share of technical "gnarly" DH sections, is of average height but with short legs?

Thanks,

Paul

kirby700

Before specialized ruined (my opinion) the camber by making it a 29er the medium was the best fit for me whereas every other bike manufacturer I had to try the small out. I was looking last week in local specialized shop and the medium 29er I put my leg over still fitted amazingly.

Worth a look

The Rookie

The BB height and crank length determine how far a pedal is off the floor at the bottom of the stroke and how far you have to lean the bike to put a foot down (while on the saddle) most bikes have a similar BB height, it will be a bit higher for more gravity orientated bikes and a bit lower for XC, the bike size rarely, if ever, effects BB height, so I think you've got yourself confused on that point, sounds to me like it's more a rider than a bike issue (Sorry).

Standover height is nice, but many bikes don't have much if not any even when correctly sized, but if you are a frequant dabber/bailer, then it's nice to have 'some' such that that the family jewels are given an easier time!

I'm also 5'9" (and a bit) and my legs are shorter than yours (just under 30") and I ride a 16" (small), although in reality as shorter legs means a longer body (for the same height) I should probably ride a medium (to get the frame long enough, although I also have relatively short arms!) as seatposts give plenty of height adjustment, but I like a compact bike and use a decent setback seatpost to lengthen the cockpit to suite.

polvoblanco

I have no doubt you're right but I never used to topple off sideways on my friends Trek, saying that I used to get off and push on tricky uphill sections that I attempt to ride now, so that probably has more to do with it :oops:

Still I do tend to come unstuck with reasonable regularity (both going up and coming down) and I'd like to protect myself against any unnecessary pain as best I can.

I've never really looked at Specialized, don't know why. Their StumpJumper seems to have been almost designed for people like me with their medium having a lower standover height than the small. The great thing about Specialized is that they are sold everywhere round here so I should have no problem trying one out. I'll defiantly put them at the top of my list, thanks.

The Rookie

Did you have the saddle set lower on the Trek than now? That has a big effect on how easy it is to dab a foot, but a low saddle makes pedaling inefficient and kills your knees!

chrisw333

That's right, if the saddle is set high for efficient pedaling, it is difficult for anyone to put a foot down easily whilst still sat in it as by definition the leg is pretty fully extended on the downstroke of the pedal.

So I don't think it's the saddle height getting you as you would need a similar height from pedal / bottom bracket to saddle whatever size frame you are riding (unless your saddle it at full insertion and still just too high - in which case maybe lop a bit off the seatpost?). I see your problem with lack of standover when you need to jump off.

polvoblanco

The Trek was most likely not set-up right no, it was a loner from a friend (didn't have a dropper post either so its height was pretty much fixed), it was also a 26" so may have had a lower BB height as well (?). However, I accept, and when you think about it, it does make sense, that all riders will struggle to touch the floor from the saddle when the bike is correctly set-up. There is obviously a technique I haven't mastered yet for dealing with a sudden loss of motion when stuck on the saddle (balance maybe :roll:). Nevertheless, the Whyte is still too big for me and worse feels too big, so even if I have to continue to deal with the embarrassment of wobbling off sideways on a new bike for a while, if it feels smaller and the family jewels are safe, that's going to give me a lot more confidence to at least try and keep up with my friends on those nasty rock strewn, rut infested single tracks

russyh

I have a similar problem which was made even worse with the use if a reverb. I am 5'9 with a 30" inside leg, finding a bike that fits me is a problem. Especially when fitting a 125mm drop reverb. I had to sell it and buy a 100mm version.

I currently ride a medium canyon, which in hindsight I wish was a small. I am looking to probably change to a small frame in the next few weeks.