Is my new bike too big???

Superdon

The Rookie wrote:

Superdon wrote:

When I tried raising the saddle, the pics above show the max I can move it up before I get uncomfortable on the pedals, which was around 1 inch.

Err no, the saddle should be at such a height that with the pedal at the bottom your leg is only just not straight (with your foot level with the floor). Anything lower is less efficient and can lead to knee problems.

Confused? I still have a slight bend at the knee with the saddle up the extra inch?

chrisw333

I think it's ok. There's a thread on standover clearance in the general section. It's not the most important thing, reach is. It's not very often you have to straddle the bike with both fee flat on the floor - most times one foot is enough or you'll be on your toes.

The top tube looks short, you must have short legs long upper body. I certainly wouldn't get a smaller version of this bike, you would be really cramped in the cockpit. To me it looks fine. See what others think, but personally I'd stick with it. If you are really unsure about standover then you may need to look for a different model with lower top tube height.

Saddle height looks about right to me in the second photo.

Superdon

chrisw333 wrote:

I think it's ok. There's a thread on standover clearance in the general section. It's not the most important thing, reach is. It's not very often you have to straddle the bike with both fee flat on the floor - most times one foot is enough or you'll be on your toes.

The top tube looks short, you must have short legs long upper body. I certainly wouldn't get a smaller version of this bike, you would be really cramped in the cockpit. To me it looks fine. See what others think, but personally I'd stick with it. If you are really unsure about standover then you may need to look for a different model with lower top tube height.

Saddle height looks about right to me in the second photo.

Thanks. I went and tried a 18 inch 26 wheeled Voodoo earlier and it felt a bit cramped. Although standover was a bit better.

Anyone else comment on the latest pics?

stubs

It looks fine ride it and dont worry

Superdon

stubs wrote:

It looks fine ride it and dont worry

Cheers. You think the tweaks have helped?

stubs

Superdon wrote:

stubs wrote:

It looks fine ride it and dont worry

Cheers. You think the tweaks have helped?

Yes but dont stress about tube clearance its not important, if its all gone wrong and your going to land on the top tube doesnt matter if you have 1/2 inch or 2 inches of clearance its still going to hurt. In over 40 years of riding I have only podded myself once that I can remember.

You could fit a smaller rear and a larger front tyre for a bit more clearance. Not sure whats on it but a 2.3 or 2.4 front and a 2.0 rear would lower the top tube a small amount. The fork again dont know whats on it but if you google the fork it might be a model you can drop the travel from say 120 to 100mm.

Superdon

I keep changing my mind about what to do. I think I am just a tricky size!

I think if the general consensus is that the bike appears to fit well, then that's good. I could change it for a bike with more standover, but the overall fit could be rubbish so I could go on forever. I also like the feel of the Bizango, it feels decent quality and well made compared to some of the others I have seen and I think for the price I paid (not much over £400) it would be difficult to get a better overall deal.

The tyres on the bike are Maxxis Ardent 29x2.25. In real terms how much difference to standover would it make changing the the tyres? And which tyres would you suggest?

And the fork is a Suntour Radio 120mm LO. Not sure where the instructions are for that, and if it can be adjusted. Again in real terms how much difference would it make altering it?

Thanks once again.

33whitey

Bike looks a good fit.

Its time to ride it and stop faffing

cooldad

Tyres - not much - millimetres.
I don't think the forks can be reduced.
And unless you ride it you won't know.

Standover is unimportant - if you come off in such a way as to crack your nuts, you'll crack them if it's an inch lower anyway.

If it makes you feel better I've ridden bikes for over 45 years, and have never cracked my nuts.

Stormtrooper

The bike looks a tidy fit.
Get out and use and adjust as you go to what feels right.

Superdon

General consensus on here is that it seems it's ok.

However on another forum, I have comments that say it looks totally wrong!

I am going to have a short ride on it and see. I might go to another halfords as well and try a few other bikes and sizes.

It's a minefield

cooldad

Perhaps Mumsnet is not the best place to ask for bike advice.

rickbst170

I'm new to the world of anything except 26" wheels. It looks too big to me. But then I realized it's a 29er. The frame seems to fit but it's too tall. That's because the wheels are too big. The cockpit fits but it's too high, but if the cockpit and crank length fits I guess height is irrelevant. That's probably why it looks too big (I.e. oversize) but feels and size chart says it's ok. Right frame, weird crazy modern oversized wheels.

mickjh56

For what it's worth I nipped into Halford's yesterday to look at one of those Bizangos. I'm 5' 10" with a 31" inside leg, married, 2 kids GSOH blah blah... I tried the medium for size and it felt a bit small. When they get a large one on the floor I'll try that. Having ridden a mate's large 29er it just felt 'right' to me. His bike is a Specialized something or other, so perhaps a size comparison isn't valid when looking at cycles from different manufacturers, I dunno.

As others have already said... I wouldn't obsess too much about the size, if it feels OK, you'll get used to it.

Superdon

MickJH56 wrote:

For what it's worth I nipped into Halford's yesterday to look at one of those Bizangos. I'm 5' 10" with a 31" inside leg, married, 2 kids GSOH blah blah... I tried the medium for size and it felt a bit small. When they get a large one on the floor I'll try that. Having ridden a mate's large 29er it just felt 'right' to me. His bike is a Specialized something or other, so perhaps a size comparison isn't valid when looking at cycles from different manufacturers, I dunno.

As others have already said... I wouldn't obsess too much about the size, if it feels OK, you'll get used to it.

How did you find the standover?

I am trying not to obsess over it, I just don't want to regret it down the line.

The Rookie

MickJH56 wrote:

perhaps a size comparison isn't valid when looking at cycles from different manufacturers, I dunno.

No perhaps about it, it's not, besides seattube length (height?) is the most bizarre measure of bike size to be used, either top tube length or better still effective top tube length would make a lot more sense.

That said one would expect a 'medium' to fit an average sized male however they sized it, or maybe it's like condoms and no-one wants to buy a small!

Superdon

Had a bit of a ride today and it felt good. My wife (a physio) looked at my leg/knee extension with the way i had it set up, and she was happy with it. Although that was with saddle at just a touch above the lowest position.

If the stand over was a bit better i would have no hesitation on keeping it. I know people say its irrelevant but i don't want it to be uncomfortable. Also, it makes it a bit more effort to mount and dismount.

Having said that i popped back to halfords today. I tried the Boardman comp ht 650b, which i cant afford anyway, and it was only a slight improvment. They also had a tatty 2011 boardman comp ht with 26 wheels, again that didnt make much difference, although they were offering a decent deal on that one.

I think my two options are; keep the bizango and live with any potential problems with stand over, or change it for the lower spec 2012 Bantu (26 inch wheels) which will save me £100. Thats £100 towards an upgrade in a couple of years if i get hooked.

I dunno.

rockmonkeysc

You might have a bit of trouble if the saddle is just above it's lowest position. You're not going to be able to drop it for more technical riding.
At the very worst you can always sell the frame and get something smaller. That shouldn't cost more than £100 at most.

Ferrals

Your way way over thinking this. The internet is your worst enemy here!

if you think you like the bike go out and give it a proper thrashing offroad- its the only way you'll get to feel what its like. Your not (I assume) gunning to break into the ranks of elite level racing so if its not quite theoretically perfect it doesnt actually matter so long as it feels good and is comfortable.

If in 4 months your thinking its not quite right play with different stems/handlebars; if in a years time your thinking, ah its really not quite right sell it second hand or trade it in and get something else.

edit. i missed the bit about the saddle being in its lowest possible position - but it doesnt look like that from the pics..

edit 2. and dont worry about your nuts, its the stem thats going to knacker them not the top tube..

mickjh56

Superdon wrote:

How did you find the standover?

I am trying not to obsess over it, I just don't want to regret it down the line.

The stand over was fine but, to be honest, I didn't pay it much attention ...so to be more accurate, I didn't notice anything wrong. I'll have a better comparison when I try the large frame but that may not be for a few days. The lad in the shop is going to call me when they have one on the floor.

Lots of good advice here so, if your better half approves in both her familial and professional capacity, I'd log off now and get out and ride.

Cheers.

stubs

Just take it back and get something else you have a bad case of buyers remorse and nothing anyone is going to say will change your mind.

Superdon

Kind of..but it's more me wanting to be sure it's as good for me as it can be.

I am over thinking about it. That's partly cos that's how I am, but also I am off work at the minute after an op so have more time to read and think about stuff and Ferrals is right that the internet is my worst enemy some times.

I am now 90% I am going to keep it. I have 28 days to return it, and won't really be able to ride in anger for another week at least, so I can just take my time now and think.

I do appreciate everyone's continued input though.

batmo

Only you can really decide if the standover thing bothers you or not; I ride with people who have no clearance whatsoever and are fine with it but I recently returned new Canyon because I felt I wouldn't be confident stopping and dismounting on a more than moderate down slope for e.g.

I'm 5'10" with a 29" inside leg, so swoopy top tube with reasonable reach is the order of the day. My (15 years) old bike is a Trek which I think I ended up with because they do frame sizes in more and smaller steps.

chrisw333

Superdon wrote:

They also had a tatty 2011 boardman comp ht with 26 wheels, again that didnt make much difference, although they were offering a decent deal on that one.

I would seriously consider this.

Boardmans are excellent bikes and the spec in 2011 was probably somewhat better than now. Can you find a link to the spec and post it here?

Superdon

The clearance Boardman looked pretty sorry for itself. The blurb from the website says...

The Boardman Medium Mountain Bike Comp features a great spec which includes a lightweight 6061 triple butted aluminium frame, 120mm Suntour Epicon air suspension fork, SRAM X5 27 speed gearing and Avid Elixir 1 / Juicy 3 brakes to offer a bike for the more serious XC trail rider at excellent value.

Boardman bikes are inspired and developed by the Olympic Champion cyclist Chris Boardman. Chris Boardman has described the Boardman Mountain Bike range as- "At the heart of each Boardman hard tail MTB is a high quality UK designed and tested XC specific frame, built with custom butted and carefully profiled tubing. Combine this with a top spec component package from the world's leading brands and you have a versatile bike, as much at home on the race track as it is on your local trails." Chris Boardman MBE



Lightweight 6061 triple butted aluminium frame has a very high strength to weight ratio for a frame that is rapid on both climbs and descents
120mm Suntour Epicon air suspension fork with adjustable rebound damping and lockout
Boardman branded finishing kit
Alex double wall rims with sealed bearing hubs for bearing life
Continental Mountain King 26"x 2.2"
FSA Alpha Drive chainset
Powerful Avid Elixir 1 / Juicy 3 hydraulic disc brakes provide reliable braking performance in all conditions
SRAM X5 27 speed gearing for reliable shifting performance
The Boardman MTB Comp offers real off road performance and durability with a high quality spec

adamfo

rickbst170 wrote:

I'm new to the world of anything except 26" wheels. It looks too big to me. But then I realized it's a 29er. The frame seems to fit but it's too tall. That's because the wheels are too big. The cockpit fits but it's too high, but if the cockpit and crank length fits I guess height is irrelevant. That's probably why it looks too big (I.e. oversize) but feels and size chart says it's ok. Right frame, weird crazy modern oversized wheels.

Er... that wheel size has been around for over a 100 years.

jaybo1973

I had a 20" cinder cone a few years back. It was the right size for me at 6'1" with a 33" inside leg; however I was never happy with it. After cracking the family jewels once to often, I bought a 18" 456 frame and my nut cracking days are over.

twonks

Don't worry about stand over height. If you think about it when do you actually jump off the saddle and straddle the crossbar on a ride?

Your more likely to stop , lean slightly and put a foot down still seated.

As long as the top tube isn't actually preventing you to straddle the bike if needed I wouldn't worry about it.

My first reaction to the pics was that the bike looked too small not to big !

How are the handlebars positioned, as it looks like the risers are angled flat backwards and not giving any rise at all.

I'm not gay or owt, but you need to post pics with shorts so that people can see your relative leg and body angles when seated.

Angus Young

cooldad wrote:

If it makes you feel better I've ridden bikes for over 45 years, and have never cracked my nuts.

A friend of mine almost bled to death through his cøck (literally) after coming off onto the top tube. A week in hospital and six months pissing via a bag.

buddy_club

Ferrals wrote:

edit. i missed the bit about the saddle being in its lowest possible position - but it doesnt look like that from the pics...

With the Bizango there is a slight kink in the frame to accommodate the larger wheels and provide better wheel clearance. This means that the seatpost cannot go all the way into the frame, unless you trim it.