Voodoo Hoodoo or smaller frame alternative?

plod2

Hi all,

I'm hoping to buy my first mountain bike and I'm interested in the Voodoo Hoodoo, its currently on sale for £400 and I can also use the british cycling discount to knock this down a further 10%.

However, on trying the bike instore (18" frame) it did feel slightly too big, I could stand over the bike but didn't really have any clearance, my arms are also slightly bend but close to being fully locked and extended. The seat will also be close to the very lowest it can go. I am 5ft 7 and according to the sizing guide and a few size calculators this frame size should be just about ok, so my question is - go for this bike and deal with the sizing or get another bike which may be more expensive/not as good deal but a better fit.

I would consider the RR 540 which goes for £430 - is it worth it just for the smaller frame?

Cheers!

bob6397

I would always go with the bike that is a better fit.. Have you checked to see if any other Halfords stores have different frame sizes in..?

From what you have said you do need the size down though - the saddle should not be as low as it can go and your arms should not be locked!!

Both the Voodoo and the Rockrider get mentioned regularly on here though - either would be a decent bike

bob6397

dj58

Hi Plod,

I recently bought an 18" Hoodoo for my nephew who is 6'3" tall, going off the Voodoo sizing chart put him on the 20" bike, however when he tried the two sizes out he did not like the 20" as he felt it was to big for him. What I did was change the standard 90mm stem on the 18" bike for a 100mm, the seatpost is quite long so their is plenty of height adjustment available to suit him.

Now I'm a tad taller than you though have long arms and legs relative to my height and I have no problem riding my nephews bike, I just need to drop the seatpost. When you say the bike is close on clearance do you mean to the top of the saddle when standing on the pedals, or to the top tube when standing astride the bike with you feet flat on the ground? Can the seatpost be lowered enough so that you are in the correct position in relation to the cranks/pedals.

On this bike the bottom of the seatpost contacts the upper seat tube bottle cage threaded mounting boss, which protrudes inside the seat tube, taking the screw out makes no difference. I discovered this when I collected my nephews bike and asked the Halfords bike tech. why the seatpost would not go all the way into the seat tube.

So if you want the seatpost in a lower position than it can go on the bike you tried in the shop, you will need to get Halfords to trim the bottom of the seatpost buy the appropriate amount, for you. That is what the tech who dealt with me offered as a solution. I did not have it trimmed down as it was fine for me and my nephew.

As regards the reach and you feeling stretched, you can swop the standard 90mm stem for a shorter one, say 80 or 70mm to bring the handle bars closer. BTW it is a nice entry level bike for the money and he is really enjoying riding his, the only other change I have made is to swop the 44T outer chainring for a 42T.

Before you make your decision go and sit on some other bikes for comparison. Also read this
viewtopic.php?f=20005&t=12640231

Hope this helps.

plod2

Thanks for the replies.

Unfortunately the 16" frame is sold out throughout the country. When saying close on clearance, I mean when standing over the top tube with my feet on the floor. The seatpost could be lowered further if the post was trimmed - just worries me that it wasnt designed to go any lower!

I'm off to decathlon to try some of their bikes but I have the feeling currently the Hoodoo is the better bike + cheaper..!

LJ.

what about the Carrera kraken in halfords, that's supposed to be decent. Anyway there is a 10% off adult bikes code at Halfords you can use for reserve and collect, should be able to stack with british cycling too "B15BK08".
This is a good price too http://www.wiggle.co.uk/boardman-comp-650b-x5-10-speed/

The Rookie

Size while standing with your feet on the floor is pretty much irrelevant to the size of bike you need to be comfortable whilst riding, that said at you height I'd be very surprised if an 18" is the right size, I'm 5'9" and usually find a 16 or 17" frame suits me.

rockmonkeysc

Sounds like its too big.

robertpb

You can only assess the right size bike by getting the saddle at the correct height for riding it.

Also the stand over height is irrelevant when riding

plod2

So would anyone think correcting for a slightly too big frame size to be worth it? (e.g chopping seat post + fitted shorter stem etc..) or would hacks like this not really fix the problem?

The Rookie

The key dimension is effective top tube length which determines how long the bike is, you have a large range of seatpost adjustment but can't change the cockpit length by the same amount.

With the saddle at the right height for pedalling (basic setup, heal on the pedal and with the pedal at the bottom your leg should be almost straight) I doubt the frame is too tall as I have made a 23" frame fit me, but it probably is too long.

dj58

Only you can decide whether the bike is too big for you. Have you asked Halfords Customer Services head office when they are going to be restocking the 16" Bike?

Did you try the Decathlon bike? If you have a Go Outdoors near to you, go and try the 18" Calibre Two Two, take a tape measure with you and note down the ETT, HT and Stem length, spec says it has a 350mm long seatpost and a 70mm stem. If you take the HooDoo measurements with you to compare, should give you an idea of whether the bikes are same/similar and if you could live with big frame/shorter stem/seatpost. Otherwise you need to be looking at bikes in the 16"/17" range that are in your budget.

http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/calibre-two ... ke-p275612

penguin_of_death

The Voodoos only come in an 18/20, there is no 16