Advice for newbie with short legs

dong888

Hi, I'm wondering whether anyone could help me please. I'm short at 5ft 6 and I have an inside leg of 28". I'm new to mountain biking so I though I'd opt for a 27.5 hardtail with good reviews, below £1000. This led me to two highly rated bikes, the 16" Boardman comp HT650b for £450 and the small Whyte 901 for £1000. I tried out the Boardman at Halfords and I could just about touch the floor with my toes when standing over the top tube. The riding position felt weird as I seemed to be upright on the bike (the handlebars too close). I haven't tried out a Whyte as I've checked the online sizing and the small has a standover height of 778mm which works out 2 inches too high. Could anyone offer any suggestions on any bikes that would be suitable for my size?

Cheers

paulneenan76

Not being dismissive but there's a sticky which tells you about stand over height. Start there first, Dude.

JodyP

Not sure why you're on tip toes standing over the top tube, especially if its a small frame. You are almost the same size as me. Being small we're always going to have problems with knackers and top tube height. My Anthem is apparently 30.5" (small frame) but with an inside leg of 28" I still don't need to be on my toes. Might depend on what point of the tube it is measured from as they slope down to the seat tube. Best bet is to get out there and try a few.

P.S On most MTB's you will be sat in a fairly upright position. That can be altered slightly with different stem lengths/angles, handlebar rises etc

brianbee

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19735981#p19735981]dong888[/url] wrote:

Hi, I'm wondering whether anyone could help me please. I'm short at 5ft 6 and I have an inside leg of 28". I'm new to mountain biking so I though I'd opt for a 27.5 hardtail with good reviews, below £1000. This led me to two highly rated bikes, the 16" Boardman comp HT650b for £450 and the small Whyte 901 for £1000. I tried out the Boardman at Halfords and I could just about touch the floor with my toes when standing over the top tube. The riding position felt weird as I seemed to be upright on the bike (the handlebars too close). I haven't tried out a Whyte as I've checked the online sizing and the small has a standover height of 778mm which works out 2 inches too high. Could anyone offer any suggestions on any bikes that would be suitable for my size?

Cheers

MTbs are built round average people, if its low( in height) they tend to be short, in (cockpit) length. If your body isnt long/short all round you can have a problem, ie it fits below the waist but not above or vice versa

There is a level of adjustment. The fundamental measure is your seat height to pedal, legs just off straight at the bottom,, get that correct and then you can decided if the bike is with in adjustment zone for you. just rotating the bars an inch or moving the saddle half an inch back can make a significant difference to riding position and fit, before you get into changing stems etc. You really need to get the ride height set up and to have a least a short ride on it, just balancing on it doesn't really help. Make the shop staff get the alien keys out and adjust everything till your happy it fits

Stand over isnt an essential element, but its a nice to have, if you select the wrong gear to make a really steep climb and find yourself either grinding or spinning to a stop, being able to get both feet down and a bit of purchase on a slippy hill has saved me from ending in an undignified heap on a few occasion. I suspect the better you are at riding the less important it becomes. But I wouldnt see it as a deal breaker if everything else is to your taste

dong888

Thanks for all the replies. I'll get out today and try some for size

The Rookie

You need a smaller bike really, Your legs aren't that short for your height (mine are one inch longer and I'm 3.5" taller), your short torse means you need a shorter bike, so maybe consider an XS (14-15").

HenryTheHoover

Norcos have low cross bars ( from Evans ) . Not as good value as the Boardmans though.

Funny old thing sizing. I am 4.25" taller than you but my legs are 5 inch longer at 33". I have a medium Boardman and a large Giant.

dong888

I visited a couple of shops today. I tried a few out for size..the small Whyte 801 (nearly same frame as 901) was a good fit and surprisingly I still had nearly an inch clearance on the top tube. I tried a medium Cannondale and an 18" Cube, both too big but I'm guessing the small Cannondale and the 16" Cube would be fine. I'm leaning towards the Whyte 901 despite it exceeding my top budget, but unfortunately no stock until January. I'd get £170 worth of accessories free but I wouldn't know were to start: helmet, shorts, shoes maybe?

HenryTheHoover

A super quick google finds a small 2015 901 in stock at £999.

jonathanuk

The thing about mountain bikes is you will at some point need to put one or both feet down in a hurry, and it probably won't be on a flat bit of ground. You need clearance without having to lean the bike otherwise you'll just keel over. My mountain bike has a frame that slopes straight down from the handlebars to the rear wheel hub in a straight line, the seat post looks quite tall as a result but it gives me great clearance of the frame (it is a medium 29er hard tail); you could look for this style of frame, it doesn't matter how high up you are when sitting on it so long as you can stand astride the frame with no danger of damaging the goods.

Something along these lines (the frame shape / style):

shindig

I'm 5'7" with an inside leg of 29". I bought the small Whyte 901. Lost of standover room and the reach is fine for me. I have 21cm of exposed seatpost. The 901 is a fantastic bike.