Bike Frame Sizes CUBE ( help ASAP) AAAHhhh

Maskedmike1984

High need help regards size of frame I'm after in a CUBE bicycle.

I'm 5ft 10 with a 31.5" inside leg (whilst bare foot ) tried a Cube Acid 27.5 in a 17" frame and I had a inch or so clearance over top tube and felt fine in reach to handlebars etc, (but sales person said I needed next size up ??) also whilst in there tried a specialized 650b rockhopper pro evo 2015 which was a 19" and top tube was pressing on my boys but apparently was the perfect size for me? so I'm confused to say the least I thought it was recommended to have about 2 inch clearance over top tube on mtb hardtails or am I mistaken. trying to work it out with my inside leg measurement and cube frame geometry charts isn't going great as it doesn't mention BB height... also its the 2015 Cube LTD pro I'm after which is by the looks of it only available still in these sizes... 29er 15" and 17" and 27.5" 20" so again not too sure how the wheel size inturn affects the geometry of the frame so I'm a bit lost

any help would be great cheers

The Rookie

Standover height/room is irrelevant to whether a bike fits you, that relates to the contact points (pedals, saddle and grips) only. Wheel size has no effect either, it will have a similar BB height regardless of wheel size. Most geometry charts will not mention BB height but BB drop from the axle centreline, for comparison purposes treat a 26" wheel as having a 13" axle height, 650B as 13.5" and a 29er as 14.25" (yes the names are misnomers other than the 26"!).

5'10" and a 31.5" leg are pretty much a standard male size, so logically a medium should be your starting point, if you want standover height on a bike that fits then look around for bikes with a lower top tube at the crucial point, but it's not necessary while riding.

Inexperienced mountain bikers usually want to sit more upright than they should, this may feel right but is no good for off road riding as it doesn't put enough weight on the front wheel to generate grip, so if you aren't used to mountain bikes you may feel a little leant forward at first. That's assuming you intend to do proper off-road riding rather than just roads and light gravel tracks of course.

Assuming you are new to MTBing you may want model advice as well - the Rockhopper hasn't got a very good fork or brakes (or shifters or cassette for that matter) for the money they want for it, they blew the money on a dropper post to make it look good instead.

Maskedmike1984

The Rookie wrote:

Standover height/room is irrelevant to whether a bike fits you, that relates to the contact points (pedals, saddle and grips) only. Wheel size has no effect either, it will have a similar BB height regardless of wheel size. Most geometry charts will not mention BB height but BB drop from the axle centreline, for comparison purposes treat a 26" wheel as having a 13" axle height, 650B as 13.5" and a 29er as 14.25" (yes the names are misnomers other than the 26"!).

5'10" and a 31.5" leg are pretty much a standard male size, so logically a medium should be your starting point, if you want standover height on a bike that fits then look around for bikes with a lower top tube at the crucial point, but it's not necessary while riding.

Inexperienced mountain bikers usually want to sit more upright than they should, this may feel right but is no good for off road riding as it doesn't put enough weight on the front wheel to generate grip, so if you aren't used to mountain bikes you may feel a little leant forward at first. That's assuming you intend to do proper off-road riding rather than just roads and light gravel tracks of course.

Assuming you are new to MTBing you may want model advice as well - the Rockhopper hasn't got a very good fork or brakes (or shifters or cassette for that matter) for the money they want for it, they blew the money on a dropper post to make it look good instead.

regards to rockhopper exactly what I thought I regards to its price to components used but according to my LBS the rockhopper was perfect for me and much better than any of the CUBE range even though there a cube dealer, apparently the frame is amazing and will last me a life time, and the forks are amazing and in general the bike is well worth the money, when in my opinion your paying for the name and dropper and not a lot more for a bike that spec wise is a lot worse than the CUBE LTD pro 2015 yet is £300 to £400 more HHHMMM I wonder if they get more commission of the specialized and scott bikes they were trying so hard to push me towards seen as apparently the frame is the most important part and the cube frame wouldnt last me a year, but the specialized and scott would.

specialized spec http://www.evanscycles.com/products/spe ... e-ec070632

vs cube spec http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Cube-LTD-Pro-27 ... _74535.htm

definitely think that some LBS think your retarded... Yes ive been away from bikes for the last 10 years and a lot has changed but I can also spot BS

rant over cheers for help rookie

Maskedmike1984

Bump due to spammers

rockmonkeysc

The fork on that Rockhopper is terrible for the price and the frame is no better than the Cube, I believe both frames are made by Merida, in the same factory in Taiwan. Specialized don't make their own frames, like most manufacturers they buy them from a manufacturer in Taiwan.
The Cube has a much better fork, the Reba is a top quality fork with air spring and a much better damper as well as aluminium uppers compared to steel on the Rockhopper. There must be half a kilo weight difference just in the fork and another good half a kilo in the rest of the components.
I'm not a big fan of Cube bikes but between those two it's the obvious choice and a far better bike.

The Rookie

Agreed, of the two the Cube is at least 2 classes better than the hopper which at RRP is one of the worst value bikes I have ever seen.

Have a look at the Rafal from Decathlon, that is as good as the Cube and cheaper still, most Decathlons seem to have pretty good cycling teams to give decent advice as your local bike shop appear to worry more about profit (and shifting that sodding overpriced pile of poo Rockhopper they've had in all sodding year) than providing a decent service.
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/rafal-740-mo ... 14897.html

ArnieB

Hi Mike

I am 5ft 11 with a 31 inside leg. I have a Cube ltd Race 29er with a 17 frame. It fits me well. as a comparison I have a 20 inch voodoo bizango and that is too big really. I had to buy a smaller seatpost to put the saddle down.

As others have said at that price the cube is a no brainer really. the reba is a decent fork for the money.

Arnie

plasma_man

5'9, 30" inside leg, own a Cube Ltd SL 29, 19" frame.

Previous Cube was an 18" frame, new bikes were only odd numbers, tried the 17, felt ok, a bit cramped on my back and shoulders though, lbs guy commented on tight turns that my elbows and knees were looking uncomfortable ( hard to describe) he gave me a 19 then watched me cycle around and stood scratching his head saying it should be too big but looked better, I was instantly more at home on that size. Boils down to trying it out and taking time to decide. My lbs guy is someone I trust, semi pro, had every size in the shop and seemed to have all the time for me to make the right choice.

mattster12

Hi all. I have just ordered a Cube Ltd Race 29er in 17" on the CTW scheme.

They only had 17" and 19" and recommended a 17" for me. After reading on various forums I am unsure if I have made the right choice.

I am 5ft 10 and a half with an inside leg of 32 and a half inches.

Please can anyone give me some advise on this?

rockmonkeysc

You would probably be borderline 17" / 19". Only a test ride will tell you for sure.
It comes down to personal preference, overall body proportions (including things like arm length) and your riding style.

mattster12

I went to LBS today and tried a 19" but they didn't have the 17" in stock.

When I stood over top tube there was very little or no room and I had work boots on as well.

Thing is with CTW scheme, you can't try before you buy.

Any help or reassurance greatly appreciated i.e best/worse case scenario.

cooldad

Standover height is not important.

A bigger bike can't be made smaller, a slightly small one can be made effectively larger with long or layback seatpost, longer stem, bars etc.

If I had a choice, I'd take too small rather than too big, but ideally obviously the right size is better.

mattster12

My last MTB was a GT Zaskar and i'm sure it was 18" which was fine.

I need to call them tomorrow to confirm the order.

They advised to go for 17" as well so I think that is my best bet.

When I tried 19" today the guy at LBS said 17" would be too small but didn't have one in stock.

Really don't want the hastle of having to return it.

Do Cube bikes run big ?

The Rookie

The problem is that the nominal size is based on just about the most meaningless dimension, you could line up 3 17" bikes and find one too big, one too small and one just right (Goldilocks!).

I don't know enough about Cube to know if they come up longer at the nominal size, but you can look at the effective top tube length for two bikes, add the stem length and any seatpost setback and compare that saddle to bars dimension for a clue, but even things like bar height and backsweep can affect which size is right for you.