Tall persons entry level advice required please

foomonkey

Hello. I'm 6 ft 9 and looking to buy a entry level MTB under the price of £500.

From the information I've gathered, I've found that I'm likely needing a bike with at least a 22"/xxl and upwards frame to accommodate my height.

Could anyone advise me on bikes to looks at that give me the best price/quality ratio that I should go out and try before buying?

Thanks all

The Rookie

Unfortunately most the value brands are limited to the three main sizes, Decathlon go a bit further but don't go to XXL, to paraphrase the great Rowan Atkinson "God just wanted you to have a rotten bike".

Your best bet is to have a look at Pauls cycles website as they often have XXL's for sale as there aren't many potential buyers out there.

Rigga

The specialized rockhopper used to go to 23" not sure if it still does.

kajjal

I am 6ft7 and fit fine on a 23" / xxl specialized mountain bike with no adjustments or extra components . You should be fine on a 23" rockhopper and may need minor adjustments, like a new stem to raise the bars a little. The cheapest one is currently £550 brand new. The downside to being tall is very few bikes to choose from, and normally lower spec for the money. Most important is to get one that fits. If you get into mountain biking specialized do much higher spec bikes including full suspension in that size. My bike is a specialized carve (now called crave.) which is an xc hardtail and good for long rides on remote trails as well as the occasional trail centre

The best measurements to compare bikes quickly are the bikes reach and stack. For a Rockhopper 23" hardtail reach is similar to a Trek 23" hardtail but the stack is about 2 inches taller. This means with similar components the Trek will have 2" lower hand position on the bars.

foomonkey

Thanks for the replies so far.

Does anyone have any advice on these in terms of price vs quality?

http://m.gooutdoors.co.uk/mondraker-pha ... ke-p343087

http://m.gooutdoors.co.uk/mondraker-pha ... ke-p343084

http://m.gooutdoors.co.uk/dbr-outback-m ... 14-p307071

http://m.gooutdoors.co.uk/bh-bikes-spik ... tb-p346925

http://www.ukbikesdepot.com/m15b190s776 ... oCA4nw_wcB

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobi ... prod141166

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobi ... prod141165

Or do you have any links to specific bikes that are distinctively good for their price?

How does the DBR Outback Mountain Bike compare against other bikes with a £500 limit? That one caught my attention since it's reduced down to £180, goes up to a 22" and I'm looking at entry level MTB at this point.

Thanks

bailsofhay

Have you checked out the rockriders this one seems pretty well suited for your needs.

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/rockrider-560-mountain-bike-275-id_8336092.html#anchor_ComponentProductFeatures

kajjal

Are you planning to take the bike off road properly or just looking for a bike to ride ?

Just be careful with advice from people who are not very tall as they don't understand that most bikes even in the biggest size won't fit you ay 6ft9 . You will not enjoy riding a bike that is far too small and can also pick up injuries due to this. Of the bikes you list the 2016 SCOTT Aspect 960 has a reach of 436 which is short and the stack is 573 which means the bars on the scott 22.8" would be 10cm lower than on the rockhopper 23" assuming similar components.

You could always try second hand which would save you some money but you may have to wait a while for a big enough big to appear.

supersonic

Is all about the reach/ETT, as mentioned above - assuming the seatpost is long enough for you to be seated correctly. I can comfortably ride a long top tubed 14 inch bike with a 400m post at full whack with 35 inch inside leg. Trying them is the way forward, but don't be afraid to try sizes outside what you think you are - a 20 inch frame with a long post and correct reach/effective top tube is going to be a better bet than a 23 inch with short reach.

Also be wary of using too much seatpost layback - this can put you far behind the BB axle, which is already accentuated with the height of the saddle. Steep seat angles combined with good effective top tube length is key here. One of my friends is 6ft 9 to, and got a Kona Lanaii - too short for him in the largest size, yet his saddle height fitted me.

foomonkey

Could someone confer with me to whether this dbr is of a really low spec and not worth it in the long run (likely to have problems after a couple of years) or whether it's a good deal for an entry level mtb and I should go for it?

http://m.gooutdoors.co.uk/dbr-outback-m ... 14-p307071

Thanks

The Rookie

Very entry level components but functional, the fork is the bare minimum for off-roading as it has a damper (the hydraulic part of the lockout). The cable brakes are OK but not much more.

foomonkey

The Rookie wrote:

Very entry level components but functional, the fork is the bare minimum for off-roading as it has a damper (the hydraulic part of the lockout). The cable brakes are OK but not much more.

What kind of components should I be looking for on a bike that are better quality for each area compared to this bike?

What bike would you then suggest that offer this quality at a reasonable price?

Thanks

supersonic

Preferably an air fork with adjustable rebound damping. At least some sort of rebound damping. Hydraulic disc brakes are seasoned now and even most budget ones are good. 9/10 speed drivetrains, though Shimano 8 speed is reliable if a bit clunky.

The Rockrider series from Decathlon are good value.

foomonkey

supersonic wrote:

Preferably an air fork with adjustable rebound damping. At least some sort of rebound damping. Hydraulic disc brakes are seasoned now and even most budget ones are good. 9/10 speed drivetrains, though Shimano 8 speed is reliable if a bit clunky.

The Rockrider series from Decathlon are good value.

What Rockrider model would you suggest for my price point and size?

supersonic

The 540 is a solid bike at £340:

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/rockrider-54 ... 50454.html

The 560 doesn't really offer anything more, but the 580 has some some nice upgrades. They usually come down in price to £500 too.

foomonkey

supersonic wrote:

The 540 is a solid bike at £340:

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/rockrider-54 ... 50454.html

The 560 doesn't really offer anything more, but the 580 has some some nice upgrades. They usually come down in price to £500 too.

Sadly the 540 and 560 don't come in anything near my size (im 6ft 9). The 580 is a bit out of my price range.

I found this link that potentially gets 22% off bikes (assuming all the advice works on it) so ideally i'd be now looking to buy a brand of bike through Halfords

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/22-off- ... 4#comments

I've been looking over the following bikes;

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/m ... ntain-bike .. Has a 22" frame but only 27.5" tyre size. I was in a local Halfords store the other day and they had this bike with 29" tyres (was a smaller frame though). with the 22% off and this possible tyre size, assuming they'd allow the switch if ordered online, this would be rather tempting for ~£312

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/m ... -_-TopLink .. 20" frame but has the 29" tyres. Also better spec. Feeling i'd need to try this but am open to some advice on the bike. I'm assuming that it's going to be far too small though.

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/m ... -_-TopLink .. Saw reviews on this bike saying it’s got a very good setup/spec. Reviews im referring to are below. The 21" frame and 27.5" tyres might be a stickler for me though?

http://www.mbr.co.uk/reviews/hardtail/h ... 015-review
http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/gear/categ ... -16-49992/

From the bikes above or if there is another bike you could recommend from Halfords that suit my needs/price point? Also where can i find information on the bikes (and plausible recommended Halfords bike) about which have the largest stack/reach as i understand this is going to be extremely important when choosing a bike?

Thanks

supersonic

This is what I was saying about sizes - you need to try them if you can. Seatposts in 450mm can be got, so much comes down to reach and seat angle, and effective top tube length. I've seen many M and L sizes from some brands being longer than anothers XL. Granted the XL is out of stock online, but stores may have them if you have one close. Also at your height a 29er is no more likely to fit than a 26er, the wheel size makes virtually no difference to the fit measurements (where your feet, hands and saddle lie in relation to each other), with like for like geometry. Bars can be naturally higher, but is easily compensated for. The reason why 29ers don't come in really small sizes is that the front wheel can overlap the toe, so is only a problem for shorter people. What is your inside leg measurement out of interest?

The Hoodoo is a great bike, solid spec, and fairly long reach for a given size too. The same goes for the Bizango, the air fork and Deore transmission is nice kit. The Alpha has won a few awards recently, can't go wrong with the spec there. 650mm effective top tube in the XL too, which is long. Compare that to my 1996 Zaskar LE, which is a 20.5inch frame - 575mm top tube.

I think you have picked some very good bikes out, and just simply need to try them out in store. Halfords should build you one up if you ask. Again, don't worry about wheel size, the other factors are far more important in fit. And remember you can always tweak front end height (bars/stem type) and/or a longer seat post if needs be.

kajjal

I would just find a good bike shop and test ride a 23" rockhopper sport at £550. If you Google the specialized size chart the xxl rockhopper comes with height range 6 ft 5 to 6 ft 9. The other bikes you mention are good value but at most fit 6 ft 5 going by the size chart links. If the rockhopper fits then you have something to compare other bikes against when test riding.

You could end up spending more money trying to make a smaller bike fit, if you were shorter this becomes a more realistic option. My first quality mountain bike in the mid 1990's was a little too small, about an inch by the size chart but easily adapted to fit.

foomonkey

supersonic wrote:

This is what I was saying about sizes - you need to try them if you can. Seatposts in 450mm can be got, so much comes down to reach and seat angle, and effective top tube length. I've seen many M and L sizes from some brands being longer than anothers XL. Granted the XL is out of stock online, but stores may have them if you have one close. Also at your height a 29er is no more likely to fit than a 26er, the wheel size makes virtually no difference to the fit measurements (where your feet, hands and saddle lie in relation to each other), with like for like geometry. Bars can be naturally higher, but is easily compensated for. The reason why 29ers don't come in really small sizes is that the front wheel can overlap the toe, so is only a problem for shorter people. What is your inside leg measurement out of interest?

The Hoodoo is a great bike, solid spec, and fairly long reach for a given size too. The same goes for the Bizango, the air fork and Deore transmission is nice kit. The Alpha has won a few awards recently, can't go wrong with the spec there. 650mm effective top tube in the XL too, which is long. Compare that to my 1996 Zaskar LE, which is a 20.5inch frame - 575mm top tube.

I think you have picked some very good bikes out, and just simply need to try them out in store. Halfords should build you one up if you ask. Again, don't worry about wheel size, the other factors are far more important in fit. And remember you can always tweak front end height (bars/stem type) and/or a longer seat post if needs be.

Thanks for the advice. Wasn't aware about the tyre size making little to no difference. I'll try Halfords after work tomorrow and see what they say.

To answer your other question, i'm a 38cm inside leg.

foomonkey

Kajjal wrote:

I would just find a good bike shop and test ride a 23" rockhopper sport at £550. If you Google the specialized size chart the xxl rockhopper comes with height range 6 ft 5 to 6 ft 9. The other bikes you mention are good value but at most fit 6 ft 5 going by the size chart links. If the rockhopper fits then you have something to compare other bikes against when test riding.

You could end up spending more money trying to make a smaller bike fit, if you were shorter this becomes a more realistic option. My first quality mountain bike in the mid 1990's was a little too small, about an inch by the size chart but easily adapted to fit.

Do you think Halfords could sell me a Rockhopper? If they could and i can get that 22% discount, that could very well be the bike i go for.

kajjal

foomonkey wrote:

Kajjal wrote:

I would just find a good bike shop and test ride a 23" rockhopper sport at £550. If you Google the specialized size chart the xxl rockhopper comes with height range 6 ft 5 to 6 ft 9. The other bikes you mention are good value but at most fit 6 ft 5 going by the size chart links. If the rockhopper fits then you have something to compare other bikes against when test riding.

You could end up spending more money trying to make a smaller bike fit, if you were shorter this becomes a more realistic option. My first quality mountain bike in the mid 1990's was a little too small, about an inch by the size chart but easily adapted to fit.

Do you think Halfords could sell me a Rockhopper? If they could and i can get that 22% discount, that could very well be the bike i go for.

Unfortunately i don't think they would. I know exactly how hard it is getting a bike to fit when you are tall and was just concerned you don't get something too small as i did once in the past. It was a good bike, good spec and price but just far too small so didn't feel right to ride unlike my current bike which is spot on and handles off road trails well due to being the right size.

supersonic

38 inch I hope you mean ;-). That's three more than me, though I have a pretty short upper body and reach. The good news is that almost any bike of 20 inch seat tube and up is going to fit you (saddle height wise) with a standard 350mm seat post. But is nailing that reach. The Hopper in the XXL is 687mm effective top tube, which is the longest I have seen on a bike of this type.

foomonkey

I was almost set on trying out the Alpha until my gf showed me this..

https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hp ... e=56E8BC79

Now i might be tempted to get the Rockhopper if they can match the % discount i can get through Halfords :P

Also i asked Halfords about the Rockhopper and it was a no unless i went through the cycle to work scheme, which i'd refuse to do.