Caught in the middle of frame sizes..

xand_xand

When your caught in the middle of 2 X frame sizes.
... Medium or large.
I'm 5 ft 9...

I've been after a slack, long travel hardtail.. I've seen 3 I love but on frame sizing of each I'm at top end of a medium frame and the start of large frame.

For example...

Medium 5ft 5 to 5ft 9
Large 5ft 9 to 6ft 1

Orange crush
Commencal meta
Nukeproof scout

General geometry for both sizes is there or thereabouts too.

Does it matter which I go for..... I've been back and forth over this for ages...Sometimes I feel I'm overthinking it.

What to do?

mully79

Depends if you have long or short legs and your perceived riding style.

webboo

My understanding was you always go for the smallest frame that you can or is that old school thinking.

elbowloh

Iny mind, you can make a smaller frame fit with longer stems, increased stack height, lots of seatpost out etc

If your frame is too big, then it's too big.

mrb123

Not sure the advice in this thread necessarily holds as true for mountain bikes as it does for road bikes.

I agree with a road bike, you should size down if in between sizes.

Not sure that holds true these days for MTBs though - people seem to go for longer, bigger bikes with as short a stem as possible.

DeVlaeminck

I'd get another make with a geometry that fits what I want.

mully79

You cant make a mountain bike fit with a longer stem. You can definitely ruin one though.

steve_sordy

I am convinced that the bike makers all use a different ideal body proportion to design their bikes around. This is why one bike can fit you well, but not another. You can get a dozen men of the same height and their legs (and therefore their trunk) and arms will all be different. So height is not an ideal dimension to use. Which is why we all advise a test ride. But what can you do when you can't do a test ride?

Find the geometry table for each bike and look for the stack and reach dimensions for each bike. I have chosen bikes unridden by comparing these on different brands of bike. I have rejected a Large because it was too short for my long body yet the XL was too tall. Yet on another brand Large bike the reach was perfect, but the stack was too tall. Yet the Medium was the right height but too short. If you have a bike that you know fits you, find out what the reach and stack dimensions are and compare.

There are other dimensions to compare of course, but knowing what reach and stack suit you will leave you better able to make an informed decision.

reaperactual

For what it's worth I'm 5'10" and was between sizes on a similar Orange Clockwork Evo. I went with a medium and it fit fine with no alterations needed.

Weirdly the 150mm Kore dropper that came fitted was still slightly too high for my 31" leg inseam measurement so replaced it. Worth checking your inseam too when deciding on which size to go for as the dropper fitted on mine caught me out.

xand_xand

Some really sound advice here thanks so much I really appreciate all your comments...

I currently have a medium cube ltd race but this is xc bike... The aggressive hardtail im after now is different geometry as you know....

Cheers guys..

apc1

Hi, I'm in exactly the same situation as you. I'm 5'9 and a bit or 5'10 on a good day.
Not saying you should by a Specialized but on their website the size chart has been updated so you enter some basic measurements and it then tells you which to buy. Interestingly though if say my height is 5'9 it says medium and if 5'10 tips over to a large.
I ride both MTB and road bikes and generally I'm told choose the smaller size for road because if too big a road bike is uncomfortable over long distances. Adding a longer stem is not an issue
For MTB go the bigger size and shorten the stem because keeps your weight back for descents. If you went smaller and added a longer stem you'd be more over the front wheel and more likely to OTB