What size frame should you ride but what do you really ride?

[mk one]

@mkone .

i use to love the old stretched out racing position back in the day but now my back won't take it as much otherwise i'd still be setting the bikes up like that ..

im the same, and find myself using shorter stems nowadays. Some i still set up long but i cant ride them for long, oh the joy of oldness :roll: my marin has a 22" tt which is too long even for short rides, no matter how much i like the bike its just not as much fun anymore.

 

[Muddy paw]

@mkone .

i use to love the old stretched out racing position back in the day but now my back won't take it as much otherwise i'd still be setting the bikes up like that ..

im the same, and find myself using shorter stems nowadays. Some i still set up long but i cant ride them for long, oh the joy of oldness :roll: my marin has a 22" tt which is too long even for short rides, no matter how much i like the bike its just not as much fun anymore.

Well tbh i've not measured a top tube in years but i'd love to try your Marin out for size as i've a feeling i've got longer arms than you have but last year a put a longish stem on my Rock Rider last year for a quick try out and it made it feel way to long and i only had to stretch about half an inch further forward as i wasn't fully stretched and i felt like my shoulders were going to break :facepalm: but my Raleigh which looks a really long stretch is fine :roll: so i think i'll have to do some measuring hmm that's got me thinking if your upto it maybe, next year we could have a bit of a ride round your neck of the woods provided i can get there as i'm off my feet atm ..

 

[mk one]

@mkone .

if your upto it maybe, next year we could have a bit of a ride round your neck of the woods provided i can get there as i'm off my feet atm ..

sounds good, will pm you, i hope its nothing too serious.

Mark

 

[Muddy paw]

mkone,
sounds good, will pm you, i hope its nothing too serious.

Mark

Sweet! ..

 

[T'boo Ted]

I've always ridden 18's or at least what I think are 18's.
I think my old Diamondback APex is an 18, but it could actually be a 16
my Axis TR was an 18 and fit me perfectly... then, and for years and years. But now it may not, not as bendy and there is thing big "thing" in the way... (I like to think mussle, but clearly its just fat)
This can be seen from my Xizang, similarish dimensions, but I'm not as comfortable on it
whereas my Zaskar is a medium, 18.5 on the charts, but the seat tube is really a 16 and it's short in reach too... is perfect.
So I'd say as I get older, smaller is better.

 

[al-onestare]

Re:

For years I thought 19" Kona's were perfect but then I ended up with a 20" and found that it's easily as good if not a bit better.

 

[Muddy paw]

Re: Re:

For years I thought 19" Kona's were perfect but then I ended up with a 20" and found that it's easily as good if not a bit better.

Hi al ,

How tall are you then mate as i've found Kona's to be quite a generous sizing as i'm 5ft 11" and find my 18" 89 Fire Mountain and the wifes 16" 98 Lava Dome both fit me nicely ..

 

[singletrackmac]

@mkone .

i use to love the old stretched out racing position back in the day but now my back won't take it as much otherwise i'd still be setting the bikes up like that ..

im the same, and find myself using shorter stems nowadays. Some i still set up long but i cant ride them for long, oh the joy of oldness :roll: my marin has a 22" tt which is too long even for short rides, no matter how much i like the bike its just not as much fun anymore.

Same for me. My XXL Bonty, which used to be great for my 6'4" (1.93m) frame with it's 24" TT and 150mm stem now feels way too stretched. It is really fast set up this way, but I will be switching to a shorter stem as even short <5mile rides now hurt my back afterwords. :facepalm: After many years of rugby and now a 2 and 3 year old I got to take car of my back so I can hopefully keep riding these great old bikes for many, many more years

 

[Muddy paw]

im the same, and find myself using shorter stems nowadays. Some i still set up long but i cant ride them for long, oh the joy of oldness :roll: my marin has a 22" tt which is too long even for short rides, no matter how much i like the bike its just not as much fun anymore.

Same for me. My XXL Bonty, which used to be great for my 6'4" (1.93m) frame with it's 24" TT and 150mm stem now feels way too stretched. It is really fast set up this way, but I will be switching to a shorter stem as even short <5mile rides now hurt my back afterwords. :facepalm: After many years of rugby and now a 2 and 3 year old I got to take car of my back so I can hopefully keep riding these great old bikes for many, many more years

Glad to see your seeing sense as you don't want to end up feeling crippled or being crippled for that matter so maybe a 110mm stem would be better as you don't want to be to cramped up either with being so tall and at least your lovely Bonty won't end up being left gathering dust ..

And having children that are 2 and 3 years of age can be quite demanding as it is and you want to be fit enough to enjoy playing games with their children when they grow up as i found out it's quite demanding but damn good fun plus they'll really love you for it ..

 

[Silvergoat]

Re:

I'm 5'9". I used to be able to wear trousers with a 31" leg but in the past few of years, I've had to shorten the legs an inch or so – is this an age thing? My old Clockwork is a 19". Sometimes I've felt 'hunched up' on it. The height is right, with 170mm cranks (until someone looms over me on a big framed 29er). The saddle is set back a fair bit and I'm running a 90 degree 150mm stem 'slammed' – this has helped relax and straighten out posture. Fitting Fleegle bars has added a further inch of room, so now I ride with a flatter back in more of a lowered attack position. Despite this set up, it doesn't handle like a bus – it's still fast and agile around corners.