what frame size bike for 6'4" male?

In article <[email protected]>, Chris Tribiono wrote:
> I'm looking into purchasing a new mountain bike.
>
> I was hoping some of you could help in telling me what size bike frame I
> should be looking for. I've been to a couple of bike shops in my county and
> i'm being told 20 inch or 22 inch. I've sat on a couple of them while
> looking but I don't notice too much of a difference.
>
> I'm 6-foot-4 with a slender/slim build -- long arms and legs.
>
> I'll basically be using the bike on flat off-road trails -- not so many
> hills or anything.
>
> I haven't had a mountain bike since I was a teenager, so this is all new to
> me again as I'm in my mid-20s now.
>
> Thanks for any and all help and feedback.
>
>

I'm 6'5"and my XC bike has a 21" frame. Possibly more important
than nominal frame size are standover height and reach to handlebars. If
either of those are miles out you'll really struggle to make the bike
fit you.

Try both the 22" and 20" frames and buy the bike that feels most
comfortable and has enough knacker clearance

--
Tim.

Bike sizing is different for most companies because of different
measuring points and frame design. Try out as many as you can and the
one that feels right will be the best fitt for you, regardless of size
listed. If you're going to ride flat offroad trails, you should be ok
with a larger frame and a parking lot test ride should work well.

JD at 6'-7"

Christ, what do they feed you guys on?

Fred

5' 10.5"

"Fred Fragger" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Christ, what do they feed you guys on?
>
> Fred
>
> 5' 10.5"
>
fried foods, here.

mark - 6'3"

Way Big or a 21-23

Fred Fragger wrote:
> Christ, what do they feed you guys on?

Plates?

[email protected] wrote:
> Way Big or a 21-23

21 seems about right. A 23 might possibly be too large, but probably not.
We sold a 23" Rockhopper yesterday to a gentleman who was 6'7" tall and 270
pounds of pure muscle. Each of his calves were about the diameter of my
torso.
--
Phil, Squid-in-Training (5'5")

Per Chris Tribiono:
>I was hoping some of you could help in telling me what size bike frame I
>should be looking for.

I'm 6'5".

I'd say that you're in the area of desired handlebar height possibly being a
determining factor.

Do you already have an MTB? If so, you probably know what height you want.
If not, that could be an important issue if you like them up around saddle
height.
--
PeteCresswell

"Phil, Squid-in-Training" <[email protected]> wrote in
message news:[email protected]...
> [email protected] wrote:
> > Way Big or a 21-23
>
> 21 seems about right. A 23 might possibly be too large, but probably not.
> We sold a 23" Rockhopper yesterday to a gentleman who was 6'7" tall and
270
> pounds of pure muscle. Each of his calves were about the diameter of my
> torso.

Yeah Phil, but you're a skinny little fcuk ',;~}~






Shaun aRe - Not too broad either, heheh...

Fred Fragger wrote:
> Christ, what do they feed you guys on?


I dunno, but I read somewhere that it was fish, bread and wine.

JD omniverous

Fred Fragger wrote:
> Christ, what do they feed you guys on?
>
> Fred
>
> 5' 10.5"

Nicotine, valium, vicodin, marijuana, ecstacy and alcohol. C-c-c-c-c-!

/s

[email protected] wrote:
> Fred Fragger wrote:
> > Christ, what do they feed you guys on?
> >
> > Fred
> >
> > 5' 10.5"
>
> Nicotine, valium, vicodin, marijuana, ecstacy and alcohol.
C-c-c-c-c-!
>
> /s


You're a regular Waring blender...

JD

[email protected] wrote:
>
> Nicotine, valium, vicodin, marijuana, ecstacy and alcohol.

And here I thought there were only four food groups.

BTW, Gordo, I'm going to be spending a month in New Haven soon --
figure I'll be bringing the fix on the train down to NYC a couple of
times. Maybe we can hook up and have a couple of beers and bomb around
the city a bit. I'll be in touch out of band.

> C-c-c-c-c-!

CC

>BTW, Gordo, I'm going to be spending a month in New Haven soon --
>figure I'll be bringing the fix on the train down to NYC a couple of
>times. Maybe we can hook up and have a couple of beers and bomb around

>the city a bit. I'll be in touch out of band.

> CC

Excellent. Hopefully you've been fattened by the blue cheese of
Buffalo.
Let me know when. The 5 boro 40-miler boozy Barneython is coming up, as
is a bunch of other early-season rides. If you're around in April, this
is high on my agenda: http://www.demel.net/pr/.
/s

[email protected] wrote:
>
> Excellent. Hopefully you've been fattened by the blue cheese of
> Buffalo.

Shamefully. This is me now:

http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail92.html

> Let me know when. The 5 boro 40-miler boozy Barneython is coming up,

You have my permission to shoot me if I ever consider going on that
ride.

> If you're around in April, this is high on my agenda:
http://www.demel.net/pr/.

I will be, but A20?? Ouch!

CC

>> Excellent. Hopefully you've been fattened by the blue cheese of
>> Buffalo.

>Shamefully. This is me now:

>http://www.homestarrunner.com/­sbemail92.html

Fascinatingly enough, I'm EATING pea soup. AND look rather like
Strongsad. Sounds like all that study of astrology and cosmetology has
finally paid off!

>> Let me know when. The 5 boro 40-miler boozy Barneython is coming up,


>You have my permission to shoot me if I ever consider going on that
ride.

Aw come on. You can ride my "I'm surrounded by cops/Barneys who want to
take/destroy my bike" bike (some highlights -- don't expect to go fast,
don't expect to balance going slow, don't expect the brakes to slow you
down, and never ever relax your white-knuckle grip on the bars or the
twisted frame will bodyslam you). And, as a guest, you're even eligible
for the delectably offensive Nashville ***** mechanic's shirt. Of
course, I may or may not be in attendance with you depending on my
'urge to kill' and 'snuggly' readings at wake-up time.

>> If you're around in April, this is high on my agenda:
http://www.demel.net/pr

>I will be, but A20?? Ouch!

>CC

I wouldn't be too worried. You don't have to do 20mph. As long as I can
wheelsuck and whine like a little *****, 12-18 should be fine.

Are you bringing an mtb along to CT as well?

/s

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Fred Fragger wrote:
> > Christ, what do they feed you guys on?
> >
> > Fred
> >
> > 5' 10.5"
>
> Nicotine, valium, vicodin, marijuana, ecstacy and alcohol. C-c-c-c-c-!
>
> /s

And snake oil - you forgots da damn snake oil woy!



Shaun aRe

"Chris Tribiono" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I'm looking into purchasing a new mountain bike.
>
> I was hoping some of you could help in telling me what size bike frame I
> should be looking for. I've been to a couple of bike shops in my county
> and
> i'm being told 20 inch or 22 inch. I've sat on a couple of them while
> looking but I don't notice too much of a difference.
>
> I'm 6-foot-4 with a slender/slim build -- long arms and legs.
>
> I'll basically be using the bike on flat off-road trails -- not so many
> hills or anything.
>
> I haven't had a mountain bike since I was a teenager, so this is all new
> to
> me again as I'm in my mid-20s now.
>
> Thanks for any and all help and feedback.
>
IMHO, the smallest size which you are comfortable on will always serve you
well. Even tho I am not 6'4'', (am 6' 1") I had an experience worth sharing.
A friend was selling his 18" KHS Comp, however I should best be on about a
20" frame.

I bought it anyways because it was a great bike and I have never regretted
it. It was a very nimble bike over the rocks and roots and I never noticed
any downside of the smaller frame. In fact for my next bike which I bought
new (Kona Explosif) I went for an 18" frame.

Just my experience, not applicable to everyone.

Happy riding,

OldSteveH

OldSteveH wrote:
> "Chris Tribiono" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
>>I'm looking into purchasing a new mountain bike.
>>
>>I was hoping some of you could help in telling me what size bike frame I
>>should be looking for. I've been to a couple of bike shops in my county
>>and
>>i'm being told 20 inch or 22 inch. I've sat on a couple of them while
>>looking but I don't notice too much of a difference.
>>
>>I'm 6-foot-4 with a slender/slim build -- long arms and legs.
>>
>>I'll basically be using the bike on flat off-road trails -- not so many
>>hills or anything.
>>
>>I haven't had a mountain bike since I was a teenager, so this is all new
>>to
>>me again as I'm in my mid-20s now.
>>
>>Thanks for any and all help and feedback.
>>
>
> IMHO, the smallest size which you are comfortable on will always serve you
> well. Even tho I am not 6'4'', (am 6' 1") I had an experience worth sharing.
> A friend was selling his 18" KHS Comp, however I should best be on about a
> 20" frame.
>
> I bought it anyways because it was a great bike and I have never regretted
> it. It was a very nimble bike over the rocks and roots and I never noticed
> any downside of the smaller frame. In fact for my next bike which I bought
> new (Kona Explosif) I went for an 18" frame.
>
> Just my experience, not applicable to everyone.
>


Well I'm of the opposite opinion. I think he should get the largest
frame on which he's comfortable I'm 6' 5" and up until two years had
been riding a 21 Schwinn Carbon Homegrown FS and a 22.5 Trek 970 steel
hardtail. But I never felt "just right" on them. So when my Trek frame
cracked, I decided to have a custom steel frame made and asked the owner
of the LBS, who had a great reputation for fitting bikes, to do a bike
fit for me. He used my exisiting setups along with a Serotta
"Fit-Cycle" to help me come up with dimensions for a new frame. I had
a pretty good saddle-to-BB setup on my other bikes so we didn't mess
with that but we ended up making the effective TT of this new frame
about 1.5" longer than the Trek 930 and moved the handlebars up about an
inch. Basically I ended up with a 23" frame that has an effective top
tube dimension of 25.5". The headtube of this bike is 190mm tall- I
would have went taller but I was limited by the steerer tube length
available on threadless forks. I used a 15 degree stem and a riser
handlebar to get my grips where we thought they should be. The best
thing about the fitting was that the Size Cycle allowed me to try out
the new positioning while pedaling so I could be reasonably certain it
worked for me.

I then had Doug Curtiss at Curtlo Cycles make me one of his Advanced
Mountaineer frames using the dimensions we came up with. He also made a
few more suggestions that really helped, like lengthening the chainstays
a bit for better climbing. (If you ask me, the Fisher Genesis
philosophy is full of it as far as shorter stays helping climbing) Let
me tell ya, while this frame is significantly larger than anything I've
ever ridden, it handles better than any of them because my weight is
better centered front-to-rear. I'm more comfortable I have ever been on
a bike and as a result am riding harder and faster than ever. I like
this frame so much that I've sold my FS bike and had Doug make me
another frame to match the first. I have one bike setup as a hardtail
frame and the other setup with a rigid fork. Frankly I won't buy
another bike - rigid, hardtail or FS - unless I can get something with
dimensions comparable to my Curtlos.

Also, I have a good friend and riding buddy who's right about my height.
For years he rode a 19" aluminum Schwinn hardtail, claiming he liked
the smaller frame because it was nimbler. But he never looked
comfortable on it and always seem to have troubles climbing on it. The
impact my custom frame made on my riding performance finally convinced
him to try a larger frame. Just about the time he told me he'd like to
do so, I came across never-been-used 23" Specialized Rockhopper AL frame
for sale, so he bought it and I set it up for him. This larger frame
made an immediate and significant improvement in his riding performance
as well. Since he got it, he went from always dragging behind the pack
to keeping right up with us. On numerous occasions, he's thanked me for
keeping at him to try a larger frame.


Keith L. (The KL in KLydesdale)