MTB Frame Sizing Question

[Triplezzz]

I have a 2001, size LARGE Gary Fisher Tassajara and am not sure that I got the right size. I'm 5'10"
in bare feet and have a 32" inseam, which means that my legs are a bit shorter than average for my
height. The salesdude at my LBS assured me that Large was the size for me because HE had a large and
he was about a 1/2" shorter. I should have test ridden both medium and large sizes, but trusted the
salesdude and just rode the large. Maybe the fact that he was eyeing my wife the entire time should
have warned me that he was not to be trusted!

When I'm stopped, I'm always a little nervous that I'm gonna stomp my 'nads against the top bar.
Once I'm pedalling, though, I feel fine. I wonder if anybody else of my height has ridden both the
large and medium sizes and can comment on whether my bike was mis-sized.

 

[Jack]

"triplezzz" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I have a 2001, size LARGE Gary Fisher Tassajara and am not sure that I got the right size. I'm
> 5'10" in bare feet and have a 32" inseam, which means that my legs are a bit shorter than average
> for my height. The salesdude at my LBS assured me that Large was the size for me because HE had a
> large and he was about a 1/2" shorter. I should have test ridden both medium and large sizes, but
> trusted the salesdude and just rode the large. Maybe the fact that he was eyeing my wife the
> entire time should have warned me that he was not to be trusted!
>
> When I'm stopped, I'm always a little nervous that I'm gonna stomp my 'nads against the top bar.
> Once I'm pedalling, though, I feel fine. I wonder if anybody else of my height has ridden both the
> large and medium sizes and can comment on whether my bike was mis-sized.

Depends on what kind of riding you do. I'm 5'7" and ride a medium for street, general XC and racing
XC. I ride a small for any riding that gets some air time.

 

[its_stuart]

I'm a tad over 6ft and ride a medium GT Avalanche hard tail. I find it ideal for the freaky off road sh1t but a little short on the road

 

[Craig Brossman]

John Morgan wrote:

>
> Please excuse my fellow bike shop salesdude. It may be difficult for everyone to relate, but
> bike shops are not gathering places for beautiful women. I would venture to say that it is very
> rare indeed to see an attractive female walk into such an establishment... and if one happens to
> -John Morgan
>
>

You live and work in the wrong town Mr. Morgan. The number of beautiful women that frequent the
LBSs, trails and roads here in Durango is phenominal, my wife included.

I was just thinking about this yesterday as I turned a few solo miles in Ewing Mesa, and the only
other rider I encountered was a beautiful blonde. Had I been a couple of hours later, I may have run
into my wife and her girlfriend riding the same area, somehow our schedules didn't mesh. I see as
many women out on the trails and roads here as I do men, very often solo or small groups.

The only danger to "bike shop salesdudes" here is sore neck muscles from craning their neck wildly
and often

--
Craig Brossman, Durango Colorado (remove ".nospam" to reply)

 

[Triplezzz]

"Bran" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<qfOMuGrZTFdc-pn2-YtuD9rnnRV5Y@merlin>...
> [email protected] (triplezzz) spake thusly on or about Tue, 14 Oct 2003
> 23:37:29 UTC
>
> -> When I'm stopped, I'm always a little nervous that I'm gonna stomp my -> 'nads against the top
> bar. Once I'm pedalling, though, I feel fine. I -> wonder if anybody else of my height has ridden
> both the large and -> medium sizes and can comment on whether my bike was mis-sized. ->
>
> should be able to lift the bike two inches at least when standing over the top bar. More if you
> are riding squirrely stuff.

Thanks for the advice. Seems like the LBS dork sold me the wrong size bike. I suppose I'll have to
ride harder and more often so I can break it and justify getting a right-size frame. Just goes to
show you, you can't trust everyone at the bike shop.

 

[Bran]

[email protected] (triplezzz) spake thusly on or about Thu, 16 Oct 2003
02:08:51 UTC

-> Thanks for the advice. Seems like the LBS dork sold me the wrong size -> bike. I suppose I'll
have to ride harder and more often so I can break -> it and justify getting a right-size frame. Just
goes to show you, you -> can't trust everyone at the bike shop. ->

welllllllll. Gathering needful info before we shop for anything is always advisable. If I had not
been 6'6", had a good lbs, and checked into proper fit first i might have tried to fit a mountain
bike like a road bike.

--
I hurt before the ride so fibro gives me a head start on the rest of the pack. silver lining?
[email protected]

 

[John Morgan]

> I should have test ridden both medium and large sizes, but trusted the salesdude and just rode the
> large. Maybe the fact that he was eyeing my wife the entire time should have warned me that he was
> not to be trusted!

Please excuse my fellow bike shop salesdude. It may be difficult for everyone to relate, but bike
shops are not gathering places for beautiful women. I would venture to say that it is very rare
indeed to see an attractive female walk into such an establishment... and if one happens to do so,
it is usually by the side of an associated boyfriend or husband. Beautiful women who choose to enter
a typical bike shop tend to cause a disturbance amongst the staff of the shop... or at least evoke
some obvious staring and/or drooling, with scattered cases of stalking.

Please be advised that you are not alone, and what you have experienced at your local bike shop is
NORMAL. Thank you for your understanding in this matter.

-John Morgan

 

[Bran]

[email protected] (triplezzz) spake thusly on or about Tue, 14 Oct 2003
23:37:29 UTC

-> When I'm stopped, I'm always a little nervous that I'm gonna stomp my -> 'nads against the top
bar. Once I'm pedalling, though, I feel fine. I -> wonder if anybody else of my height has ridden
both the large and -> medium sizes and can comment on whether my bike was mis-sized. ->

should be able to lift the bike two inches at least when standing over the top bar. More if you are
riding squirrely stuff.

--
I hurt before the ride so fibro gives me a head start on the rest of the pack. silver lining?
[email protected]

 

[Bomba]

triplezzz wrote:
> I have a 2001, size LARGE Gary Fisher Tassajara and am not sure that I got the right size. I'm
> 5'10" in bare feet and have a 32" inseam, which means that my legs are a bit shorter than average
> for my height.

Wrong size. I'm 5'9", have a 32" inseam and would usually go for a small or medium, depending on
manufacturer.

 

[Mr. E. Mann]

[email protected] (triplezzz) wrote in news:[email protected]:

> I have a 2001, size LARGE Gary Fisher Tassajara and am not sure that I got the right size. I'm
> 5'10" in bare feet and have a 32" inseam, which means that my legs are a bit shorter than average
> for my height. The salesdude at my LBS assured me that Large was the size for me because HE had a
> large and he was about a 1/2" shorter. I should have test ridden both medium and large sizes, but
> trusted the salesdude and just rode the large. Maybe the fact that he was eyeing my wife the
> entire time should have warned me that he was not to be trusted!
>
> When I'm stopped, I'm always a little nervous that I'm gonna stomp my 'nads against the top bar.
> Once I'm pedalling, though, I feel fine. I wonder if anybody else of my height has ridden both the
> large and medium sizes and can comment on whether my bike was mis-sized.

Small, medium and large don't really mean anything unless everyone has the exact same bike. I'm
looking at replacing my Hardrock frame and the weyless Ultra I'm looking at say's it's 18", but
it seems about the same size as the Hardrock I have which is a 19". My Tomac Revolver Pro is
supposed to be
18.5" Medium Large, but it feels quite a bit smaller than the Hardrock. Of course, how you plan on
riding the bike makes a big difference too. My hardrock is a rgreat commuting bike and is very
comfotable to ride to work, but it's not that great off road. My Revolver is absolutely awesome
on the trails, but it's not a great commuter. FWIW, the guy who sold me the HardRock did a great
job of sizing me up. Made sure I had plenty of clearence over the top tube, held the bike up
while I sat on it to make sure it fit me right, and spent a lot of time talking about the
propper way to adjust the seat height and other basic maintinence even though I only had about
$300 to spend.

BTW, anyone else out ther own a Tomac Revolver Pro? This has got to be one of the most awesome XC
bikes ever built! This thing climbs out of the saddle better than my hard tail without any of the
shocks locked out. It's also lighter than my hardtail. This bike has surpassed all of my
expectations and I was expecting a lot!

 

[Dave W]

>> I should have test ridden both medium and large sizes, but trusted the salesdude and just rode
>> the large. Maybe the fact that he was eyeing my wife the entire time should have warned me that
>> he was not to be trusted!
>
> Please excuse my fellow bike shop salesdude. It may be difficult for everyone to relate, but bike
> shops are not gathering places for beautiful women. I would venture to say that it is very rare
> indeed to see an attractive female walk into such an establishment... and if one happens to do so,
> it is usually by the side of an associated boyfriend or husband. Beautiful women who choose to
> enter a typical bike shop tend to cause a disturbance amongst the staff of the shop... or at least
> evoke some obvious staring and/or drooling, with scattered cases of stalking.
>
> Please be advised that you are not alone, and what you have experienced at your local bike shop is
> NORMAL. Thank you for your understanding in this matter.
>
> -John Morgan

ah, the ol' "s'cuze me while I covet thy wife" ploy. Apparently it works...alot.

Dave (we now return you to your reguarly scheduled sleaze...)

 

[Triplezzz]

"Bran" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<qfOMuGrZTFdc-pn2-dK8e5d8WIuYS@merlin>...
> [email protected] (triplezzz) spake thusly on or about Thu, 16 Oct 2003
> 02:08:51 UTC
>
> -> Thanks for the advice. Seems like the LBS dork sold me the wrong size -> bike. I suppose I'll
> have to ride harder and more often so I can break -> it and justify getting a right-size frame.
> Just goes to show you, you -> can't trust everyone at the bike shop. ->
>
> welllllllll. Gathering needful info before we shop for anything is always advisable. If I had not
> been 6'6", had a good lbs, and checked into proper fit first i might have tried to fit a mountain
> bike like a road bike.

Well... not to be a smartass, but isn't that what the !$%@#$!@# LBS is for? Aren't they supposed to
know what they're doing? I mean, if they're gonna sell me a bike, why not sell me the right size,
right? I'm getting more and more convinced that the bike is the wrong size for me, but there are
worse things - like being that poor sap that messed up the Cubs!

 

[Bran]

[email protected] (triplezzz) spake thusly on or about Fri, 17 Oct 2003
03:12:40 UTC

-> Well... not to be a smartass, but isn't that what the !$%@#$!@# LBS is -> for? Aren't they
supposed to know what they're doing? I mean, if -> they're gonna sell me a bike, why not sell me the
right size, right? -> I have watched a buyer insist on a bike that was too big. Should the store
have kicked him out?

If yer dangly bits banged against the topbar when you threw you leg over the bike in the shop you
should have said something.

--
I hurt before the ride so fibro gives me a head start on the rest of the pack. silver lining?
[email protected]

 

[Per ElmsäTer]

triplezzz wrote:
> Well... not to be a smartass, but isn't that what the !$%@#$!@# LBS is for? Aren't they supposed
> to know what they're doing? I mean, if they're gonna sell me a bike, why not sell me the right
> size, right? I'm getting more and more convinced that the bike is the wrong size for me, but there
> are worse things - like being that poor sap that messed up the Cubs!

If the bike still looks fine maybe he'll take it back and trade it in for a medium. That's what a
LBS is for in my opinion. Keeping customers. What he makes on selling you this bike is nothing
compared to what he will make from selling you accessories and upgrades to it. If it doesn't fit and
you don't ride it you won't need any upgrades or accesories. Some LBSs understand this and some
don't. Of course take you problems to the owner or manager. Not some young kid helping out part time
on the floor.

--
Perre

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