mountain bike fit?

[shasta]

I just want to pop in and say thanks for discussing this. I am looking at purchasing my first mountain bike and want to know as much as possible before I step into that shop.

Shasta

[tattiefritter]

Jones,

An 18" frame is HUGE for someone 5' 6. Just for reference all the blokes I ride with ride 17 or 18" frames and they are all 5ft 11 in height or taller. Having been missold a frame that was too large for me and paying the price when riding it offroad I would question why they seem to keen to put you on a fairly big frame .
Having a smaller frame helps not only with clearance but also with "chuckability", you need to move your weight around a lot on an MTB and I found this so much easier when I got a frame that wasn't a big old gate.

I've just seen the geometry of the Trek and it is quite short at the 16", but the top tube length jumps when it goes up to 18". The non-wsd trek may actually be a better bet for you as you don't have the body proportions that the WSD is aimed at, I am the same - short legs, long torso and ride "men's" bikes. Its not compulsory to have a WSD bike even if they look better!

Good luck, although if I was you (and knowing what I know now) I'd walk out that LBS and not go back and find somewhere prepared to listen to me. Sit on lots of MTBs if you can until you find something your happy with - this bike buying lark can be exhausting!

Sorry, to answer your question about clearance, I would (pulls a number out of the air) say a minimum of an inch? I have about 2 inches (I think, never really checked it just know it seems good) on my Titus Full-Suss as it has a kink in the top tube to facilitate it. Its a really nice and maneouverable frame.

[mtbdarby]

Jones,
Tattie and Renee are correct. Minimum standover clearance on a mtb is 2 inches. Some people prefer up to 4 inches but that a personal preference.

Stick to your guys on being fitted correctly. Unfortunately, sometimes we have to do that. Good luck!

[bcipam]

Just as reference, I ride a Specialized Stumpjumper hardtail which is 17/med. and a Fisher Sugar 3+ which is also medium about 16.5. I'm also 5'8" and both bikes fit me well although I am a tad more stretched out on the Specialized with is OK because of how I use the bike. Both bikes are generic or mens' bikes because I don't have the geometry for a woman's bike. My arms and legs are fairly equal in that I don't have long legs, short torso.

Work on the bikes reach and hopefully standover will come into play. Obviously you must have standover clearance and 2" is a good reference although it depends on the bike's geometry. What you really must be comfortable with is your ability to reach and use the brakes and shifters. If you are laid back on the bike and can't access your brakes, you're screwed.

I would think you should be on a small frame, 14 - 15. I would also check out mens bikes to see if the fit isn't better. OK so the colors aren't as "girly" but sometimes you get a better fork and shock if you opt for the guy bike.

Good luck. Let us know what you buy.

[SadieKate]

I'm sorry, but no way would I ride a mtbike with less than maybe 8" of clearance. Mtbikes have been built with steeper and steeper angled top tubes over the years because of clearance problems. In a quick dismount, you do not want only 2'' of clearance.

Here I am on the largest of my mtbikes. It is set up more as a freeride ride than an XC and has the least amount of clearance of any of my bikes (maybe 9"??). I'm just sitting back, kind of trackstanding so Veronica can take a pic, but you can see how much clearance there is. Just google around the web and take a look at the bikes the pros ride. Both the reach (cockpit length) and standover are critical.

[SadieKate]

Here's the same bike from the side (please feel free to ooh and ah over Mathilda's new pink wheels ). You can't always put a foot down on the same level as your wheels or the ground may be unstable or you may come off at higher speed than desired. Not to mention, if the bike is too big it's just durn heavy. I am 5'3 3/8" with long arms and legs/short torso so you get an idea of the size.

[tattiefritter]

SadieKate,

I was referring to minimum clearance when standing astride the bike not actually sitting on it. My bike is set up similar to yours with about 9 inches of seatpost out. My roadbike only has about 5 inches of seatpost out (on a compact frame) and that worries me.

Those rims are cool and I'm not a pink person!

[madisongrrl]

Jones,

I've just seen the geometry of the Trek and it is quite short at the 16", but the top tube length jumps when it goes up to 18". The non-wsd trek may actually be a better bet for you as you don't have the body proportions that the WSD is aimed at, I am the same - short legs, long torso and ride "men's" bikes. Its not compulsory to have a WSD bike even if they look better!

This is so true! I'm looking at buying a nice full suspension bike for racing purposes. I have it narrowed down to a few bikes. I was looking at the Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Expert WMNS and also the Trek Fuel EX 9 WSD. I spent 2.5+ hours with my fitter yesterday discussing geometry and fit. What we actually found is that my most perfect geometry is with the Trek Fuel EX 9 men's 15.5" bike! The other bikes aren't total rule outs, but on paper, the men's Trek is looking like the best option. No WSD for me.

So certainly look to some of the smaller men's bikes also!

I think it is nice that some companies are doing the WSD thing, they are not always making intellgent design decisions. They make large jumps between some categories (between sizes) and little jumps in others.

This weekend, I'm taking my tape measure and level and I'm heading out to test ride those bikes. I'm going to take over the situation, set up my potential bikes to my fit sheet and I'm going to tell that bossy male bike salesman to back off! I can't wait, it should be fun.