mountain bike fit?

[Jones]

I have been riding road bikes for several years, but today when I was at my favorite LBS I saw the prettiest mountain bike and had to take it for a test ride. The LBS guy adjusted the seat and the height was fine, teach felt good and leg extension felt good, but I had no stand over room at all. The LBS guy said reach was more important than stand over but I was wondering is this true? What if I have to put my foot down fast, I could hurt myself.
Do clipless mountain bike pedals add height like clipless road bike pedals?
I would appreciate any help you lady's have to offer. Thank you. Jones

[tattiefritter]

I would say that is rubbish! Reach is important but so is standover clearance on a mountain bike (more so than on a road bike) for the reason you describe. My first mountain bike was similar to what you describe seemed to fit well but had no standover clearance, which was fine for bimbling on the road or forestry fire road but not for technical riding. Landing on the top tube is not pleasant, even for a girl!

MTB cleats are recessed into the shoe so will do nothing to add extra clearance.

I'm 5ft 4 and the inital mountain bike frame was 17" with a 22.5" top tube ( I use it for commuting now and am more stretched on it than my real road bike), I now ride a 14 or 15" MTB with a 21.5" top tube that has decent standover, the difference is unbelievable.

If you have been riding road bikes for a long time you are probably used to being fairly stretched out (from your description it sounds like the MTB frame is too big for you), in general the MTB position is more upright (unless your XC racing). As a general rule I tell friends, male and female, who are buying an MTB to get the smallest frame they are comfortable with even if it means running a lot of seatpost out (I usually have about 9" out).

If you look at my Avatar picture you can probably get an idea how much clearance I have on my full-suss mtb, my hardtail is similar.

[SadieKate]

Ditto everything tattie said. Mtb seatposts are made longer to accomodate the extra length that needs to be out of the frame. A properly sized mtb will have a ton of seatpost sticking out because the top tube will be very low.

[bcipam]

Reach on any bike is always more important than standover. Imagine if you can't reach the brakes and shifters properly especially when mountain biking? And consider when you have to push back off the saddle for descent. You need to make sure even in that position, you can properly use the brakes.

One thing to remember when buying a mountain bike sizes are not as exact as a road bike. You need to reach the shifters and brakes properly plus you need to have proper clearance and standover. If you are a tall woman, you still may be on a medium or 17" frame (I'm 5'8" and this is the frame size I ride) in order to assure reach and standover. If shorter than 5'7" you most likely need a small or x-small frame. Dont forget that many manufacturers also make a WSD frame so if your legs are long but torso short, you get a better fit.

Just make sure you ride the bike and change your position while riding to make sure you are comfortable with the reach.

[Jones]

Thanks for all the advice. The bike I am looking at is a wsd Trek 6700. It comes is a 14, 16, and 18. I am 5'6" but I think my legs are short (30" inseam) and my arms are short, plus I'm round, so I feel like the young boys at the bike shop never really believe I ride. I think I road the 16 yesterday but I will try and make it back up to the shop and ride the smaller bike this week and maybe a different brand or two. I will let you know how it goes. Thanks, Jones.

[bcipam]

You probably should be on the 14 but if the standover and reach are OK on the 16 give it a try but nothing bigger than that. Mountain bikes are always smaller sized for our bodies than road bikes. It's better to get alittle small than alittle large if you are in between sized. You can then adjust the stem and seat post. And if the WSD seems awkward try also the man's bike. It maybe a better fit. It works better for me. I don't really have a WSD body. If your legs are short, the WSD bike maybe alittle tall for you. It's made for long legs, short upper torso (in other wards taller standover but shorter reach). I know my legs and arms are more equal so I'm better off on a man's bike.

ALSO: different models fit differently because their geometry is different. I know I fit well on Fishers and Specialized but not so on Cannondales and Treks. Also another thing to consider are components. Make sure you get the best components for the money. If the bike is full suspension or at least hard tail, make sure the fork is good, especially if you are carrying alittle weight. Sme WSD mountan bike have lighter weight forks which made not be good for you.

[madisongrrl]

The LBS guy said reach was more important than stand over but I was wondering is this true? What if I have to put my foot down fast, I could hurt myself.

I'll preface this by saying I'm not a fitter but I've read a dozen or so articles on fit and I've been though a few 2.5 hour intensive fit sessions (fit cycle for road, fit cycle for mt & aero fitted) with some very reputable/experienced fitters. So I know just enough to be dangerous and I know just enough to realize that I have a lot to learn.

Anyhow...

Q: What is more important to a soccer team? Having a goalie or having a foward?
A: Both....you need both to play the game.

So which is more important standover or reach? I'll have to say both!

If you were to get professionally fitted they would look at many things like cleat position, saddle angle, saddle fore/aft realative to the BB, handlebar/saddle height differential etc. These are all very important factors. To say one is more important than the other is ridiculous because it is how all these factors work together with your 3 points of contact (arse, hands, feet). If the standover height of the bike isn't working, then you should immediately rule that bike out. (You can measure your inseam with your mountain bike shoes on. For example, if your inseam is 32 inches then you will want the standover height to be maybe no more than 30 inches for a mountain bike....give or take depending...for road bikes many people say they like at least 1 inch of standover.).

Reach is very important and your certainly don't want to be in a position that is going to compromise your comfort or your ability to handle the bike and ride fast. But I think standover height is also very important for a mountain biker because the potential to hurt yourself is even greater than riding on the road.

Do clipless mountain bike pedals add height like clipless road bike pedals?
I would appreciate any help you lady's have to offer. Thank you. Jones

You bet they do (see above). Just like different saddles (and shorts) will change the saddle height and the fore/aft to the handlebar. If you can, make sure you have the mountain shoes that you are going to use when you test ride your potential mountain bikes. And if you plan to spend big $$$ on a bike, then find someone to professionally fit you. It will be worth it in the end. If you just want something entry level, then you might want to read a few articles on fit first so you can make some good decisions.

Good luck,

[Jones]

So how much stand over on a mountain bike? How much is enough and how much is too much?
I know I have a lot of questions but I went to the shop again today and they say the 16" bike would not have enough reach and that the 18" is fine. I did ride another bike and it did have more stand over but I felt really stretched out on it. I am going to try and go again today and ride a few more.
I did have a tough time finding a road bike to fit me, I think my body geometry is just and in between size.
Thanks again for your help.
Jones

[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!