mountain bike fit?

[madisongrrl]

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.

I just pulled up the geometry for the Trek 6700 WSD. Is that 30" inseam with shoes or without shoes? The standover heights for that bike are 26.6, 27.9, 29.4 respectively. If your inseam is 30" with shoes then you want to have a standover height of no more than 28". If 30" inseam measurement is without shoes, you might be able to have a slightly larger standover height than 28". Even so...29.4" on the 18" might be too much for you.

As far as the reach is concerned maybe the top tube/stem length was not correct (maybe a longer stem) or you could maybe adjust the saddle height/setback differently or maybe the geometry of the bike is just not for you and you should look at different manufactures or models. Lots to consider!

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

You probably want at least 2" of standover height. Some people like even more that that. It depends on your skill level, riding style, type of terrain or just your personal comfort level. Some of those crazy riders that participate in gravity sports like mountain cross and super D like 4" of standover because they are doing some pretty crazy stuff (taking on huge jumps and drop-offs etc). For me, 2 inches works just fine though.

Try to stick to bikes that have 2 inches of standover, see how you feel when you take a test ride and you will be the best judge if that is going to work or not... if not try something that has 2"+ of standover.

I think I'd walk right out of that bike shop if they are trying to put you on a 18". It sounds like they are trying to take advantage of you just to sell you a bike. I think that the most common mistake people make is buying a frame that is too big for them. So many people that I know have done this, suffered for it and swear that they will never make the same mistake again.

I find that this type of stuff happens a lot to me when I walk in a bike shop. I always get some guy trying to tell me what I need or tell me why or why something is good/bad. I very calmly take control of the situation and tell them what I want/need. If they persist, I'll often change the topic and ask them what kind of racing they do and ask them what bikes they own. (Usually they don't race and don't own very impressive bikes....especially in some of the chain store bike shops and the non-racers tend to back down a bit). I also do my research before I walk in the door so I know what I'm talking about and can ask intelligent questions. Works for me...

Which brand of bike did you feel really stretched out on....what size was it? Maybe we can pull up the geometry sheet and compare it to the Trek that you tested.