From upgrades to my Marin I have almost everything to build a bike for some winter abuse and fun.

The Primal seems to get good reviews and the price is good.

Will be ridden by me and my son occasionally. 150mm Revelations to be fitted, should be nice and slack-ish.

He is 5’8″, I’m 6’1″.

Looking at their size guide the 17″ medium seems the best compromise?

For his height it will be quite a long tt for a more xc feel, for me a more “all mountain” compact feel.

Both the above are ok with me and him.

Just want reassurance that the medium will be a good compromise size frame for us?

Thanks guys!

My brother is 6′ and I’m 5’8”- he uses my bikes all the times. From BPW wales trips to long XC days. He’s never appeared to have any issues. Sometimes he looks a bit cramped but I run all medium frames with 50mm stems.
If you put a 70mm stem on it should be okay.

hora will tell you all about getting a frame that doesn’t fit – he’ll be along soon I expect.

Honestly, don’t do it. Wheres the fun in getting a frame thats a compromise – just get one thats the right height for the main rider.

I am 6ft and ride a Large Primal 29 with a 70mm stem, the Medium would have been too short for me.

don’t do it. Wheres the fun in getting a frame thats a compromise – just get one thats the right height for the main rider.

Maybe they’re on a budget, maybe they’re pushed for space…maybe the son hasn’t tried MTBing before and the dad is trying to get him into a hobby they can share?…in an ideal world we’d all be able to build our own bikes in the perfect size with no compromises but real life gets in the way sometimes.

I say go for it, at 5′ 8″ he’ll be fine on a medium, I’m 5′ 9″ and ride a 16 inch/small Ragley HT and was recently pricing up a Dartmoor Hornet build and would be going for 16 inch again….providing you’re happy at 6′ 1″ being on a medium bike then I don’t see the problem….Dartmoor have been progressive in their geometry (longer top tubes, slack head angles) before all the big players started shouting about it, they’ll be a fair bit of seat post exposed when you’re on it but if you like compact bikes (as I do) you’ll be fine.

Enjoy!

Hey,

Thanks guys and I see both sides of thew “argument” and both are valid. 🙂

I’ll be riding it 90% of the time to be honest. It’ll be an occasional father son “bonding” bike for him when I can get him away from his hectic social life.lol

I dont mind a compact cockpit too much and I fear the Large might be on the verge of unridable for him? Thats probably a little dramatic though, “unridable” guess I mean seat right down and pretty stretched over the TT?

How old is he? If he’s under 18 then a frame too small for you sounds risky. I was 5″8′ when I was 15 and dad got me a bike ‘with room to grow’ (18″ frame) as he was 5’10”. Two years later I was 6’2″…
competitivecylist.com’s fit calculator can tell you your ideal top tube.

He’s 18 now so wont be growing much more if any. I think! lol

I grew another 2-3 inches from 18 to 20* so its not impossible

(*or everyone I knew shrank by the same amount)

He probably will grow more just to spite me! Lol

I’ve got a Dartmoor Primal ,size medium with a 40mm stem and I’m 5ft 9in .A medium will be a bit/too cramped for you.

Damn, more for for thought.

The question is, would a large be too big for my lad?