So, as someone best described as “a lanky streak of …..” i wonder if being longer of leg carries significant advantage when riding a bike off road?

I mean, more leg means more suspension right?

When you look at most of the World Cup DHers, the ones constantly on the podium over the years seem quite tall (Peaty, Minnar, Gwin etc) but clearly, the smaller guys and girls can do aright too (Hart, Bruni etc).

I also quite clearly remember being told by our very own Jedi that “once we sort out what you’re doing with your legs, you’ll be pretty decent on a bike” which i think was a compliment of sorts 😆

So, how tall are you, and does that match your Rad Skills in t’gnar ??

5ft 9″ with zero rad skillz! I simply point the bike down and hang on. 29+ wheels are my friends 🙂

It’s an advantage during the sales and when you want to fit a decent length dropper.

Average height with slightly short legs so royally f’d here.

I’m 6’6″ and rad to the maxx

6’6″ and fairy rubbish!

Everything in proportion innit?
Taller people move more to maintain relative position.

And as a dwaff, I don’t have to duck whilst going under canal bridges and can still get bargains in the sales.
🙂

Height generally brings weight.
Weight brings momentum.
Momentum is key on the downhills.
So yes, i’d generally consider height to be an advantage for gravity based MTB.

My Garmin showed more ascent than my mates Garmin today and he’s on a medium frame and i’m on a large so it must be true.
I also manged to climb over fences much easier than he could so it must be double true.

At the OMM bike just finished 3 of the top 4 riders were well over 6 foot with 2 of them over 6,6.

Nino is 1.73cm or 5′ 8″

6’5″ here. I don’t claim to be any good (especially these days) but I do think the long limbs help as far as suspension is concerned (in certain scenarios more than others) which is partly why I’ve always preferred rigid bikes.

fifeandy – Member
Height generally brings weight.

Pies generally bring weight too.

#genuinelyscottish?

max, how tall is Jedi 🙂 think you might have answered your own question 🙂

Tall chaps tend tha have the advantage of “longer levers” which helps to get those pedals turned round. A fit 6ft3er still weighs more than a fit 5ft9er so I’sd expect endurance to take a bit more work.

@Rusty: Pies do indeed bring weight, but a tall pie eater will still likely have more momentum than a short one.

Tall chaps tend tha have the advantage of “longer levers”

This. Good for climbing. No idea if it affects descents.

The 3 fastest dh riders I’ve known personally and ridden with over the years have all been 6ft3 to 6ft5.

Taller folk ride bigger bikes which are always longer.

Longer bikes makes for more stability and easier navigation of big terrain.

I personally believe it is an advantage however slight

I’m 5ft10

Are we talking mtb dh or mtb xc?

I’m 9 inches taller than my best mate but probably 2 or 3 stone heavier. We are both an athletic build although he’s probably stockier than me. (6ft3 and under 13 stone)

This mean on the climbs with his xs bike, xs clothes, xs shoes and at least a 2 stone advantage he is usually quicker uphill. He also has more skill than me so he is quicker on the technical dh. On Singletrack dh I can hold my own.

Where I find I get an advantage is on the flat or slight up hills or pedally downhills. This is where he finds his lack of weight a disadvantage.

I’d guess over a short race weight doesn’t matter as much but over a longer distance it adds up.

Chris froome is the best of both worlds. 6ft1 and 10.3 (ish) stone when he won the tdf

If we are just talking dh then every little bit of weight counts but it’s also about how big your balls are too and your skill level.

. Good for climbing. No idea if it affects descents

Xc riders are rarely tall because it’s about power to weight as well.

XC doesn’t seem to hold them back especially the women. Just look at the Olympic XC, other than Jaroslav, Nino and Carlos aren’t particularly tall.
Men
Nino Shurter 5’8″ Gold
Jaroslav Kuhavy 6’2″ Silver
Carlos Coloma Nicolas 5’8″ Bronze

Women

Jenny Rissveds 5’5″ Gold
Maja Wloszczowska 5’7″ Silver
Catharine Pendrel 5’5″ Bronze
And Emily Batty is only 5’3″

Troy Brosnan seems to do ok.

When you look at most of the World Cup DHers, the ones constantly on the podium over the years seem quite tall (Peaty, Minnar, Gwin etc) but clearly, the smaller guys and girls can do aright too (Hart, Bruni etc).

I think you may have answered your own question. 😆

Longer bikes makes for more stability and easier navigation of big terrain.

The stability is surely relative to the rider’s body weight distribution, but you may be onto something with a long bike getting over lumps better.

In answer to the OP, which was DH-focused…

Sam Hill = 5ft 7in
Aaron Gwin = 5ft 8in
Troy Brosnan = 5ft 5in

So I’m gonna go with “no”. The received wisdom about “big guys tracks” went out the window when Troy won at Fort William anyway.

I’m tall, and i always found it to be a disadvantage, you centre of gravity is higher so i think it makes you less stable. Or maybe i’m just crap off road, either way i have fun!

We have a riding mate who has actually given up mtbing because he is too tall! (6′ 5″) Actually he is just crap. Unfortunately he believes he is great on a road bike. Actually he is just as crap but is very fit which tends to compensate.

More about power than height.

One thing that always used to strike me, was that tall people on older bikes looked like a ship’s mast, all topheavy and too tall for the amount of long. So many bikes added tiny amounts of length for each height increase so you’d see some where the reach, wheelbase etc were reasonable for me on a medium but the XL went mostly up.

(I’m normal sized, but my mate ChrisL of this parish is not, and I think last year when he got his Mega 290 is the first time he’s ever had a bike that fits. And it’s not just us knobbers, Ben Cathro on Santa Cruz ended up with reach headsets etc in his bike to try and get it to work)

Logically more arm and leg is an advantage and a disadvantage so it becomes about working with and around those. Modern longer drop dropper posts probably help more too.

Being co-ordinated and fit is an advantage.

Rorschach
Being co-ordinated

Ok, now i know where i’m going wrong…… 😆

Taller riders have a higher centre of gravity which is not great for cornering…that’s EXACTLY why I crash lots on corners and my shorter friends don’t! Science innit

I’m decidedly average both in height (5′ 10″) and mad skillz.

I think like a lot of things it has it’s pluses and minuses – I did wonder once when you look at the likes of Peaty, Minnar and Warner (we was good once) whether being lofty helped with DH somehow, but if anything If you listen to them it’s been a hinderance – Warner reckons the first bike he’s owned that fitted him was an XXL Gaint XC bike about 2/3 years ago, Minnar is saying the 29er V10 is finally big enough for him etc.

We all have different body geometries and whatever size we are a bike that fits us and makes things easier and not a battle is a bike that is naturally faster and more fun as things just click into place. I’m sure that one of the very longest of DH bikes with 29 inch wheels and long chainstays would indeed be one of the quickest and most stable bikes there is but only with the guy or girl tall enough that it fits properly and they can harness it’s potential.
So…..with these big 29er DH monster trucks now appearing ‘perhaps’ we could indeed see an era where the bigger peeps begin to dominate if they don’t already.

I’m 5’7″ with relatively long legs/short torso and reach so I’d probably have more chance getting pushed down a start ramp in a shopping trolley than on top of Minnars new V10 😀 but…..he may not fit in the trolley as good.

Yep, because God hates short people and at 5’5 my luck is a syphillitic tumour.

Absolutely – for putting bikes on roofracks.

And then of course you have Nico Vouilloz….. Size of a small child but still terrifyingly fast at 40+, so obviously didn’t get the “tall = fast” memo!

I’m 6’4″ and scared of heights so any short arse has an immediate advantage over me when riding skinnies. Or anything with a steep roll in or dodgy transition at the bottom…
Or any riding in a cross wind… 🙂
I’m also cursed with relatively short legs for my height (33″) so don’t a great standing over advantage either.