Hello, apologies for the 217th thread started since getting a new bike…

So, my new steed (Troy) has an almost identical top tube and chain stay length to my old bike (Tracy).

Troy however has a slacker HA (66.5) to Tracy’s 67.5 and a much longer wheelbase.

Troy came with a 50mm stem and I’m used to Tracy’s 80/90mm. I’ve not yet ridden Troy but having sat upon him it feels like he’s going to be short. Would it knacker up the handling to stick a longer stem on him?

Ta

But what about Trevor, is he not feeling neglected with all this attention on Troy.

I think you mean Tracy. Ride the new bike and see what it’s like, changing something because it’s different isn’t always the best option. It may have wider bars which will make it feel longer.

Does Troy have a longer reach? Equal chainstay and top tube length and only 1 degree slacker can’t add much wheelbase unless reach is longer.

I can’t find definitive info on my old bike but it’s an Intense Tracer VP vs Tracer T275C

Troy does have wider bars though. Trevor is Tracy’s weekend name only ..

Google says…

VP medium has a TT of 23″ and 72.5 seat angle
275 medium has a TT of 23″ band 74 seat angle (effective)

So the 275 has a longer ‘reach’ from the BB but the seat to bar distance will likely be about an inch shorter if you didn’t put the saddle further back on the 275.

Just stuck the basic numbers in a spreadsheet*.

I got 416 reach on the 275 (what intense say) and 374 for the VP.
That’s 42mm longer reach from the BB on the new one.

*so bear in mind it might not be perfect

[giant Balls! misread the chart I found and used the Tazer VP not Tracer. Bear with me and ill recalculate!]

Forget Tracy she’s history, go ride Troy and go from there…

Right, I dont know which (of the seemingly hundreds of) variation of the VP you have, or how you set it up as they seemed to have adjustable geometry. But all seemed to have the same basic TT length, but the 275 has a longer wheelbase by a lot for not a huge amount extra slack headangle, therefore the extra length is in the horizontal reach from BB to headtube. It feels shorter as the seat angle is steeper. If you dont want it to ‘feel’ shorter then move your saddle back. You dont ‘need’ a longer stem, the bike is already longer (by more than the 30/40mm difference in the stems), so should feel the same standing.

Yep, I’m basing the measurements on my Large frames both set to longest travel modes (HA etc allegedly doesn’t change).

I guess I could put the saddle back a bit – the bikes feels really long when trying to manoeuvre it in the front room (as it’s too shiny for the garage) yet really quite cramped when I’m on it. Sorry, not “the bike”, I mean Troy