i've been thinking long and hard about consolidating my bike collection (of, err, two bikes) into one, mainly to reduce space taken. i want something tough, steel, with rack mounts, that'll take a 100mm fork, but will take something longer for when (if?) i get the money. and it needs not to break the bank. so i think i've decided on the 456.

but how to size it? i'm 5'10" which puts me right on the cusp of 16"/18". can anyone offer any help on this?

i currently run a 17" 04 stumpjumper HT and an old kona steel hahanna which i'm guessing is about 16" (a bike shop sized me up and said the kona was 20mm short – though i've since lost the sheet with the suggested lengths of everything!)

riding – more pentland XC and blatting around town. also like to hit the trail centres especially laggan and kirroughtree and like the occasional thrash in the alps and souther spain. oh, and i'm planning to get some multi-day action in soon too.

thank you in advance! 🙂

I'm about the same size and used to have a classic old Inbred in 18 inch stylee. Wish I'd bought the 16 incher. On-One's are built very long in the top tube department, but even with a 60mm stem it was still a stretch for me. I prefer 'em a bit shorter for razzing about.

firslty look at the toptube size rather than the seattube.

i'm 5'10"/5'11"

riding an 18" with a 70mm stem would be comfortable with a 50mm stem (as long as not to much climbing) or a 90mm stem for XC type stuff

see if you can get a ride on one locally. southamptons a bit far otherwise you could have a go on mine 😉

I reckno you will need an 18", possibly with a 400mm (inline) seatpost to stop it being too flexy (IME). If you go for 16" it might be more fun for messing about on, but I don't think it will be as versatile, i.e. as good for XC rides.

I'm about the same size and still have a Inbred 853 in 16 inch stylee. Wish I'd bought the 18 incher. On-One's are built very long in the top tube department, but even with a 90mm stem it was still too short for me. I prefer 'em a bit longer for XCing about.

Goes to show how it really is up to your size and style of riding 😀

classic old Inbred in 18 inch stylee.

456 is shorter than normal inbre iirc.

depends on what and where you will be riding really.

Iam the same height as you and have an 18" singlespeed and a 16" summer season. 18 is fine but if you want to 'play' more then i would recommend the 16 as the standover is better. That said, it is fine for day long rides too.

The 18 is nice as SS as it has a slightly longer tt which i find better for hauling up hills.

Basically, at that height either will be fine.

similarish thread,
http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/on-one-456-summer-season-raw-sizing-advice

Height is not as important as reach and inside leg.

They was a website (US based) where you could input all your dimensions and it gave you an 'ideal' bike geo/sizing. Forget its name, and CBA to search – but if you Google it'll be there. I did it for me, and then measured up my bike, and it was pretty spot-on.

18" I reckon. I'm 5'9" & ride a 16" Inbred w/ 90mm stem. Its right on the verge of being cramped (for me).

I'm 5' 11" and ride an 18" with a 90mm stem. Wouldn't want it to be any smaller! Great for anything from a couple of hours in the woods, to all day xc.

thanks everyone! i think it might be an 18" then! i always used to go for smaller bikes but i'm coming to realise that they're a pain on longer rides…

my brother is six foot and happily rides a 16 🙂

I'm 5'10" and had the same dilema when I got my 456 Ti last year. I spoke to Brant who said for all-day stuff get the 18" but for larking about for a few hours get the 16". I went with the 16" and run it with 150mm Floats, 70mm stem, and a 410mm layback Thomson and reckon it's spot-on.

If only they made a 17" 😀

I'm 5'10" and I have a 16" frame and it fits perfectly. Short stem and straight post.

see, i thought i was set on an 18", but now i'm not so sure! i wonder if i can find someone around here whose i could have a go on 🙂

takisawa2 – Member

18" I reckon. I'm 5'9" & ride a 16" Inbred w/ 90mm stem. Its right on the verge of being cramped (for me).

I'm 5'9" (32" inside leg) and had an 18" inbred, I ran it with the "inline" twelfty seatpost. I later got a 16" inbred, which I ran with a raceface XY (1" layback) seatpost. The 16" was *far* better.

My son had an 18" stumpy and is now on a 16" 456 with a Thomson lay back post and a 90mm stem. He is very close though to needing an 18". I think that you are currently in between sizes and as others have said it depends on your riding style as to which would be best. Where in the UK are you as I have both sizes?

what are the 16" ones like over a long day/multiday rides? also, has anyone successfully fit a rack to a 16"?

For long rides, there's not a chance I could use a 16". Maybe okay for blatting around the woods, but not for 20 – 30 milers in the peak. (5' 11" with 33" inside leg measurement)

well, i've just had a look at both the kona and the specialized websites, and the 16" is 1mm shorter in the toptube than my spesh. the kona is way shorter though (which is weird – i always thought they were long bikes). anyway, the spesh is maybe a touch too short so an 18" 456 with a top tube of only 11mm more than the spesh would be spot on. or would that 11mm feeling like a lot??

normally i never spend this much time thinking about this but money says i need to be sure!

5' 11" and have an 18" with 70mm stem. Couldn't imagine shorter, but I came from a road background so all mtbs feel site up and beg to me!

What you REALLY want to buy is my 18" TI456 – absolutely immaculate with only about 10 rides in anger, owned by a maintenance obsessive. Just stripped it down yesterday and will be putting it on classifieds in a day or two. More money that a steel one but so much more bike! Email in profile to be first in queue – go on, you know you want to!

OMG this is a daily thread! use the flipping search button! AAAAAARRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH

But it does give me a great opportunity to flog MY LOVELY TI456 😉

@ munque-chick

how very constructive. why don't you use your own fingers to look at other threads?

Get the 18". 11mm more room in the top tube, the 456 suits a shorter stem anyway, you won't feel like you are riding a BMX on the climbs, and you'll have a much nicer position for long runs.

MrK if you use the search function youll find several long threads which will undoubtedly give you more information than your likely to get from the one thread you started. it is a very useful but underused tool.

Use of the search function gives

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/456-sizing-advice-16-or-18-for-510

which appears to be exactly what you are wanting. So in fact it was a very constructive reply, if you choose to ignore it thats up to you.
This is the result of that thread:
(stem is ~80mm)

16". I own a 16" and Im 6ft1.5. Its got a very long top tube as it is.

18"

munqe-chick – sorry 😳

thanks everybody for your help

MrK, keyboards and the tinterweb are perfect for winding people up unintentionally!

If you like your 17" Spec I'd have thought you would feel more comfortable with a 16" 456. Prior to the 17" Kona Coiler I had owned a 17" FSR (stolen grrr). I'm old school enough to think of 80mm as a "short" stem so mine handles fine to me, but some new skool types like ~50mm which would feel twitchy to me regardless of whether the TT length was designed to work with it (ala Ragley I believe).

As you said you are between sizes so both will work with suitable stem/post, but for me the 16" is perfect and the whole bike feels "right".

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