Tall newbie in Africa in need of 29er advice

Greetings everyone from a first-time poster…

First-off, before anyone suggests I should get fitted and try different bikes at my local bike shop (a good idea of course), I live in Kenya and have no decent local shop and my only option is internet research prior to a blind online purchase.

I’m getting back into biking after an, errr…., 20 year gap. I just bought an old secondhand 19″ Specialized Rockhopper 26er as a temporary bike to keep me going until I can work out what kind of new one I should get. Here is me on it, to give an idea of my proportions:

As you can see it’s too small. The biggest I’ve been able to try here is an old steel framed 21.5″ 26er, and even with that I wan’t happy with the sizing, I just felt far too much “on top of” the bike and not “in the bike”. Does that make sense? My center of gravity felt too high and too far forward and I didn’t feel confident going at any reasonable speed downhill on rough ground.

My measurements (in inches):

Inseam: 36
Trunk/Torso: 28
Forearm: 15
Arm: 28
Thigh: 26
Lower Leg: 24
Sternal notch: 62
Height: 75

…so I’m 6’3″ and fairly slim, weight about 84KG/185lbs. Putting all this info in here gave these results for what they call the “XC fit”:

standover height range: 34.1 – 34.8 inches
virtual top tube length: 25 – 25.4 inches
stem length: 11.2 – 12.8 cm
BB saddle position: 81.1 – 82.7 cm
saddle handlebar: 60.2 – 61.8 cm

My intended usage:

1. A versatile bike for mostly leisure purposes but that can deal with forest singletracks, flat terrain with small rocks, and potholed roads. So far I’ve been doing a 10-15km run on forest tracks that arent that steep but there are frequent small embedded rocks and roots. I tried it on a rigid front fork – ouch, I didn’t like the bumpiness – and found a hard tail to be much better. Most rides would be half an hour to a couple hours at most.

2. I’m a fairly mellow rider – I don’t need to go fast or on very steep or technical terrain – and definitely prefer to be seated if possible. This is all for fun and getting fit, not for racing or competing.

3. Most of all I want a comfortable ride and prefer a more upright riding position than some of the MTBs I’ve tried (which may just be a question of adjustment or handlebar choice). I’m not going to be doing jumping, riding over big rocks, or twisty technical stuff.

My main questions revolve around sizing & geometry issues:

From what I’ve been reading a 22″ frame should probably about right (do I need to go even higher?). But what other factors come into play in terms of riding comfort over this type of terrain? I’ve been reading a lot about head angles, BB height, chainstay length, top tube length, slack geometry, etc but am a bit confused. My limited reading suggests that a bike with slack head angles and geometry might be good for my intended usage, but pease correct me if I’m wrong on that. What are the key factors that I should be looking for?

With that in mind, I should add that I hate bikes that look “flashy” – no bright multicolours etc, minimal logos please. I just want a quality well-finished bike with decent solid components that will last and be versatile for the different uses I’ve mentioned. I’m open to steel or aluminium. Oh, and I want gears – no single-speeds.

Some of the bikes I’ve been looking at: Just on the ‘net, mostly based on positive reviews and also styling, include:

Surly Ogre – This is currently my favourite, but I’d either have to do a new build or buy the complete bike and change the front rigid forks for shocks.
Surly Karate Monkey Ops (if/when it becomes available)
Specialized Rockhopper Comp 2013 (just because it’s all black seemingly unlike 90% of ready-made bikes which seem to have too many colours and logos)
Some On-One (Inbred? Scandal seems discontinued), Cube[/url], Salsa, Charge[/url], and Kona models

Ideally I’d do a new build, but practically I think that would be difficult given that I’d have to buy the components blind and hope they’d all work together. Unless people think I could find a UK builder who could guide me as to components and put it all together for me, but I suspect that would end up too expensive. So I’m looking for a complete bike and I guess my budget could range from about £500 up to a maximum of £1,500. I like the idea of an internally-geared hub, but seems that would be out of my budget, but nice to have the mounting option for later. I also like the idea of having the option to later add bags/rack to carry stuff for longer day-trips but it’s not at all essential. I’d consider adding a suspension seatpost later if people think it would be worthwhile.

Getting the size and geometry right appears to be the top priority and I would be very grateful if anyone of a similar size and shape can give some insights.

I would likely need to buy whatever I finally choose from either UK (preferred) or Europe for shipping reasons. From USA remains possible, but more hassle for me.

If you can give me your thoughts on sizing and suggested models I will be most grateful. And if I’m way off or focussing on the wrong things, feel free to tell me!

Thanks a lot.

PS – I posted this on another forum but didn’t get many answers so hoping I can get some UK-specific ones here.

I’m a bit taller than you but essentially fairly similar.

I would suggest that 22″ will typically be a bit too big but that varies massively between brands. The top tube measurement is what really matters here and the 25″ish figure your calculator came up with sounds about right.

How does your current bike feel? I would have expected it to be a bit short. A side-on pic of you on it might help provide some feedback.

Off the shelf, I’d really just suggest reading reviews and so on but most recent ones are pretty decent. I’ve been very happy with my Singular Swift but you’d need to get it built up if you wanted one of them.

Hi clubber, thanks for your quick reply. I did post a side-on pic, maybe you can’t see it on whatever device you’re reading it on. Yes, my current 19″ feels much too small.

I notice in your pic that your handlebars are way lower than your saddle (like 4 inches?). That’s the riding position I’m not so keen on, I’d prefer for them to be about level and a more relaxed riding position.

Sorry, probably blocked here 🙂

I think that the bars in my pic look lower than they are – the bike isn’t level and there’s some perspective too. the bars are actually approximately level with the saddle. Not to mention that I have a negative rise stem on it (I find the head tube too long) – I’ll try to find a better pic.

PS, if you do get a chance to see the pic later, the virtual top tube of the bike in it is 23″

Right, seen your pic now. It does look way too short. Have you got any spare, longer stems you could try to get a feel for a longer position?

You mean handlebar stems? I’m trying to get hold of some spacers to raise them up a little, but not got any so far….

Yes, the part that connects the bar to the fork steerer – if you had a longer one to hand, you could at least get a feel for how long a position starts to feel right (though obviously it’d not be much good for actually riding.

I see your 2nd pic now, yes that looks more “normal” to me. I’ve been looking at a bunch of steel frames on the net e.g. Surly Ogre, One-one Inbred, Kona, etc…
What makes the difference between each of these frames? It seems the factors people talk about most are head angle and chainstay length, also BB height. I have been reading a lot and I get what these mean, but I still don’t really understand what effect it has on the ride quality.
Should I be looking for a slack head angle like 68 or something 72. Does it actually matter?

People have a tendency to focus on single measurements or details but in reality it’s the combination of all of them that define the ride and then you add in component choice, etc and it’s a minefield. I wouldn’t get too hung up on the specifics of BB height, head angle, etc unless they’re way off the norm.

Thanks a lot, appreciate the advice, makes sense. So what would you say are the most important criteria on which to base a decision… given that I’m pretty settled on a HT 29er.
Steel vs Aluminium benefits/disadvantages? Weight? Top tube length? Components?

Buying from a distance, I’d suggest that you’re looking at something that will fit (top tube length, assuming seat tube angle is fairly standard), reviews, feedback, possibly warranty/spares support and components.

I wouldn’t get too focused on steel or aluminium.

I’m surprised more people haven’t been on with suggestions for particular models though…

From looking at your side on pic, that bike looks too small for you, going off the measurements you’ve given you’d be looking at a 21inch(ish) frame IMO..

I am 6’2″ and ride a swift or buzzard and XL seems perfect for me. I tried a Large and much preferred the XL.

Steel vs Aluminium benefits/disadvantages? Weight?

Steel is pretty much always going to weigh more, says he who is about to chop an alloy 26er for a steel 29er. Steel is meant to be ‘springier’ but I suspect that’s in the eye of the beholder. Steel frames may be more easily repairable than alloy ones if that’s a concern?

Repairability is a concern but I seriously doubt with my relatively un-hardcore riding that I’m going to break a frame. Components perhaps, but the frame seems unlikely.

Solid reliable components that aren’t likely to need complicated maintenance and are easy to fix is a plus (e.g. I’m tempted by mechanical vs hydraulic brakes for this reason).

Have to say I prefer the simple look of the steel frames. Looking at the steel-framed complete bikes in the around-a-grand market, it seems the better choices are On-One Inbred, Charge Cooker, Genesis. Any others? Any recommendations?

Any Surly Troll/Ogre owners here?