Hi all,

I’m thinking I need a smaller frame and am struggling comparing manufacturers geometry pages and knowing what would fit best, so hoping some people with experience of one or more of the options I’m looking at might be able to give some real life “I’m this size and running this..” type advise.

I’m 5’11” 80(ish!)kg, 31″ inside leg and currently running a Cube ltd race in 20″, I bought it on ebay some time ago and probably wasn’t ideal when I got it, but I put a 20-30mm shorter stem on it and have been using it for quite a while. I have gotten used to the stretched out riding position (running a 100mm stem now) but still have <1″ standover which becomes more of an issue with occassional trail centre stuff.

Locally I ride predominantly XC around Surrey Hills area.

I am wondering whether to go down a size in the cube range to an 18″ depending on finding a frame second hand, I’ve also been looking at the Giant XTC frame and the On-one Scandal.

The Giant frame looks nice but the geometry listed for a 2010/2011 frame doesn’t have a diagram so I’m not exactly sure if the measurements are centre to centre or horizontal or centre to top etc for the key dimensions and they also seem to list a medium as 17″ or 18″ depending where you look.

The Scandal looks nice but maybe being a snob I prefer the flow formed downtube to headset on the Giant than the ‘old fashioned’ style gusset on the Scandal but I like the rear frame arrangement but I’d need to factor in a new headset seatclamp and seattube as the tube’s a different size on this to the cube for swapping bits over, but it’s a reasonable amount cheaper to start with. Also for the top tube length would I be looking at a 16 or 18″ frame? I sat on a friends 16″ 456ti at the weekend (which I compared the geometry for) and it felt a bit compact.

I had also considered the Kinesis XCpro3 but although not sure why, I feel I’m leaning away from this option at the moment.

All help appreciated.

cheers,

Andrew.

I have exactly the same leg and height as you and I have just finished building up a carbon 456 18″ and after 5 rides the size feels perfect.

im 5’10” with a 30.5″ inside leg,
i ride an orange p7 in a 19″ with 80mm travel forks.
i find it slightly high to standover and (very) slightly short in the top tube.
top tube length is pretty important too IMO, as a stem thats too long will affect handling negatively.

the trouble with comparing frame sizes as they are typically listed on manufacturers websites is that you can’t compare like with like…

eg. say two frames have 23″ horizontal top tubes, same head angle, same head tube length and same height from the front wheel axle to the bottom of the head tube… but one has a shallower seat angle. If you put the seat to the same height on both frames and to the same fore-aft position in the same seatpost, the seat will actually be further back from the head tube on the one with the shallower seat angle, and the bottom bracket will be further forward – i.e. closer to the front wheel.

As you have relatively short legs for your height, you have a fairly long torso, which would lean towards longer top tubes [edit]that is long relative to the seat-tube rather than absolute long[/edit]. so maybe a long top-tubed, steep seat angled frame is for you. But then we’ve not taken into account upper body/back flexibility either… which adds a whole personal perspective to bike sizing! Or indeed, personal preference for small/large frames from a handling point of view.

Best to try a few out if you can in real life.

Lots of interesting info on how best to measure/compare frames here:-

http://www.sicklines.com/2008/12/18/reach-and-stack-a-good-idea/

prefer the flow formed downtube to headset on the Giant than the ‘old fashioned’ style gusset on the Scandal

Proper gusset is likely to be stronger.

I’m 5.11-6ft depending on shoe/sock combo, the time of day and phase of the moon.

I ride a 18″ on one 456.

On-ones are quite stretched out, so an 18″ is probably about right for me, other brands I’d look at 19″ maybe.

If I were you I’d get an 18″ scandal, what it lacks in fancy tech it makes up for in being a bargain and being a well regarded design. Alternatively look at stuff from kinesis for a similar price. Or handsome dog, dirty-jo and brand-x are all one and the same IIRC and do ‘good’ frames for as little as £50 if you shop arround.

Proper gusset is likely to be stronger.

Impossible to say without knowing pre- and post- hydroforming wall thickness & overall section size [edit] and material [/edit]. I would have said the opposite is true as a very generalised rule, as with a hydroformed tube end there wont be any stress raisers from weld points or from gusset shape.

But it completely depends how each is designed.