Hi guys, im really tempted now to buy a new capra, but struggling with sizing. Im 6ft which would put me on the yt website as a large frame, but looking at the stats of the large, it does look short. I sat on a med capra other day, way to small obviously, but also I had a go on a large Bronson, too short again and an xl Bronson, which seemed more like it. However will the capra to too tall in the seatutbe compared to Bronson?? Think my legs are 31/32 inch perhaps, but do think I have a longer body. Don’t want to have a seatpost mast that’s towering up in the air and have to run the seatpost slammed. ANy owners know how far down the seatpost can be dropped into the seatpost tube or is there welding inside that stops this?? Anyadvice from fellow 6ft capra owners appreciated thanks.

I’m 2 inches taller than you and on a large, Spent ages reading the massive thread on mtbr re sizing, and decided I didn’t need XL.

Fits me fine.

Mine has a 150mm Reverb dropper, and I have a good 1.5 inches out the frame.

I’m 6ft and 32″ legs and decided against a Capra due to the sizing. Had a go on a mates Large and it felt like the bars where in my lap. This was when they where first released so no XL. A shame as I’ve always thought they’ve been great value…the wife rides a CF comp.

I’ve ended up on a bike with 40mm more reach (longer than the YT XL) and it feels right.

I’m 6’1″ and ride a large, however I do like a shorter reach and it does feel short on the climbs, fab for the downs though. As an indicator my wife is 5′ and rides a small which she finds perfect, according to the website small fits 5’3″ upwards.

Just to add some confusion…..

I’m 6’1″, 33″ inside leg and on an XL – fits me perfectly.

I have had to raise the seatpost maybe 1 or 2″ to get correct seat height. However I’m using a reverb and they now come with an E-13 so not sure if that would affect things.

Ha, I like the comment “just to add some confusion” It certainly has 🙂
The large does look short, I think I need the standover height of the large and the reach of the xl. That XL bronso felt pretty ok, but id say still on the short side rather than too stretched. The Large Bronson was a joke, turned left/right and knees right at the bars, way too short. Oh god, which to go for???

Where are you? There’s bound to be someone nearby with one…

The Large Bronson was a joke, turned left/right and knees right at the bars, way too short

You’d need to have knees like John Merrick for the bars on my Capra to hit them!

Want to see the geometry numbers side-by-side with your current bike?

Capra and Bronson on geometrygeeks.bike

…a website I’m working on.

I’m 6ft and have a large.

And how to you find the reach? What length stem you running too?

I’m 6ft and a large is perfect for me. That said, 34″ of that 6ft is legs. I don’t need a long bike

I’m interested in this also. I’m coming from a 2011 Spec Enduro and according to the stats I’m looking at (from the owners manual) is longer in reach than the Capra.

I’m almost 6’1″, 34″ inside leg and think the XL would be too long in the seattube. If only I could test one 🙁

That said the L Capra is only 5mm shorter than the L Cotic Rocket and I tested one of those and loved it (struggling to see past the value of the Capra though…)

Confused and uncertain

I’m a shade under 5’8″ and my bike (Airdrop Edit in medium) has a reach longer than that of a Large Capra. For me the geometry of YT bikes is too short.

I have looked at the large Jeffsy previously but to get the length I feel comfortable on I’d need a large and i’d struggle slightly with standover on the 19″ large frame. I was hoping they’d increase the reach or reduce the seatpost length for the 2017 range.

As always everyone is different so worth seeing if someone does have a large and xlarge for you to sit on and try out.

YEah its very difficult without actually trying, it does look rather short though, but in realy terms would it suit?? Arghhh so hard to know. Anyone in machester/Derbyshire area with a larger or XL I could try for size??

Im five eleven and a Large is just right. You will need XL at least.

Im five eleven and a Large is just right. You will need XL at least.

Drivel.

Hang out in any trail centre car park and YT owners will help you decide.

6′ 1″ with a 34″ inseam and my mates large Capra is too small for me. Knees were far to close to the bars when pedalling and I just felt hunched up on it. Definitely a bike you want to try first if you’re around the 6ft mark or taller.

Depends on more than just your height. A large Capra would fit me well at 6ft because I’m all legs and short torso. The other way round, not so well.

I’m 6’1 and a half(the half inches are important) and on an XL, doesn’t feel overly long. The L felt way too small.

Hang out in any trail centre car park and YT owners will help you decide.

This is so true!

If you’re ever down near Lichfield you’re welcome to try mine. Got a large and I’m 6ft.

Ahhh thanks for feedback guys, It’s obviously a personal preference I guess on bike/body combo. That large Bronson really was too short for me, so think a large Capra will be soo short. Its that dam standover height of an XL im worried about though 😐

Platform shoes then 🙂

Ahhh thanks for feedback guys, It’s obviously a personal preference I guess on bike/body combo. That large Bronson really was too short for me, so think a large Capra will be soo short. Its that dam standover height of an XL im worried about though

I find standover to be the last in a long list of considerations when buying a new bike. What I would consider in your situation, is how much seatpost of a 150mm reverb sticks out, and are your legs long enough for that?.

Ye, I agree with standover height, I should of said seat tube height, I mentioned that in posts above and asked how far down into the seat tube a 150mm dropper could go, is there anything in the seat tube (welding etc) to stop it being slammed?? God this is a hard choice….

I’m 6ft1 barefoot and found the large capra wayyyy too small when I demoed one last year. Felt hunched up both climbing and descending. The XL Capra felt almost spot on, perhaps even slightly small for my preferences.

Cheers enigmas, so good to hear peoples views, no doubt a 6ft 5 person will be along soon to say the small is best 🙂

is there anything in the seat tube (welding etc) to stop it being slammed??

No, I can put mine right down.

If you want, measure your present bike from pedal to saddle height, and I’ll measure the Large Capra with the reverb collar right down at the seatpost collar. You can then add on what the XL difference is?.

I’m 6′ 0.5″, 33/34 leg, my large seems spot on to me.
You’re welcome to have a go at Delamere if you can make it over.

Good to know about the seat tube, thanks. I may take u up on the offer at Delemere cheers.

im 5″8″ and so is my mate who has one. they are good bikes but the medium was too small for me. i didnt want to take the risk of ordering a large in case that didnt fit.
have you considered the new giant reigns OP?

Not looked at the reigns, have to see past the value of a capra I guess 🙂

Not looked at the reigns, have to see past the value of a capra I guess

you’d fit a large reign..the frame is longer than the equivalent sized capra

i’m on a large reign but with the seatpost slammed…it all depends on your budget but if you’ve also considered a bronson then the reign will be well within your budget

Ok, I’ll come out and say it…..i don’t particularly like this new era of bike design/fit.

I think we’ll look back on it as we did a few years ago when people were riding 14 and 16 inch HT frames with nearly 30cm of seatpost sticking out….because they were ‘chuckable’ or some such nonsense.

I’m 5′ 9″ so maybe it’s just that this doesn’t apply to me but I’m constantly being told to size up for ‘better reach’…..what exactly does that mean!?….and once I’m stretched out over the top tube of a size L bike with my arms splayed wide on 800mm bars I’m kinda locked in position with my head pointing downhill….and this is supposed to give me confidence descending is it?

Sod that, I’ll stick to medium sized bikes as I’m a medium sized man and I’ll leave everyone else to faff around with overly large bikes and trying to remedy their position with stems and seat posts etc.

Yeah, dinosaur I know.

Before the large Capra I was on a medium Heckler (2009 frame), old school geometry. When I first jumped on the Capra it instantly felt very similar to my DH bike, but it climbs better then the Heckler. I’ll do stuff on the Capra that would be certain death on the old Heckler.

godders, I’ll be in Delamere most of the day on Friday (at the cafe) and probably riding there on Sat. I’ll have the bike with me both days.

I’m constantly being told to size up for ‘better reach’

But the point of this “new era of bike design/fit” is that you don’t have to size up. A medium has an adequately long top tube for you to not need the large and the issues that the longer seat tube may cause.

This is IMO the problem with the Capra – the large is too short, the XL too tall.

i agree with both deviant and the otherjamie

for me my previous bike was an 09 reign x2 in a small size. i liked it because it had a very low standover height and was pretty agile and dare is say it, “chuckable”.
i’m about 5’8″ so i probably should have been on a medium but i loved the bike all the same. the top tube length was still long enough to not feel cramped. i even had it set up so the geometry was very similar to modern bikes using offset bushes…the only downside was that it was a bit of a struggle on the climbs due to its weight.
when choosing my new reign i ummed and ahhed about which size to get. sat on a medium and that felt spot on over the large…but then i still though i should be on a medium.
i then tried a large trance with a 35mm stem and the size felt spot on but the performance of the bike was a bit disappointing for me compared to a full on enduro bike
i then managed to try the medium reign with a standard 50mm stem, and while it felt spot on while sitting on it, it felt small when i rode it. it felt more like my old reign but a bit more cramped for some weird reason.
i tried the large and that felt perfect for me with a 35mm stem so that what i ended up going for.
the other weird thing is that i also tested a large bronson but while it is actually shorter than the reign it felt longer…this could have been down to it having 150mm pikes instead of 160mm ones which put more of my body weight forwards, the opposite happened with a large patrol…it felt cramped sitting on a large but when riding it the size was spot on.
in terms of using the geometry charts to pick the ideal bike…i dont think it can be relied upon by itself. it needs to be backed up with actual time in the saddle.
try as many bikes as you can OP…value for money will count for nothing if the bike doesn’t fit you properly

One of the big differences about the new longer bikes, compared to those of 5-6 years ago is head angle. Older ‘slack’ bikes used to have head angles of 67 degrees

There was a reason for shorter reach back in the day. You were trying to not allow your CoG move infront of the front axle. The technique was to hang quite far off the back of the bike at the cost of a bit of front wheel grip. The short reach was more appropriate to riding in the hang-off the back style. If that’s how you still ride then you probably want to have a short reach frame. Nothing wrong with it at all, you can still go fast and have lots of fun.

Now we’re looking at Capras with 64.5 degree head angles and other bikes are the same. Anything above 66 degrees is considered steep! With that sort of front end, you just don’t need to hang off the back as much. At that point if you center yourself in the frame for better weight distribution, a medium bike with 420mm reach feels short. I would like my medium Capra to go from 420mm -> 440mm so that I can just sit in the middle of the bike a lot more.

There’s no need to worry about going over the bars these days on Enduro bikes. The front wheel is miles out in front of you. I can count the number of times I’ve done it in 2 1/2 years of having a Capra on one hand.

That’s why people want more reach these days. (Obviously IMHO)

Agree how times have changed. I used to ride a medium frame, I know it was too small, and a jump bike before that so kinda used to small frames. For the last few years ive been mainly on my cx bike though and have become used to feeling a little more stretched out.
If anyone has tried a XL Bronson and XL capra, I just need to know if they are similar. If I was to buy a Bronson, id go XL no question as the Large really was just too small for me.