[Closed] Advice with Bronson sizing.

5010 V2 owner for the past year. 5'9 with 30" inside leg. Tried a large for size and it felt instantly right. A year on and no regrets in ignoring the size chart. Like you said, very stable at speed and once you learn to weight the front it turns on a sixpence in the tight stuff. Took 3-4 rides but once it clicks it's second nature.
I know the Bronson is longer and burlier but I'm sure it will be the same for it.

Been riding a medium,5'8" since 2014. Demo a large which was same top tube length as my medium Zesty. So don't get to hung up on size. Geometry is a series of compromises. For me I wanted manoeuvre. I haven't found any issues descending. I'm running a 65mm stem which gives me a very good fit. The trend is to have short stems, maybe that was the problem?

The Bronson is still a bit short in reach. I'd be looking straight at the large.

Same size as you and on a large

5'8 and I tried a medium mkI bronson and it felt too cramped- ended up with a Process which was much better position for me, Im assuming the new version has a longer reach, either way Id probably go large

5'9" with a 32 inside leg. I ride a medium Bronson v2. 50mm stem 780 bars 150 dropper. I think it's great. I wouldn't want bigger, but I like bmx type handling. I had a medium v1 and that was a little short.

What length dropper are you hoping to run? The large has a 460mm seattube...im same height as you and, if i rode the large, I'd doubt i could fit a 100mm dropper with that seattube length!

hi, very similar dilemma here very recently, i'm very slightly shorter then you but went for a medium in the end but i felt fine on the large. In the end i went with my gut which was the medium.

I think you'll be fine on either tbh.

good bike choice by the way, loving mine 🙂

Similar size on a large Hightower

I think it looks like you need to decide yourself, as you've rode both to be honest.

Fwiw, I used to always veer to the smaller bike when faced with similar choice when between sizes, I probably reasoned that I could make the bike a little longer with stems, saddle rails etc...

On my current bike, I was torn between L and XL, and finally plumped for the bigger one (I don't bother test riding tbh) and I'm glad I did, the rangy feeling, room to move and properly postured position is brilliant, oh and it's a carbon Bronson...

PS. I've never really seen any other comments regarding seat mast height inhibiting dropper choice on the Bronson, I'm 6'2", don't have particularly long legs, 33 1/2", and have a 150 KS Lev, but have enough post showing to go 175, which I probably will do when I get round to it.

Brilliantly capable bike, acceleration is incredible.

Thanks everyone for all the helpful responses. I kinda of wish I could ride both again as I've had time to think more about the feel of both. I'm kind of thinking the medium felt a little short because I wasn't use to the shorter stem and crazily wide bars that come stock on it. I'm currently on 740mm bars and a 60mm stem.
The other thing is Jungle have the large in stock and ready to ship where as the medium won't be in stock until early October.

I have a question for Nonk. Are you 100% happy with your large? Did you try a medium? if so how did you feel on that?

I think you risk being overbiked TBH.

Overbiked? No such thing.

I'm 5'8". Ridden the Juliana Roubion in medium several times for half day demos - its a great fit. The Roubion is just the Bronson in a different paint scheme. No difference at all in geometry etc.

However, I've also had extensive rides on the 2017 Hightower and a medium feels too short, whereas the large feels spot on. Comes down to personal preference and what feels right for the kind of riding you do. I always prefer a slightly longer bike.

Odd as the HT has larger reach figures? Nothing beats a test ride.

5ft 10 and have a Large. Fits fine.

Hmmmm.... I've fallen out of love with mine and I think its the sizing I got wrong.

I had a V1 bronson in large. I'm 5'9 and it fitted like a glove. Got a crash replacement V2. Tried both the medium and large back to back in the shop and plumped for the large. I just cant get on with it. Should have got the medium.

Sorry for teh rambling, but at your height, I'd go for a medium as long as its the V2 your getting.

Or buy mine in January lol.

SohoBikes have an SC demo day at Aston Hill in a couple of weeks - might be worth trying both sizes there.

Lowey,

What size stem are you running on your large v2?

50mm Pedla.

40mm rise bars also.

They increased the reach for the v2 so maybe worth going a bit shorter. I tried both a 40 and 50 and settled on the 40.

I was in a similar situation two years ago...

i'm 5'9 and a bit, Rode a Bronson V1 medium and large back to back but couldn't decide. Medium felt really chuck about downhill but the large felt much more comfortable climbing and over long distances.

Now i think the sensible advice in this situation is to step away and try another (equally good) brand, however if you are anything like me you have probably bought in already 🙂

I kept going back for more and more test rides i even tried a 5010 at the recomendation of the shop which in all honesty could have been a better bike for me.

Still i pressed on. Emailed SC directly got a very quick response from them saying their advice would be to size up.

So i pressed the button on a large and stuck a 30mm stem on it. Now this bike felt perfect reach wise and was generally great on most stuff. The problem was i only had about 5/6 inches of dropper showing when the saddle was up, as the seat tube was so long. When it got really steep or i was juming i felt i couldn't get the seat down enough and/or the bike under me enough and this resulted in feeling i had too much weight over the front.

I guess some coaching might have sorted this however 6 months after i bought it the v2 came out which was a bit longer.

I persisted with mine for another year. Before i got it i was planning all the upgrades i would make and i just sort of lost interest which kind of told me i knew the bike was wrong for me.

At the end of last year i stopped brooding about it and changed it for a medium which i run with a 50mm stem. Such a difference in the air! and most of my riding is short blasts (post child) the extra reach is not so much of issue (i mostly climb standing up anyhow). Bike still feels comfortable and i love it again. (just bought some new cranks for it so must be back on track!)

I have since rode quite a few other non-SC bikes and i think i'm mostly about right with mine.

I got mine from Pedal & Spoke and they were great, they put up with me doing about 3 months of back to back test rides and generally being undesisive (probably the hardest sale they've had 🙂 ) so i'd say if you are local to them its worth doing another ride to be sure. Welcome to try mine if i'm up there at all.

P&S also gave me a very fair deal on a frame only trade in but still cost me dear <sob> so its worth giving it some thought!

HTH

Pat

Thanks Pat for the really informative response. There seems to be a lot of people in a similar situation who have gone different ways and had different experiences. Howard at Pedal & Spoke told me to go large and stick a 30mm stem on it.
I work in the cycle industry and some of my colleagues have told me to go medium and others large. I guess the answer is to ride both again, but it' a fair old distance to travel.
It's a shame we don't have any Bronson's in stock at work and from what I understand there is no plan to get anymore in.
I am glad you brought up the seat post length as that was one of my biggest concerns. What size dropper were you running?

Cheers again

Hi

not 100% as i've changed it but pretty sure it was 390mm (reverb stealth)

Cheers

Pat

Not a Bronson but for my last bike I couldn't decide and ended up taking in a RockShox Reverb to try both sizes - the idea being I wanted the largest (read, longest) frame that I could get my chosen seatpost in and still be able to reach the pedals with it extended.

In the end I was able to size up from my usual medium to a large, as my seatpost of choice when fully inserted, gave me bang on the right saddle height, give or take a few mm.

If you don't have the seat post to hand, try measure one, saddle top to bottom of collar.

Howard at Pedal & Spoke told me to go large and stick a 30mm stem on it.

Sounds like a smart guy, that's just what I was gonna say.

Thanks for all the top advice, after talking with the guys at work and comparing other similar bikes geometries, I will go for a large and a shorter stem.

Just have to wait until mid October until Jungle get them back in stock 🙁

It'll be worth the wait...

I have this hypothesis that bikes should be sized for reach to suit your height minus your leg length. The longer your torso, the more reach you need.

I'm slightly taller than average (5'10.5) but am longer limbed (~33.5" leg) so am happiest on bikes in the 430-440mm reach area because I'm not so long between between shoulders and hips. I also like stupidly wide handlebars (shoulder width plus arm length!)