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From a recent thread, something in me has made me start looking at these Carbon Hardtail Frames from China on ebay, and given me the urge to think about building one up into a XC / Commuting hardtail.
My main worry is the size to buy. My current bike is a freeride-ish set-up, with a small frame that can be easily thrown around. So I cant really base anything off this.
How does everyone else make do in this scenario?
Thanks
TomO
If you know what fits you already then it's pretty easy IMO - I've never test ridden a bike I've owned (too tall for shops to stock them or have bought online/second hand) and can't think of one yet that hasn't fitted how I expected.
I'd suggest you borrow a mate's bike in similar size to what you're looking at and go from there.
Try some bikes for size/test ride, then get the carbon frame closest to it?
Cheeky, but not tooo cheeky 😉
+1 for clubber
Quite easy if you know roughly what fits already. Or look at one of those bike fit calculators to get a view on effective top tube etc.
I'm about 5ft 7.5 and know anything with a 22.5 to 23" top tube is always a good fit.
It depends how "fussy" you are. So long as I'm in the right ball park, I can make most stuff fit by tweaking stems and posts. I don't remember the last time I got to try before I bought a bike. Not got it wrong yet.
Thanks for the responses. I haven't had a 'fitted' bike in ages so I genuinely don't know my standard size. I suppose finding a mate my height would be a good start thanks Clubber.
rob2 - Interesting you say that as it was TT length etc that was a concern as something I may overlook, I imagine all 17" frames etc dont all have the same length tube etc. I've googled a calculator 🙂
TT length etc that was a concern as something I may overlook
When I've looked at the hardtail frames I've been put off by the fact that they seem to have short top tubes for what are short travel xc bikes.
avdave2- Are you referring to the China Carbon frames? Can a longer stem not remedy the shorter TT?
You could put a longer stem on but I already run a 90 on one bike and a 100 on another. I think njee had one and rated the frame but made a point of the short top tube
Edit
I've just had another look on ebay and they don't seem as short as I'd remembered so I might start thinking about one again
lol, I think you should start looking 🙂
you can base how your chuckable FR bike feels, and compare dimensions. Is it too short/cramped for long XC-type rides or is it comfortable? I have a HT and a big FS, both are set up with identical effective dimensions; middle of handlebar to middle of saddle above seatpost measured horinzontally is 660mm, and both are fitted with 711 bars (despite the bikes having slightly different seat tube lengths and true top tube lengths).
Right that might help then, yeah I actually use the bike to ride to work as well (Shock horror I know 🙂 )but on long xc rides it does play with my back a little. I'll have a good measuring session but I think I've worked out of calculators etc that a 17" is correct for me, Which does sound about right.
tt length, effective and actual, Seattube angle ( ie how back the saddle sits when the seat is up) . Go by what currently have factor and the change of riding style fr to xc etc and make a decision. Work out if you have short arms, torso etc and take it from there.Ask others here onstw if they have the same frame and see what size they are.Also consider the standover, determined by the bb height and seatube length.
I'm 5'10" and like bikes with a ~22.5" headtube; to get this I've had a medium/17" Kona, a Medium 17" Santa Cruz, I now have a small 16" Orange and a 15.5" Dialled. Youve got a foot of height adjustment with a seatpost and only an inch or so of realistic length variation with stem choice so it's always seemed odd that manufacturers quote frame sizes by seat tube.
The current fashion is for longer top tubes combined with shorter stems, but I grew up riding in the days where 135mm was common for an XC stem, so the 90mm I run now might not be de-rigeur but feels positively twitchy compared to the bikes I rode in my youth!
See my usual style of riding is anything pointing downwards so short stems are my usual taste. Obviously as I'll be building this up for commuting/xc however I think I'm going to have to extend slightly 🙂
I too am 5ft 10 so you're reassuring me more about my frame size choice. My current Alpine 160 is 16" and does feel a little small.
I'm sure in the grand scheme of things, I'm not racer or wish to compete, so the differencer between an 18" frame and 17" frame probably won't have much affect on me 🙂
Thanks for all your input it's been more than helpful 🙂