I think I'm right on the edge of a Large for those GTs.
At 5'10 I am probably a more natural medium on the chart. I'm longer in body and shorter in leg so in theory a large might work if the seat tube isn't crazy long.
Don't suppose anyone my height is riding a Sensor who can offer a view as it looks bargain tastic?
My nephew bought one in Large because that was a good price. He's 5'9". He wishes he'd bought a medium.
I've been wondering how I could engineer a swap with someone who's in the reverse situation and would prefer a Large over Medium. It's still in VGC, doesn't ride that much.
I got a Chisel (110mm/130mm) as well.
A lot of XC bikes now have modern geometry with 65/66 degree head angles. Does all local riding with XC tyres on. Beefier tyres for any weekends away.
It just feels faster and more fun. Tallboy might be similar.
Once you get up to 150mm/160mm which is where a lot of trail bikes are now, might as well get an ebike for getting more laps in on the fun stuff IMO
It's not necessarily the amount of travel but the quality of the travel. And there are other things that should matter. Build quality, cable routing, functional design, QC, ease and cost of maintenance, frame storage etc ..
I'm afraid this all points to a Tallboy. It's not really a XC bike, too heavy and burly for that, particularly with a 140mm fork. My XL CC is 3,250g so solid in particular in relation to the relative simplicity of the kinematics. My riding pattern is identical to the OP.
I don't really get the off the shelf option either. The Merlin price headline is good but check what you get in terms of drivetrain and wheels.
It's actually cheaper to buy a used frame and build yourself. But you lose the warranty...
The previous gen Stumpjumper (non-evo) works pretty well in the Peak for me. Happy medium between mile munching xc and capable on most trails if you don't try and ride like Loic Bruni.
I have a Bird Aether 9
Love mine on a lyrik in ML size. Handles anything I'd throw my 160mm eeb on 38s down but just feels so much nicer to ride. Just wish I was fitter.
Leftfield option - and it would be a tiny bit of faff to get to the UK and would need to be built rather than bought to get under the £3k budget - but I imported a Canfield Tilt frame + CCDB Air a couple of years ago, built up with some 130/160mm dual travel Lyriks + standard-ish wheels/brakes/groupset bought at sales in the UK and it is superb. Not the lightest bike in its class but I reckon it would be top 3 in both climbing and descending. I previously had a Banshee Prime and have borrowed mates' Pivot, Trek, YT Capra, etc. and for my money it's better than any of them.
For reference my riding is a mix of local woods type e.g. Pitmedden, Blebo, Ochils plus trail centres e.g. Laggan, Comrie, Glentress
https://mbaction.com/long-term-review-canfields-tilt-pro-offers-timeless-trail-excellence/
Still looking for my diamond encrusted moon on a platinum stick.
Possibly a silly geometry question but with a modern bike should I be expecting it be designed for more reach than say a 2015 equivalent use bike??
- Weighting the front end
- Shorter stems
Looking at that GT Sensor still but worried that at the bottom of large size range it might turn out to be a gate and with short legs the dropper may be at its limits. The Santa Cruz remains an option but it's double the cost (albeit probably the nicest option).
For the last 3 weeks ive had to ride my Megatower (1st world problem) as my Tallboys forks were away for servicing. Im off to the Peaks tomorrow as the forks came back Saturday .. Guess which heavy lump of a megaton I wont be taking with me . The tallboy is just simply FUN ! I mean im not the only GUY** who thinks THERE BRILLIANT ( fast shows style)
* Justa side note im sure Santa are at Landegla next week on a demo day .. Worth chucking a tenner in the pot to get a leg over one 🙂
I have a bird aether 9c in medium long. It's brilliant. I've ridden 50km all day mountain rides , a week in morzine, stiniog and my local is Wharncliffe. It's never felt underbiked and the geometry is spot on.
The above bird link doesn't appear to work now, but due to the above comment about the ugly stick, I'll bet the link was to a 9c. I quite like the looks. Boxy carbon in matt black looks great!
Looking at that GT Sensor still but worried that at the bottom of large size range it might turn out to be a gate and with short legs the dropper may be at its limits. The Santa Cruz remains an option but it's double the cost (albeit probably the nicest option).
It's very model dependant annoyingly, some bikes have got longer but kept relatively tall seat tubes/high top tubes which can really hinder anyone sizing up or at the shorter end of the size range.
My Medium Bird Aether 7 for example is 13mm longer reach than my Small Cotic Jeht, but due to the frame design/pivot bolt location I can drop the saddle a full 40mm lower on the Bird which makes it much more confidence inspiring for me on steeper stuff.
Looking on Geometry Geeks the GT Sensor compared to the Bird has a 25mm taller Seat Tube and 60mm higher Standover for the same size (Medium) so I'd really struggle to ride that even though the reach/length of the bike is very similar. Conversely I've ridden Large Santa Cruz models before with no issue.
Not trying to talk you into the same bike as me at all, just shows how differently shaped some bikes are!
The GT looks like it would feel very tall to me, it seems to have quite a short reach and steep seat angle but also a high standover & seat tube so I think I'd feel like I was really perching on top of it.
Looking at that GT Sensor still but worried that at the bottom of large size range it might turn out to be a gate and with short legs the dropper may be at its limits.
Where are you in the UK?
I've got a large Sensor you're more than welcome to try if you're anywhere close to the Chilterns?
@notmyrealname thank you that's really kind but I'm in South East part of Hampshire so a fair way off. I think looking at @jfab's post it's probably answered my question anyway. Too much seat tube and too much potential for crushing of the "sensitives"!
Thanks @stevedoc for the wallet endangering GuyK review as well.
Garage-dweller the stats done lie 🙂 Guy might have a point
I was riding over the weekend with a friend who has a Tallboy that he know's he really should sell. He's on his second e-bike so the poor thing just sits patiently waiting for a day that will never come.
It's a large, he's 5'10" and its in a nice sort of caramel colour with a decent spec.
I wouldn't rule out the Orange stage evo,this is under budget and 0% finance available
