Forum menu
Hello
1st post; so forgive me if this is easily findable. I've used the search function but it's not brought up the advice needed
I'm 6ft 4, 21 stone'ish and a competitive powerlifter & stone lifter; so I'm not small and after a bike that'll take my weight and strength
I'm looking for a mountain bike (just an MB, not a hybrid etc); and I'm wanting to know from you lot as to which size frame I should go for (XL or XXL) and are 29" wheels the right size also
Most bikes I've seen around the £500 mark (that's about all I want to spend currently) are with front shocks; is this an issue (ie are they ok/good enough) or should I look for standard forks?
I'm happy to buy decent, 2nd hand and then get it serviced, but new is good also obviously
Any brands suggested or that I should look into more?
Evans have a Cannondale and Specialized in/around the £500 price range; would they be worth looking into?
I'm using the bike for some added cardio, a bit of weight-loss, but also to enjoy riding alongside the wife on the rides she goes on (so a mix of tarmac, track and some stoney surfaces etc)
Cheers
You really need to try different bikes to find one that fits. Different people have different body proportions so two people the same height might prefer different sizes of the same frame. Also, "L", "XL", etc. don't have any specific size associated. An XL from one manufacturer might be the same as an L from another.
At your weight, suspension forks on a £500 bike are going to struggle. At the very least you will need air forks because you'll probably be too heavy for stock coil springs. Most bikes at the price will probably have 32 mm stanchion forks, which will flex a lot under your weight if you ride rough stuff. Beefier forks will cost a lot more than that though.
29" wheels will probably be much better at your height. Getting off a 29er and onto a 26er feels like getting onto a toy bike.
I wouldn't read too much into the manufacturer's sizing guidelines as these are usually based on height alone. The key measurement you want to take is your RAD value - the distance from the sole of your shoes to your middle knuckle when stood up straight ( https://www.pinkbike.com/news/lee-mccormacks-guide-to-perfect-bike-set-up.html).
You can then calculate the RAD value of any given bike from their stack and reach values ( https://www.mbr.co.uk/buyers_guide/mountain-bike-frame-size-380074). This guy (who is also pretty tall) explains how to do it here https://youtu.be/EqocHgTij3s?t=1123 (worth watching the whole vid as it's an interesting story). You can use the triangle calculator here: https://www.calculator.net/triangle-calculator.html
For £500 I'd definitely buy secondhand, you're likely to get a much better bike for your money. I'd definitely look at a Whyte as a brand, in my experience they're built very solidly.
@donnyturns - I've never heard of that RAD thing, before so - being of strange proportions myself - will see how that stacks up with my experiences.
Definitely agree, that the L/XL sizing thing is an inadequate way of labelling sizes - we are all different, some moreso than others 😉
Your height would suggest 29” wheels definitely but I think you’d need to make sure they have boost (wide) hubs which should make them stronger.
Your weight might actually put you over the pressure range of some air forks, not sure to be honest. You definitely want front suspension though.
At 21 stone/~130kg you may want to look at a longer travel bike designed to take hard hits rather than short travel XC race bike. The frame and components will usually be stronger and stiffer and may cope better with your weight.
At that price point you may find the suspension forks are coil spring rather than air spring. Ask the shop if they can supply a coil spring with the correct resistance for your weight and if uses a air spring make sure the max pressure can take your weight.
Thanks for the replies folks; plenty of food for thought