I am 6'5" with almost 38" inseam and I am planning to buy . I have narrowed my list to these bikes as they are in my budget and they have modern geo:
- Trek Fuel EX 8 (XL/XXL)
- Whyte T129s
- Commencal Meta Trail V4.2 Essential (XL)
- Mondraker Foxy R (XL)
- any other types?
The problem is that I could try only Trek and it was XL (21.5"). I don't have much experience with trail bikes as I ride XC hardtail. It was just a quick round and I could not say whether size was good, or I should go with XXL (which looks huuuge on paper).
1. Do I need XXL bike? I know, it is subjective but maybe someone have similar experience.
2. If the answer for above is negative, my next question is: Is it worth to consider smaller wheel (Meta, Foxy)?
XXL Hightower is out now I think?.
I know but it is beyond my budget... Actually I did Fuel and Hightower XXL geometries comparison and they are pretty the same. This is on of the reasons why I consider Treks biggest size.
Im 6'6' and ride a Camber in XL size - seems to fit well.
Transition are long, a geomatron?
Thanks, I will give it a try if I will find any in LBS.
@Wookster,
Transitions are nice but not so available here. From what I see, they have similar length as XL bikes from my list. Besides that, €3500 is my upper limit.
6ft3 and ride a specialized stumpjumper xl. Feels shorter than my salsa horsethief but I've got used to that quickly.
At 6ft5 I think you would need a xxl stumpy or similar.
What do you ride at the moment?
The challenge with being tall (or especially tall in your case) is different bike companies build their XL and XXL bikes in very different ways. Some might seem long but are so tall at the front they are actually quite short. Others are so low the fit is terrible even if they do look long enough, equally long and very tall might not work for you if you have very long arms, which you might or might not (there is obviously a larger scope for variance in a generally bigger person).
You would probably benefit from a bit of one2one with a good bike fitter to explain the differences to you, ideally a fitter that isnt trying to sell you something 😆
I'm 6ft 4 up until recently I was riding a XL giant trance, really good fit. Thought it was a keeper until i wrote off the rear triangle
23" Superfly HT (2014). I changed stem from 100 to 90mm, bars from 690 to 750mm and seatpost with 8mm offset to zero. My position is still quite stretched and I have neck pain after few hours of riding (50-100km).
@STATO
I fully agree, the problem is that when I was buying my current bike, I checked several Trek shops and they gave me different recommendations. I went with 23" just because of seatpost extension, which is not that big issue as I previously though. I am going to talk with a fitter who sells Trek, Specialized and Scott - that is why Trek is on the top of my list 😉
I am just looking for some alternatives like Whyte or Commencal and they are direct-sell brands so I won't be abe to try them.
same size as you, but a lot bigger build probably.
anything by giant, trek specialized will be big enough.
i had a xl enduro it was huge. i had a xl ventana el capitan. biggest bike i have ever seen.
test rode a xl hightower, it was too small.
That was the biggest bike I EVER seen 
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I'm 5'10'5", so not that short...
Cheers!
I.
6'3, 34" leg, ride an xl Whyte 129, think it might feel a bit small for you. I wouldn't want any less reach or saddle height.
Bird XL?
6'5" with 35" leg. When looking for a new bike last year i poured over the geo charts from various manufacturers. The Whyte just seemed smaller than most other XL bikes so was off this list. Went with an XL Rocket Max (no test ride) and it fits perfectly. They do a 120mm Flare too if 140 travel is too much.
Whyte was my top "alternative" choice but I was afraid mainly about seatpost extension (~320mm), not the reach. On paper they are longer than many other brands.
XL Kona Process? 2 wheel sizes and 3 travel options, long frames (particularly for 2017 models)
Yes you'd have a valid point about the seat tube length on the Whyte OP - I test rode an XL and was surprised how much seatpost I had out of the frame and I'm only 6'2" (mostly arms and legs though).
I bought an XL Kona hei hei in the end and I'm very happy with the fit.
Kona Process is great option but it has the same seat tube length as Whyte + much lower top tube. I would mix Process with Hei Hei to keep it long but not so extreme low 😆
Start by measuring your seat rails to bb centre. That will give you a guide for how tall you need the seat tube to be. Assume maybe 250mm for a regular seat post, 330mm for a dropper. Subtract this from your measurement and that will tell you how long your seat tube needs to be.
From there make a shortlist and test what you can. No point testing a bike that's going to be too small.
It is 804mm from BB center to the saddle rails.
6'4" with 35" inseam and a 2017 Fuel 29er 21.5. I was tempted by the 23" but there is a real jump between the 21.5 and 23 for some reason, the seatube goes from 510 to 560 I think, I wouldn't have been able to run my 170 reverb on the 23. With your inseam I'd get the 23 though. Looks a bit of a gate but fit is what counts. Also worth pointing out that there is a big difference in headtube length and stack between them, I have 20mm of spacers and 40mm rise bars to get the bars where I want them.
Other than that can't recommend it highly enough. Had a carbon XL Stumpy evo and the alloy Trek is superior everywhere
Edit; just measured 790mm BB to saddle rail. Would think BB to top of saddle would be more accurate though?
I'm 6ft4" and struggle with fit. The biggest problem for me is the seat position from the centre line of the pedal axis. Everything else I can adjust. I have a long thigh bone and even with a layback post I always seem to be pushing my behind over the back of the saddle. You will only really find this a problem if you have had a long enough test over a few miles. With a 38" inseam I would be very careful.
Inbred - the Fuel has a slack true ST angle which has pros and cons but means the higher your saddle the longer the ETT becomes. My saddle is in the middle of the rails and they have long reach measurements anyway so plenty of room
Reverb doesn't work as smoothly as on the Stumpy and I'm sure it will wear faster though
I've just built my stumpy and transferred a 150 dropper. I've never felt I needed more travel before but on the stumpy I feel I'd benefit from a 170.
Being tall does have some advantages.
It is ~855mm to the top of the saddle. According to my calculations, I should be able to fit even 170mm Reverb in 23" Fuel so I am leaning towards XXL at the moment. Camber is another option to consider - maybe Specialized will boost it for 2018 and release some decent alloy version as current one does not match Fuel in case of components.
Rails on the saddle is fine. You can always use the old one if it turned out the new one was much flatter anyway. So now you know that if you want a 170 reverb you'll need a seat tube < 570mm or there abouts, and that you could go all the way down to something like a 470 seat tube and still make the 170 dropper work for you. However that would possibly be at the expense of too much load from you levering the post, so go a bit taller than that and you should be fine. Then its just a case of what reach/geo you want.
I am also your height and currently ride a xxl Stumpjumper. It feels a good fit. Though currently looking at a geomotron.
[url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/tallboy-lt-xxl ]This big tall boy [/url] is for sale in the classifieds. No price mentioned though!
I'm 6ft 7in and ride an XL Orange Alpine 29er.