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MrTall - MemberWe should all have a big lads ride out one day, it'd scare the sh1t out of people to see a hoard of giants pedalling towards them!!
I'd be up for that!
Remember we're not tall, they're all short 😉
6'6
22in Kona Kula
21in Spesh Stumpy
21in Trek Fuel
Have ridden 29ers (Kona's mostly) but not yet convinced about mud clearance / having to run another set of wheels.
60cm Ribble Winter
62cm Giant Crosser
25in Condor Fixie
63cm Colnago
I guess as this thread shows we're 'lucky' that at the top end we are increasing being accomodated for. 36in leg jeans, 38 in sleeve shirts, size 15/50 shoes, I find I can get stuff locally now that I'd have to spend ages searching for 10 years ago.
6'4 and ride a Large Cannondale Jekyll and custom sized Roberts and large Giant Defy Advanced.
6'5"
on XL Nicolai Helius CC/Helius AC/Argon FR.
Remember we can do full custom on any of our frames - we've done full sus bikes to properly fit people up to 6'9".
The problem with a lot of mass market full suss frames is that the platform is usually designed around a 18inch size so for us tall people they always feel odd when they size up.
I'm amazed at the response here, really didn't realise they're are so many of us! Lots for me to think about here, thanks
1.97m / 6'5 1/2"
Present rides:
Giant Trance XL 2008 (says 22" on the box, but I've measured it as being 20.5")
Giant Defy 2.5 XL
Halfway through building a 20" slot inbred (with 420mm seatpost)
Intending on buying a cross bike this year - probably 62cm Jake the Snake
I really like the idea of a 29er. Not so much because I'm tall, but more because they seem like they'd suit our Westcountry xc trails. Kona King Kahuna is high on my list (bit pricey though).
6'3" just got an 18" alpine 160 for DH thrashing!
I'm 6"4 with a 36 inside leg
I ride a 21" cove Stiffee
an xl giant reign
and a 64cm dawes racer (the biggest entry level road bike i could find)]
Martin
Goddamn that's some big ass cyclists
clubber - Member
6'5"And I still don't understand why (other than for purely cosmetic proportional reasons) people think that a 29er wheel is any better for a tall rider. ........ so if a 29er is supposedly superior for tall riders, why aren't you queing up for 32ers and even 36ers?
We know you don't get it (but you've not really tried to get it). Many tall people 'get' it on 29ers and some people like riding a bike that feels like a bmx under them. You tend not to 'get' it as soon as you throw your leg over it - it takes a few rides. Both the 6"4'+ other blokes who have ridden both my 29ers could tell the difference between them - and both found the Sultan to 'feel just like a 26" bike that fitted' rather than the slightly slower feel of the Scandal.
We're not queuing up for 32ers and 36ers because that is too big and beyond reason - I'd love one tho, but not for everyday riding.
6ft 6" here and I ride:
XL Yeti 575 - Highly recommended as a do anything bike - it's huge!
XL Commencal Meta 6 - Smaller than the Yeti, set up more for DH etc
21" On One Scandal 29er - Not ridden it yet, will finish it this weekend!
Only 6'2" and a bit 😉
I feel small round these parts now
can't believe how many really!! tall guys there are in here
love my 29ers, I just felt a bit perched on my old 20inch Giant XTC after going 29
6'4" here, with a custom spec 21.5" Gary Fisher Bitter. Lovely long GF top tubes are the best fit I've found for my frame, but wish I had the dough for a Turner Sultan - beautiful. Do like the BMX-feel of a 26er with a dropped seatpost on the technical stuff, though...
6'5"
XL Singular Gryphon
XL Astrix Monk
21" IF Steel Deluxe 29er
XL Big Dummy
61cm Crosscheck
61cm 70's Olmo Competition
ooh... I feel small here... a piddling (nearly) 6ft 4ins.
ATM I ride an:
XL Swift
XL Superlight (26 inch wheels)
XL Giany Bowery
XL Boardman Team Carbon
We're not queuing up for 32ers and 36ers because that is too big and beyond reason
Couldn't anyone make exactly the same argument for 29ers though?
If people of 5'10" (and less) can ride 29ers then surely us proper sized people should be scaling up in proportion if bigger wheels inherently fitted us better, no?
I'll stop now, we won't agree, I just don't think that the '29ers fit tall people better' is in danger of becoming accepted wisdom despite there being no real logic to it other than it looks right.
Clubber I guess it could also be a 'self-fulfilling' prophecy as the more that 'theory' gets banded about the more 29ers get made in 'large' sizes to meet demand whilst companies don't make XL+ size 26" wheeled bikes?
Exactly. Not something I want.
Hi - 6ft 4ins
Currently riding -
XL (21.5") Trek Remedy 8
20.5" Genesis Altitude 10
Both bikes look big to the small people, but feel just right when I'm riding them!
PS - both have proper wheels 😉
A mere 6'4" here. Currently riding:
Custom 21.5" Lightspeed Ocoee (which would look much nicer with 29" wheels, but rides great)
Large Specialized Pitch (a bit snug, but very chuckable)
60cm Kinesis Crosslight
I'd like to add a 29er to the mix, but wouldn't want to part with one of these, so would have to get divorced, which would be bad.
Teadrinker - I had a 20" Sanderson Life which fitted great and I'd still have now if it hadn't been nicked. I've got quite a long torso (34" inside leg), so might not be so great for the longer limbed.
6'3" here, riding a 19" soul, and just built up a 29er using parts from my old roadrat on an On-one frame to try it out (fully rigid). I really like the ride of the 29er, will be upgrading the frame to a Niner MCR, bought secondhand off here for £500, probably the first time I've seen a frame I want in my size!. I would say that a 29er is just like a road bike on steroids, the advantages of rolling speed etc translated into a bike capable of going off road. My 26er soul is still the bike of choice for peak district rides though so its definitely not the end of 26ers as we know it, just a road bike for mountain bikers ...
[i]Kona King Kahuna is high on my list (bit pricey though). [/i]
I liked the look of those bikes, but after contacting Kona UK about availability, they said they wont be importing any despite their website showing them as a 2010 model. Poor show IMO.
@ 6'5" I thought I was one of only a few people on here with similar heights, as said before I'm very impressed that I'm not! My rides are:
21" Cove HJ
XL 20.5" Meta 6, smaller top tube than the Cove but that's what you want on that type of bike.
22.5" Trek 7.3 FX commuter (700cc wheels)
All the bikes fit well but I would have liked a longer head tube on the Meta more like the the Cove with a 6" head tube. I need to run 40mm in spacers on the Meta unlike the 22.5mm on the HJ. The idea of a tall dudes ride would be interesting & good, Would be great to see other peoples bikes and even a chance to try before buying. As most will know getting a test bike in larger sizes is a complete pain to say the least.
Blimey! It's just wrong when at 6ft3 I have to look up to people, and get a crick in my neck.
Anyway, mine's:
Large, black Cotic Soul (19inch I think?)
6'4.5"
XL giant trance (21") w 100mm stem and inline seatpost
XL XtC (21.5") w 100mm stem and inline seatpost
18" 456SS w 50mm stem and slightly laid back seatpost (looks small on me but is chucky)
11" Jump bike 😀
ctznsmith - Member
Clubber I guess it could also be a 'self-fulfilling' prophecy as the more that 'theory' gets banded about the more 29ers get made in 'large' sizes to meet demand whilst companies don't make XL+ size 26" wheeled bikes?
Disagree. I had a 24" Gary Fisher Marlin. I had a 21" Scott rc20. Neither felt anything as good or in proportion as either of my 29ers, despite my belief that they were the most comfortable and capable bikes I'd ever ridden (before 29er). I have ridden, for many years, huge 26" wheeled bikes and, despite 'fitting', felt awful after a month on a 29er.
6ft 3 here, short body and longs legs (36inch inseam).
XL 5 spot (HL)
XL chameleon (old 2000 one though)
58cm Jake the snake
58cm Spesh road bike
Tried a L chameleon - way too small to be able to pedal, had a L 5 spot which was fine but seat post at limit and the XL is a much netter fit. I find larger road bikes are too long for my body though.
Had a go on a 21" hei hei 29er up in Lagan last year, much fun and still makes me want a big wheeled bike. "Normal" XL Orange 5 as well, both fitted very well.
[img] 
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my 23" rockhopper is bigger than that!
That gate only looks like an XL - do they come in XXL.....?
ps Is it steel or Aluminium.....? Do you have a buy it now price?
Is that gate a single pivot design?
6'3" here, short back and very long limbs.
"29ers fit tall people better" - I think in certain circumstances it makes sense. Taller riders have a higher centre of gravity, especially with the seatpost up. On a 29er the larger wheel raises the axles to compensate for the heightened COG. COG vs axle height is proportionate with a smaller rider on a 26er.
Yes indeed, the axles are higher but how does that make it better? Raising CoG is never put forward as a good thing at least not in any way that I can make sense of. I don't really see any 'compensation' - you seem to be suggesting that because tall riders have a worst (higher) CoG than shorter riders that you compensate for it by making it worse still?
In theory, if the wheel was solid and not rotating but had tiny rollers at the bottom (eg in contact with the ground), that would be the same dynamically (ignoring gyroscopic effects and the effects of tiny wheels rolling on anything other than a smooth surface).
The point that you actually pivot on is the tyre contact patch, not the axles... I can't think of a reason why the axle height is important.
I am saying that a high COG makes things difficult. If you have long legs and a saddle set for pedalling efficiency you are stuck with a high COG.
The bigger wheels on a 29er roll better and "catch" less on imperfections on the trail. I suppose I am thinking of the force required through the pedals to push the bike over/through an obstacle. It will require a lot less force if the BB is lower in comparison to the axles.
So the solution for tall people is a 36er recumbent?! 🙂
Anyhow
6"4
XL Swift (which I'm yet to build/ride...will have all the parts one day! :roll:)
58cm Tricross
If somebody could make me a big framed 36" wheeled bike (rigid of course at that size) for less than £1000 i'd buy it in a heartbeat just for a giggle. Can't see them being much cop offroad but i'd love to have one to play around on.
All the ones i've seen online have been prohibitively expensive (custom steel, Ti etc) and have all seemed to have been based around 18" or so frames.
Coker bikes in the US have a 36" wheeled town bike which is pretty cheap but has horrible 'Apolloesque' brakes on it and no way to run discs. I'm sure one will pop up one day in the not too distant future. 🙂
On a 36er recumbent you can't make any real weight adjustment because it is all acting through your arse and not through the pedals/BB. It does stand to reason that wheel size could be optimised like any other measurement on the bike.
The bigger wheels on a 29er roll better and "catch" less on imperfections on the trail. I suppose I am thinking of the force required through the pedals to push the bike over/through an obstacle. It will require a lot less force if the BB is lower in comparison to the axles.
eh? I don't think that makes any sense I'm afraid. You're right about the 29er wheels inherently rolling better but the 'lot less force bit' is completely wrong - the BB height in relation to the axles makes no difference at all to the power/force required as it's simply transferred through the chain and it doesn't matter what angle that's at in relation to the rear axle.
Oh and along with MrTall, I'd love to try a 36er though I do suspect it'd be a pretty sluggish affair offroad on anything twisty.
Clubber, if the height of the BB relative to the axles is irrelevant why is there so much fixation with BB heights in general?
That's about bb height in relation to the ground, not axles!
clubber doesn't want to believe that, for some people (and a few of them are tall), 29ers feel better.
On the subject of BB & axles - the drop to BB from 29er axles is greater. What does that do then? It puts my weight further below the centre of rotation for the wheels and I know it feels more stable, but you seem to have the edge on engineering reasoning as to why things work or not.
You've really got me wrong there TooTall. I actually WANT to find a 29er I like riding since I think that they are great for covering ground fast and these days I need all the help I can get... As I've said many times, I just don't want to compromise on enjoying the riding as a consequence but since I'm constantly being told that the latest 29ers are so much better than the older ones, I'll keep hoping that there is one out there that I like. I'll be riding one again in a couple of weeks to try yet again.
What I don't like is typical bike industry myths that become facts because it's endlessly repeated. I've only challenged the idea that 29ers are inherently a good choice for tall riders and I've yet to hear a convincing reason for it though I'll openly admit to wondering if there's some factor of the equation that I've missed since so many tall people seem to think they're a revelation though in the same breath I can't help but suspect that it's just because they look more in proportion.
The stability thing however sounds perfectly legit though I'd suggest it's because of the bigger wheels acting as a bigger gyroscope - the same as jumping with heavier wheels adds stability in the air - rather than because of the larger axle->bb measurement. I'm not certain that feeling more stable is inherently a good thing or not though.
You know there is a Sultan you can try as well. Going to the Bike Jumble next weekend?