Hi guys I’m considering buying a flaremax frame and wondered what sizes people are riding when they are between sizes. I’m 5 foot 10.5 which makes me in between a medium and a large, but the reach and stack on the medium are very similar to my chameleon which is a large and I feel comfortable on that. I’m just thinking that if I go medium will I miss out on the whole longshot thing or will the medium still be giving me it. Thanks.

What length stem do you run on the Chameleon?

Hi Kelvin it’s a 50mm RF Atlas. Which I’m sure is the size that Santa Cruz run their geo at.

I’d suggest getting a ride on a Large FlareMAX with a 35mm stem then, if you can. Running a 50mm on a medium would work fine, but isn’t really making the most of the longshot geom.

Remember, reach measurements don’t include the stem… so more reach and a shorter stem results in your hands being in much the same position in relation to your body (but not the front wheel).

Thanks I am looking at their demo days now. I was thinking maybe a medium wouldn’t give me the benefits.

I’d agree with Kelvin.

I’m less than 5ft 8in and Sam the demo man was suggesting I might prefer a large.

I’m 5’9 and ride a medium . I had had a medium solaris before so just went with that . The standover is pretty big so if you went large i am sure you would be fine .

Thanks guys much appreciated 👍👍

I’m 5’9.5″ and I think I’d go for the large. Certainly jumping on that size at the demo felt about right. The solaris on the other side i think I’m a little more in between- Kelvin almost certainly knows better than me but it seemed that the full sussers were a touch smaller for a given size than the hardtails.

5′ 10″ and super happy on the large with a 35mm stem. I run fairly narrow bars (760mm) which I think makes it seem shorter.

I’m on a medium SolarisMAX/SodaMAX with a 35 stem, Large Rocket with a 30mm stem. I’m about 5’10” or so.

When I rode the FlareMAX, the medium felt way too short for me, in comparison. I didn’t try a longer stem on it though.

Always best to try for yourself. If you can’t, I’d go for the large and a short stem.

“5′ 10″ and super happy on the large with a 35mm stem. I run fairly narrow bars (760mm) which I think makes it seem shorter.”

I’ve noticed this with my bikes – my local trails preclude really wide bars from working but narrower bars made my medium frame feel too small. Going up a size those narrower bars worked great.

One other thing I found with sizing is that going from a 35 to 50mm stem made a bike that felt too big feel right! I know, it seems to make no sense because you’re moving the bars further away – but I think the longer stem stabilises the steering as you weight the bars, which gave me the confidence to move my weight forwards, which meant the bars weren’t so much of a stretch.

I like to think I’m still 6’ but probably 5’11 and a bit really. Very happy on a large with a 35mm stem. Sizing down does seem to be kind of missing the point, but whatever you are comfortable on really.

Threads like this make me want a Cotic again. So miss my old one.

Well I spoke to Paul at Cotic and he recommended the large so it’s all ordered and I should pic the frame up later this week.

I’m a (metric) smidge under 6’ run a large SodaMAX with a 35mm stem &
800 wide bars

When I demoed a large FlareMAX with the same size stem it felt short in comparison so I went to 45mm.

So large + 35mm sounds about right to me…