Following from my earlier thread about Ti vs full sus, one of the other posters mentioned something about getting the fit spot on and it made me wonder if my current bike ( a 17" stiffee ) was too small for me – I'm 5"10, shorts legs and long back ).

My last hardtail was an 18" steel kona and I dont remember my back being an issue then, admittedly i was younger then, but i've had back issues since i was 16. After that was a 17.5" marin full sus bike, again, no issues…

replacing the stiffee with something like a bigger soul would be a much cheaper option than a full sus bike…

Has anyone else had similar experiance of a bike slightly maybe too small?

cheers
Jim.

(Mr MC posting)

broadly speaking, lower back pain is usually caused by a bike or stem too long making the rider stretched out, not the bike being too small.
I dont know stiffee sizing but I'm 5 '10 and spent 5yrs riding a 17" Kona coiler, which has been replaced by a 17" Nomad and a 16" 456, both of which have near identical top tube lengths to the Kona which seems to suit me (~22.5"). I use ~80mm stems.

Trying a few stem lengths would be even cheaper than buying a soul, if you can borrow off riding buddies or pick a few up here cheap you can cover quite a size range (probably greater than the difference in TT length between a 17 stiffee and a large Soul, say). Yes it'll effect the handling but its a cheap way to assess what overall "cockpit" length suits you before shelling out on a new frame.

I gave up hardtails for 5yrs due to a bad back, but I knew what my problem was (spinal not muscular) and have successfully gone back to them now my back has recovered. Have you had a medical opinion on your back?

And to answer your original Q I rode a 15" I-drive for a couple of years which I knew was too small, and it never caused me back problems.

Jim, I've had lower back pain all my adult life, in 07 it culminated in a prolapsed disc – I'm ok now! I haven't found any difference from riding my hardtail or fs, but they both fit me fine – long top tubes, and that took a few years to discover. When I do get problems is when I'm pushing a little harder than I have the real fitness to do so. The impacts aren't a noticeable issue for me.

I previously has a couple of frames which were too compact for me, and they did antagonise my knee problems, so fit could play a part.

That's all I can say really, other than the Stiffee does have a reputation for a harsh ride.

Haven't seen you on the trails for a while….

Pete