…pit.

I’m a big guy – 6′ 6″ and Im stuck with the eternal struggle of trying to find a dh bike that’s big enough. I’m on a large morewood Maluku at the minute and reach is pretty good but could do with a bit more space. Already running a layback post but…

1. Should I be running a high front end – 38mm riser bars for example and should I roll them so the back sweep goes up?

2. Should I be running 2.7 tyres to try and keep as much rubber on the ground as possible

Any advice gratefully received

135mm stem.

You are not going to want to hear it, but buy a bigger frame.

Think we need some pics of what you have at the moment.

Steve Peat isn’t short and doesn’t ride a ridiculously big bike.

Trust me, if I could buy a bigger frame I would… They just don’t make em very big. Xl v10 is a few mm more reach, but not much, not £2k more. Will post some pics later

Whatever Gee is riding?

Gee isn’t that tall, he’s shorter than me and I’m 6’2″.

Met Gee a while back and I was taller than him and I’m 6.2. Anyway… Obviously pretty much the only thing you can do is buy a long saddle with long rails, put it right back and get as long a stem as you can deal with before the handling feels odd.

1. Should I be running a high front end – 38mm riser bars for example and should I roll them so the back sweep goes up?

38mm rise bars seems sensible, but rotate them for wrist comfort.

Erm… DH bike – layback post? Why are you sitting down? Dh bikes often feel short and cramped if you are sat down, means that the seat is out of the way when you are stood up riding it. Though as you are tall this may not be a problem for you.

If you are feeling cramped when stood up then you need to increase the length from bb to bars. So your options are longer stem (normal range of 45-55mm, 60mm if you really have to), or a frame with a longer effective top tube.

Buy an XL free ride frame and run offset bushings and a works headset.

You could pic something up second hand for a decent price.

I have a spare 150mm stem lying around.

http://gallery.mtbr.com/data/mtbr/500/04-06_VPFree_Geo.jpg

Santa cruz VP free XL has a 24.9 inch top tube.

Trek do an xl session and turner do an xl DHR.Orange made a few big 324’s for Ben Cathro who is 6’7″.

Thanks guys. I have one of the Xl 224s but unfortunately I cracked it and there are no more. I’ve done a full analysis of all the large / Xl dh bikes out there and there isn’t much in it although the vp free may be larger. Layback? Well I find I use the saddle to grip with my legs sometimes and I’d rather have my weight as far back as possible. One of the things about riding a smaller bike is that you’re on it rather than in it and I used to find myself going over the bars quite a lot. Not too bad nowadays (touch wood).

Orange ‘3’22

Steve Peat isn’t short and doesn’t ride a ridiculously big bike.

An XL V10, and before it was in production he had custom ones with 1.5″ headtubes on a normal XL frame to give it another few mm.

You could try a 165mm crank on your front foot George, that will effectively move your COG 10mm further back. Two offset headset cups will move your forks 4-5mm forward too if you speak to the right people. SPDs and put the cleats right at the front of the shoes could help too.

You now it’s not the bike that’s causing you to go over the are though right? How is FW looking?

Trust me, if I could buy a bigger frame I would…

Custom? You could try Frank The Welder. Builds custom downhill bikes, not that daft a money IIRC.

Chop your feet off a couple of inches above your ankles, should fit fine then, although you may of course need spd stumps.

I’m 6’1″ and you could sell me the large Makulu.