Is this 29er (Voodoo Bizango) too big for me?

Hello all, after some advice please.

I am a newbie and bought a 18inch Voodoo Bizango as it had great reviews. For various reasons I couldn’t try it for size, but the size guides all suggested it would be fine. I am ..5 foot 8.5 and have a 30 inch inside leg.

The problem I have is, the standover height. My undercarriage is resting on the top bar. So I don’t really have clearance.

Here’s a couple of pics. Not ideal because I am wearing baggy joggers as I am recovering from an operation.

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This one, is as the above but I also moved the saddle up about an inch…..
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This one shows the max that I can lift the front of the bike with me stood over it touching my crotch bone (wheel was about 2 inches above ground)…
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On all pics the suspension fork is locked. I am also holding the wall with my left hand which skews things a little.

When I am on the bike it feels good. What do you think? I have asked on other forums and I am getting various opinions, so thought I would open it out.

If you feel the bike isn’t suitable can you suggest any alternatives I could try from halfords. Unfortunately it has to be halfords. I also would need it to be the same price or cheaper.

Cheers

Looks okay to me.

I’d say you should have gone for the smaller size, sadly. I’m 5’9″ with a 32″ inseam and although I can fit on and ride an 18″ on-one scandal, I prefer the 16″ frame. If you have the option to change you may find it worth doing so. Having said that, it doesn;t look *massively* too big so staying with it could be an option

Id say that was fine

its more important that the reach – from saddle to handle bars is right and your looks fine

Cheers. They don’t do a smaller size in the Bizango, 18 inch is the smallest.

It’s mainly the standover clearance, or very much lack of, that I am worried about.

I wouldn’t worry too much about standover.

Most of the time when you fall off it’ll be to one side or another, ending up straddling the top tube is unusual and you’d have bent legs then anyway so nadger damage is almost inevitable…

It’s an XC bike, the last thing you want to be is cramped. If it feels good and comfortable then it’s fine.

Standover is a bit of a myth, if, or should I say when you crash, you harldy ever crash and hit the top tube anyway.

If the bug bites, you’ll use it for a year and then want to upgrade anyway…it’s inevitable.

Edit: kinda beaten to it by wwaswas

Wouldn’t worry about standover height unless when your feet are flat your baws are getting crushed. Reach far more important.

As above if you fall off that way you’ll be hurting your knackers regardless.

Also, I have similar stumpy legs and am also 5.8 and a half and ride a medium (18 inches) on all my mtbs.

PS House could do with a lick of paint. 😉

I wouldn’t say my balls are getting crushed when standing over, but I can feel it.

Ah yes, house needs painting, had a new window in and rendering patched up. I just need some more decent weather to paint it!

Tp biker – Does your 18 inch collection include any 29ers?

Does it feel ok when you are riding/sitting on it? If so then its the right size. If not then you might consider a smaller one.

Or maybe you just have a large undercarriage? 🙂

Looks pretty short reach wise anyway, any smaller would be too small, plus the standover wouldn’t be much less on a smaller frame, it’s being driven by the size of the front wheel and forks which won’t change on a smaller one.

Looks fine to me.

I am 5’7″ and I used to always buy SMALL frames. About 2 years ago I bought a MEDIUM and it has been the best fitting bike I have ever bought! Now, I feel as though I am sitting “in” the bike rather than perched on top with the seatpost extended to the max 🙂

I have roughly the same clearance as you and it has never been a problem.

Looks perfect to me.

The big question is…. what are you doing with those spare paving slabs?

I am five foot six with a 29″ inside leg.

Most bikes give me little or no clearance when stood over the top tube. On my last bike (Cube LTD 26″) l went for the 16″ frame due to no clearance on the 18″, but the bike proved to be too small for me generally.

My current bike is Kona FS (chosen in part because of the more angled top tube) and l went for the 17″ as it felt “right”. Although l am almost touching the top tube when l stand over the bike, if l lift the bike with the bars there is about 3″ before it actually won’t lift up any further, as it were.

I have had the bike since August 2013 and ridden it 3-4 times a week, and have never had an issue with this, or any crushed “parts” when falling off or ending up stood over the bike.

Geo is here:

Looks fine to me.

The Bizango is a superb bike for the money. One magazine voted it their bike of the year.

I looked at one in Halfords the other day and was amazed to see it had an XT front chainset. How they manage that on a £599 bike l do not know.

I managed to get mine frame only. Currently running ss with 120mm Revs. If I could get another frame only I would like a shot. Great geo and fab price!

Ok so had a little ride today. It feels nice, but it am still probably unduly concerned about the standover. It does feel slightly uncomfortable. The height also makes mounting and dismounting slightly difficult, but that’s probably a combo of not having rode bikes for years and recovering from abdominal surgery!

My wife’s a physio and looked at my leg extension whilst riding and she said it was fine, with the knee bent about 10 degree at full extension. That was with the saddle at pretty much lowest point though.

I also popped back to halfords and tried a Boardman Comp with 26 wheels (old model) and a Boardman comp 650b. Both gave slightly better standover, but certainly not more than a few mm. Those were 18 inch frames. The 16 frames felt too small.

I know people are saying stand overs not a concern, I just don’t want to regret it down the line. I just wonder if I should just swap it for a 18 inch Bantu, which has the lower spec but would save me £100 or more which I could use for upgrades down the line.

If you hadn’t guessed, I am crap at making decisions and like to make sure I get something that’s right with most bang for bucks!

the bikes’s fine, just ride it 🙂 Anything you spend now will deliver better value than trying to upgrade later so unless you plan on spending a lot of money on it (which I wouldn’t) then buy the best kit you can afford now.

You’ll be banging your knees on the bars with a smaller frame and won’t gain much in standover.

Saddle height – rule of thumb is put your heel on the pedal with your leg strait and pelvis ‘flat’ and it’ll be fine with your foot in a normal pedaling position as your knee will be slightly bent.

You’d probably find most 16″ frames too short unless you were looking at something like a C456 which have long top tubes for the size.

My wife’s a physio and looked at my leg extension whilst riding and she said it was fine, with the knee bent about 10 degree at full extension.

Your wife needs to read up some more on efficient and healthy leg extension and pelvis rocking on a bike…. 😉

And learn to get on an off from the side – like falling, and then pop a leg out to one side. And reverse with leg out and ‘pop’ the bike up with your toe push to get started.

Ok, how much bend should there be at the knee?

I’ve just got a Bizango but being 6’1″ I went for the 20″ frame and whine I stand over it it’s exactly the same as you are there.

Cat looks unimpressed on first photo

I have bikes with 18″ & 19″ frames (one of which is a 29er) and, despite being strangely proportioned at 6′ 0″ with a 29″ inside leg, have never felt a problem with bike size or standover height. The few times that I’ve ridden a smaller frame, it just felt too cramped and “over the bars”.

If you think about how much time you spend on the saddle vs straddling the bike, concentrate on how comfortable it is to ride and just dismount in a way that protects your dangly bits.
In a crash situation, you usually go over the bars or out of the side, so top tube collisions are a fairly minor likelihood to be honest.

Your pictures look fine – just go and ride it. (and have fun)

Leg should be at full extension really. Sit on saddle and put your heel on pedal, as a rough guide.

Well all seems positive towards keeping it.

I thought legs should be slightly bent at full extension, which fitted in with the wife’s comment, but hey ho. I could raise the saddle a little to straighten them out.

Lots of comments about the background of my pics 🙂 yep the house needs painting….the slabs are waiting to go to the tip, unless anyone wants them?…..and yes, that cat is ALWAYS in the background of photos…. 🙂

I thought legs should be slightly bent at full extension,

They should – matt is saying at full extension when your heel is on the pedal – this will result in a slight bend in the knee when your foot is in the pedaling position. like all bike fitting tips it’s simply a good place to start not an absolute.

Ah I see. Thanks.

The other suggestion I have for you is to tilt your brakes down more. You want your arms-wrist-fingers almost in a straight line when you are sat down. Easier to reach them, less tiring.

Id say too big.

Problem solved! 🙂

Looks small to me but maybe not too small.

Also, you have my Vans. Shoe brothers!

Loving them boots!

Northwind – shoe brothers 🙂 not many have said it’s too small. I couldn’t get the 20 inch…no way

Matt – thanks for that tip on the brakes. Once I have decided 100% it’s a keeper (almost there) I’ll no doubt be back asking loads of other questions about tweaking things.

Overall,opinion seems that it looks ok and the standover is a non issue. I still have my reservations but I think I will give it a shot.

Hah, no, I got that the wrong way round because I’m an idiot 😳

I did actually get a couple of comments on another forum that they thought the bike was to small..