Mountain Biking - Mountain vs Road fit

I am thinking about buying one of the new Fisher 29ers and was wondering if any of the really tall guys have had luck with them. I know the Genesis geometry is supposed to be long (25.5 ETT). I am 6'5 but mostly torso (34 inseam). I have a custom road bike that is a 61 with a 65 TT. Due to a more upright riding position, I was hoping I would not have to go the custom route but I have read where some suggest a mtn. bike with the same TT as their roadie? Any thoughts on mtn bike fit as the better bike shops near me are not Gary Fisher dealers.

for mountain bikes you want around 3 or 4 inches of clearence between the bike and your pelvis bone. the frame size will not help in the upright riding, you need a different stem and all over frame desighn. talk to someone at your lbs about your problem and have them reccommend and then you can test some bikes.

Don't think you can really compare road sizing to mtn.bike sizing. And, depending on what type of mtn.biking you are doing (XC, downhill, etc.) depends on the type of bike and what you'd want in the way of fit. Might try wrenchscience.com for a general overview, but that probably wouldn't work for GF Genesis geometry. The best (and only way in my book) to tell if a bike is going to fit, is to ride it. Different brands of bikes in the "same size" may feel totally different to you.

Don't think you can really compare road sizing to mtn.bike sizing. And, depending on what type of mtn.biking you are doing (XC, downhill, etc.) depends on the type of bike and what you'd want in the way of fit. Might try wrenchscience.com for a general overview, but that probably wouldn't work for GF Genesis geometry. The best (and only way in my book) to tell if a bike is going to fit, is to ride it. Different brands of bikes in the "same size" may feel totally different to you.

Thanks, and I could not agree more. The problem being that every GF dealer I have spoken to says they do not stock the XL Paragon, but will of course order one with down payment.

Would there be any Giant (no pun intended) dealers in your area? On a hunch, I went to the Giant website just to check out the geometry on their bikes (knowing they carry XL size bikes). I found that the Giant Iguana (decent mtn.bike to start out on) in a large(21"), has a 24.1" (61.2) top tube, and a 32.8" standover height. It isn't a 29'er, but with your inseam, that may not be necessary. Might be at least worth testing one, if available, just to see how it feels. Then you'd know for sure if you're going to need that extra top tube length in a mtn.bike.

Would there be any Giant (no pun intended) dealers in your area? On a hunch, I went to the Giant website just to check out the geometry on their bikes (knowing they carry XL size bikes). I found that the Giant Iguana (decent mtn.bike to start out on) in a large(21"), has a 24.1" (61.2) top tube, and a 32.8" standover height. It isn't a 29'er, but with your inseam, that may not be necessary. Might be at least worth testing one, if available, just to see how it feels. Then you'd know for sure if you're going to need that extra top tube length in a mtn.bike.

Thank you. I will check that out!