Krispy

I've had my 2001 Specialized Stumpjumper FSR XC Pro for about 2 years now and have always thought that the frame may have been the wrong size for me. (I took the salesman's word for it before I started doing any research on my own.) The problem is that I have had to invert my stem so that it has a negative rise in order to get the handle bars below the saddle height. Even after doing this the lowest I can get the bars below the saddle is just about a half of an inch. Because it's a full suspension bike the stand over hight has not been an issue.

All of my friends who have the same bike have over 2 inches of drop even though they have stems with 10 degree positive rise to them. I suspect that my frame is too big although my friends think that the frame is too small. I would think that on a smaller frame with the saddle adjusted at the proper height that the saddle would be higher than the effective top tube height when compared to a larger frame. Am I thinking correctly here?

I'm thinking about buying another frame and building up a second mountain bike. I'm probably going to go with a Ti hard tail frame that I will be ordering online so I want to make sure I do it right this time. On a handfull of websites that sell frames their recommendation is that you need about 4 inches of clearance between your crotch and the top tube. However, all the local shops are telling me 2 inches. Which is the better rule of thumb?

Thanks,

Rich Clark

How's the reach?

What really determines if the frame is too big is whether your saddle is unusually far forward, and/or you've installed an unusually short stem, or both, because the bars were too far away. If the saddle is more-or-less centered, and at the correct height, and the reach to the bars is comfortable, the frame is not too big.

Standover is mostly about how you ride. Roadies don't really need much at all. Downhillers need a lot. How often do you think you might suddenly find yourself straddling the top tube with your feet on the ground and your knees bent?

If your legs are relatively short and your torso and/or arms relatively long, it becomes a geometry question: who makes frames that have relatively longer effective top tube lengths for a given seatpost size?

Why do you want more drop to the bars?

RichC

MichaelW

How tall are you and what size crank are you riding? If you crank is too long, that screws up the whole riding position for smaller riders
Check out the fitting guide by Peter White Cycles.

Krispy

The reach and saddle positions are correct according to 2 different fit kits at two different LBS (done after the Stumpjumper was bought when I bought another bike). The reason I need the bars lower than the saddle is so that I can keep the front wheel down on steep climbs as well as cornering in fast single track. When I had the bars in the regular position they were way above my saddle and the bike climbed and handled like crap.

Today while on my lunch break I went back to the dealer I bought the bike from so I could investigate whether a smaller frame would make the difference. They just happened to have the same bike in a smaller size but just newer. The top tube length was almost the same (within the recommended length according to fit kit) and the reach would be correct with only a slightly longer stem (still within the fit kit recommendations). When I adjusted the saddle height to my measurements the handle bar was a good inch below the saddle even though they were riser bars and even though there were about 3 cm of spacers under the stem which had about a 10 degree rise to it! When I road the bike it felt pretty good to me. When I described my situation to the salesman he agreed that my existing frame was too big.

I've owned the bike for 2 years now so I don't know if I should even make an issue of with the bike shop. I realize I should have done my homework first before buying the bike. Of course at the time I thought I could trust the salesman but I guess I was wrong. Lesson learned.

Now I'm debating on whether to buy a different frame or sell mine and buy a whole new bike. What is a good way to determine a fair selling price on a used bike?

Krispy

I'm 5'8".

My inseam is 83cm

I'm riding a 175 crank.