xfimpg

Hi
Would anyone know of any mountain bike company who is known for building bikes with longer head tube lengths?
I have longer legs than torso length.
I essentially need a head tube length that is 2" higher than the typical 4-5" lengths on the market today.

Thanks in advance

HillRider

An up-angled stem may meet your requirements. They are available as high as 45° which will raise the bars significantly and also shorten the reach. You could also see if you can get the bike with the steerer tube uncut to leave room for extra spacers under the stem.

xfimpg

Hi
Yes we tried that and managed to reduce the additional length by 1.8 cm... but I'm still short (no pun intended) by 3.2 cm.

Edit: corrected 2.8 to 1.8 cm.

digger531

should be able to pick that up with riser bars

xfimpg

Already have riser bars...

BCRider

Perhaps select a frame intended for use with longer travel forks. Such frames position the head tube up higher to leave room for the longer forks. They also tend to have shorter virtual top tube lengths since they are set up for jumping and descents so they need to be shorter top tube spacings to let the rider get back behind the saddle easier. The only downside is that such frames are often quite heavy to be durable enough for the sort of use and punishment they typically receive. If you're after a light trail bike it won't be what you want. If that's the case then your last resort is to get as long a fork style frame as you can happily live with and buy such a fork with an uncut steerer and make up the difference with the combination of riser bars, strongly angled stem and more than the normal amount of spacers.

xfimpg

Thank you, that's a great idea!

fietsbob

https://zinncycles.com/Zinn/index.php/archives/1465

Rather than a guess.. this is a do it right , approach..

phoebeisis

Women generally have longer legs shorter torsos so maybe look for woman specific bike

LesterOfPuppets

I have long legs and short torso (32.5" cycling inseam / 5'6" tall), but I have pretty long arms too, which mitigates the reach problem. I like older MTBs, so for instance on a 1991 bike with a stock 13cm stem, I just run a 11 cm stem on it. If you want higher bars there are 45 * stems out there and some riser bars are higher than others.

What's you're current bike? Can you post a pic? What kind of MTB riding do you do? What kind of frame are you looking for? Hardtail or full suspension?

If you don't want to try to fix the fit of your current bike an just want to buy new, I'd follow phoebeisis' suggestion, maybe check out some of Trek's WSD womens bikes. I'm not sure what all's different about 'em, they definitely put stubby stems on 'em, but I'd imagine there is some reading you can do about them on Trek's site.

https://www.trekbikes.com/women/wsd_products/#mountain

xfimpg

Agreed, i will definitely check that out.
The more reasonable cost suggestion was to replace the 100mm fork by a 140mm fork to increase height.

LesterOfPuppets

I possibly kinda like that idea also but had no idea you had a fork with 100mm travel. I say possibly kinda like that idea because it may cause undesirable handling depending on the type of riding you do. It will give you more travel up front if that's something you're interested in but might make the front end a little less agile and possibly a little floppy.

The most economical change would likely be a stem and/or handlebar replacement.

If you have lo-rise bars with say 20mm rise you could get some bars with 50mm rise and the height change would be nearly the same as a fork swap without changing steering geometry.

AND/OR

If for instance you currently have a 90mm, 5° stem and swap it out for a Ritchey Pro 90mm, 30° stem you'll gain about 30mm in bar height and also bring the bars about 1.25cm closer to you. There are a couple of other 30° rise stems available in 31.8mm clamp diameter, IRD makes one for $36USD compared to the Ritchey at $60. I've seen up to 45° rise in 25.4mm clamp diameter. Here's a chart you can use to calculate change in bar position:

xfimpg

The fitter did install a 25 degree stem and i'm still 3 cms short in height. (Any higher and i think i would need to install a picnick basket in the front)

I agree, the handling might not be as great. I do mostly singletrack up and down the mountain type of riding. I was thinking of stiffening up the front suspension to adjust for the longer travel and therefore it might resemble my current 100mm fork setup.

zzyzx_xyzzy

Trek's women specific designs don't look like they differ from men's geometry at all; they just offer one smaller size. This is actually typical of most manufacturers (the myth that women have longer legs or shorter torso than men of the same stature has no basis in actual data; go look at ANSUR if you're curious on this point) Sometimes manufacturers build their women's specific frames with "shorter top tubes" by virtue of steepening the seat angle, which leaves reach unchanged, and is stupid.

anyhow, how's this for a stem?
https://bike.com/nakisi-dirt-drop-ste...odoo-bike-stem

LesterOfPuppets

What's the rise on your bars then? If it's 20-25mm a 50mm rise bar could work.

These guys make 50mm risers in 31.8 clamp diameter. What clamp diameter stem do you have?

FUNN, Pro Athertons, SunLine, Answer, Easton...

If you're not too proud to run Pyramid bars and really want some height, they have 75mm and 88mm (3 and 3.5") riser bars.

I swear I've seen 3" riser bars by a more "cool" manufacturer too, can't think of 'em though.

LesterOfPuppets

Hmmm, there was a fitter involved? Odd. Seems like if said fitter went by inseam or standover they would put a long-legged person on a bike that possibly had too long a top tube but not necessarily too low of a head tube. And in such a situation all you'd need to do is swap in a stubby stem. Maybe this was a fitter you saw after purchase of the bike?

Hey, thinking of headtubes got me to thinking you could always get a different 100mm travel fork with an uncut steerer and run more spacers.

So what's the story anyways, did you purchase this bike new from a shop? Offa craigslist? BikesDirect? What's going on?

xfimpg

I currently have a Giant Connect , low rise 31.8mm handlebar. Sorry i dont know if i'm being specific enough. This is my ride: https://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-CA/...x4/5417/39302/

xfimpg

Hey Lester
I purchased the bike last year at a local LBS. They did a basic fit but i needed to visit a pro fitter to address my leg length discrepancy (.6 inches) and thats where it was revealed that i was too hunched over on the bike. My back looked like a turtle's shell as opposed to a generally straight line.

Would the longer steerer tube bring me too far from the headset? From the measurements i would need to increase length by 5 cms.

xfimpg

Definitely would need to put a picnic basket on that one!

xfimpg

Correction: I double-checked and I have a 25mm riser bar. Looks like a 40 or 50mm would close the gap. Great idea, thanks!

xfimpg

Thanks for sharing your experiences, that really clarifies things here.
I've spoken to my LBS and they have my current bike geometry and my measurements and are going to try to find me a match, possibly in a 29er.
If they don't find one, then i'll look at the custom fit route.
Adding a higher angled stem and/or riser bar greater than what I already have just doesnt make me comfortable, and neither does changing the fork from 100mm to 140mm.

Many, many thanks again folks for all your inputs, it has greatly helped!
I'll let you know how it works out!