Originally Posted by
tekhna
Thanks, makes sense. I'm primarily a roadie so an effective top tube that long just sounds enormous. I have a long torso and relatively shorter legs so I ride a frame with a long top tube on the road but it's still only 605. But different fits, different bikes.
Yes. The biggest difference is stem length and bar reach. A 58-61cm road bike will have a 100-130mm stem plus when you're in the drops or hoods you're well out in front of that. A new MTB today will have 50-80mm and while bars keep getting wider, they're also swept back so your hands are nowhere near the position of a road bike.