ebbinflo

Hello, I'm a novice and bought my 1st mountain bike this past Sat. and now I'm questioning whether I got the wrong frame size.. Got a Trek 6500 and I'm about 5' 10" perhaps 5"11 and weigh apx 190-200.. The local bike shop where I went recommended the 21 " frame for me and I trusted their judgement. I did test ride the bike and it felt okay but now after riding it 2 days I'm not sure. After reading the very 1st page of the owners manual it says "For mountain bikes 2 to 3" clearance is recommended from the tube top to the rider" The top of the tube top touches for me slightly when I stand flat footed over the bike. Any thoughts.?

Sasquatchula

there are many threads regarding sizing, a quick search will return a billion of them.But to answer;there is no right answer. Opinion:it's way to big. Period.

As a reference, I'm 5'11, 180 and ride a Specialized 19". Great for novice/intermediate XC, a little big for technical and single track.

FrankJohns

It's too big.

Take it back. If the bike shop disagrees, show them the owner's manual.

ebbinflo

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Thanks for the reply.. I'll take a look.. It's my fault for rushing instead of learning a little about sizes and such. There was no one in the store with 3 employess and I figured someone would say something, right? I figured this must be alright if 3 different people look at the size and one even asked me my height which I said 5' 10" maybe 5"11... I did say "Is this okay, size wise?" They said "Yeah, it fine" Live and learn I guess.. I'll read up on how should a bike properly fit and go from there... Maybe it is alright and this is just a hang-over from such a heafty budget busting purchase. Im confident it will be worth it... Bye..

FrankJohns

A good bike is definitely worth it. But you won't enjoy a bike that doesn't fit as much as one that does.

There are more precise ways to fit a bike, but the 2-3 inches thing is a pretty standard rule of thumb.

seely

I'd return it and find a shop that knows what they are talking about... its understandable to be off a bit on a close call, say putting you on a frame an inch too big/small, but to be off by about 4" is absolutely rediculous. At 6'1" with an inseam of over 34" I'm on a 19" frame. Fit is key, any shop should know that, and if they can't fit you I wouldn't trust them for anythign else either.

Peek the Geek

Please, please say you'll take the bike back. No way should they have sold you that size, in my opinion. Take it back for another size or a refund if they don't have a more adequate size. If possible, bring along a knowledgeable friend who can back you up when you call them on their BS.

Actually, I'd get a refund and go somewhere else if they're that inept, but I don't know what other shop choices you have where you live.

dirtbikedude

As stated, it is to big, especially if you are going to be on the trails. I am 6'2" and ride an 18" frame. You could get away with a 19" frame if you will be doing xc with not to much technical terrain or have the skill to handle the bike well but for learning a smaller frame will give you better control.

ebbinflo

UPDATE: Thanks everyone that replied... The store owner set me up with the correct size (17.5" frame) yesterday and apologized for his employees mistake over the weekend. The owner was real nice and threw in a couple of T-shirts plus a water bottle and kick-stand. So everything worked out and now the bike feels great. I'm glad I found this board and appreciate the input when I had a feeling something wasn't right.. See you out there on the trails!!

LowCel 

Glad to hear everything worked out well for you. Sounds like the shop owner made good on the everything.

Peek the Geek

Awesome. Kudos to the shop owner, and kudos to you for taking the time to figure out what you need and doing something about it.

Now, of course, we just need pics.

einsteinjb

Hmmm, this is really interesting. I'm just a pinch over 5'6" with a 29" inseam (138 pounds soaking wet), and I just put $$ down on an 18" Trek 4500 a few days ago, planning to pick it up this week. After reading a few threads on sizing, I'm wondering if I bought it too big. I went into the shop (BikeLine) not really knowing what size I'd need since this is my first "real" bike (rode a cheap HEAVY 10 speed for years as a kid, long time ago) and I really know nothing about mountain bikes other than what I've read here. I was actually looking for a 4300, but since they had none in stock I tried a Specialized Hardrock and the 4500 and chose the 4500 (little less agile than the Hardrock but faster on pavement, just what I wanted).

Anyway the guy in the shop, he seemed very experienced, took one glance at me and said "18 inch." I said really? You can tell just by looking? And he goes "yep, been doing this a long time, it's no mystery, it goes by height and you want an 18 inch." I stood over the 18" 4500 and it just barely touched my crotch, no breathing room there, and I expressed concern and told him I'd read online that I should have 2-3" standover room. He said that's not how you measure a mountain bike, then he had me sit on the seat while he held the bike up to make sure my leg was almost but not quite fully extended while sitting with my foot on the pedals, and it was. He then sat me on a 16.5" bike and said my knee came up too close to the handlebars when that leg was bent.

So I took the 18" 4500 out for a ride and really liked it, so I bought it. I found it to be very comfortable, had no troubles with the size... But after reading all your posts about height, what do you guys think? Too big? Is the sale guy right, or out of his mind? I liked him, he didn't try to hard-sell me or anything and he spent a lot of time answering my questions, seemed very knowledgeable and I believe he sincerely thought that was the right size for me. Please let me hear what you guys think about this since I'm picking the bike up this week and want to be sure I made the right choice. Thanks!

Peek the Geek

Regarding the top tube making contact with your crotch, please see almost every response above.
I'm 5'8", with a 30" pants inseam (31.5" to pubic bone), and I currently ride a 15" mtb and a 16.5" mtb. I could go with a 17" possibly, but I know an 18" would be too big. You're shorter than me, so chances are the 18" is too big.

Don't get the 18". Again, read all of the responses above.

As for the bars being too close to your knees, that just means you'd need to switch out the stem for something longer. That is, of course, assuming the guy fitting you was doing it right. Sounds to me like he wasn't.

einsteinjb

Thanks! I wouldn't have even hesitated to trust all the advice I've seen here and go with a smaller size, except the sales guy seemed so confident that I needed an 18, and it did feel nice riding it. But a kind person in another threat brought up a GREAT point, asking what if my front wheel got hung up on a rock a few inches higher than the flat ground the rest of the bike is on, what part of my anatomy would make a little too much contact with the bar... I'll get a smaller size!

Peek the Geek

Hey, Einsteinjb. Since things felt right while riding the 18, have the shop set up the smaller bike to have the same reach. In other words, measure the theoretical top tube length plus stem to get your reach measurement. Then, install whatever length stem you would need on the smaller bike to achieve the same reach. (Theoretical top tube length is the measurement of an imaginary line, parallel to the ground, from the center of the headtube to the center of the seatpost.)

Do that and the smaller bike will feel virtually the same as the 18" when you're riding, but it will give you adequate standover for any "unexpected" dismounts.

Iron Chef

An 18 may fit like a glove for if you want just an around town bike. If you are going to do any off road biking you need the nut room.

I ride Trek road bikes put I don't care for their mountain bikes because I like longer top tube length. (Long torso, short legs)

Gorsar

You know, I bought a bike about 2 months ago and had a similar experience to einsteinjb's. My LBS told me that the 21" was the way to go. I'm 6'1 190lbs, 33in inseam. They told me that on the 19.5" my knees came too close to the handlebars and recommended the 21". I felt the same discomfort as my crotch was right up against the bar. I got on the 19.5" at my request and personally in riding them both just felt a little better on the 19.5" so I bought it, and to their total defense they said that it's not TOO small, just that they felt I'd be better on the 21".

The LBS told me that the 3-4" of clearance is the old school means of measurement and was from the days before suspension forks and the newer MTB geomertries. Dunno if it's true, but I'm pretty happy with my LBS.

My only concern is that their recommendation planted a doubt seed in my mind. I worry that in order to feel comfortable that I sit too far back on the seat. To be completely honest, the front of the seat causes a little discomfort for my twins down low if I don't adjust my seated position JUST right. Is this as I fear a top tube length too short, would another seat fix the problem, or do I just need to learn to STFU and deal with it? I've only got about 200mi on the bike so far so I'm definitely interested in your input. THANKS!

Peek the Geek

How far back are the saddle rails in the seatpost clamp? Is the nose of the saddle tilted up? Does your seatpost have any setback? How steep is your seat tube angle? What length stem are you using? There are a number of variables, so your best bet is to have your position checked out by a bike shop that has fitting experience. They should be able to set you up right.

The good news is, mountain bikes offer a fair amount of leeway, so you're not screwed if you didn't buy the EXACT right size.

Trasselkalle

And this is exactly why it sucked to live in Sweden. If a shop (any kind) did anything wrong but you already payed for it, you were lucky to even after extensive discussions get a replacement. A smile and an appology from them is totally unheard of. Fortunately, there were some other good things about Sweden, but that's for another forum and thread.

einsteinjb

Thanks again everyone, especially Peek! Very interesting. I'm going to the shop later today and I'm going to print that out and take it with me (I'll never remember all that, hehe). I'm really hoping to come home with a (properly fit) bike today!! Wooohoooo! hehe. BTW we're low on quality LBSs around here and BikeLine seems to be about the only serious one, though in Mountain Bikes they only carry Trek and Specialized, so not much selection. I'm really hoping they have a Rockhopper in stock in the smaller size so I can try it. Seems to be very popular on here and sounds to be a bit closer to the XC/road style of the 4500 than the HardRock (I loved the HardRock's agility but found it to be a bit too slow on pavement compared to the 4500).

troie

Why? So you can beat the head of the employee that sold you the wrong sized bike?

dafunk007

man im 6'2 and i ride 17inch frame, i ride dual on it, northshore,drops, xc. The frame they sold ya is way to big. Dont you find bike shops dont care about the bikers?

ridehard

I am 5'7 (almost 5'8 actually) and ride a 15.5 (medium kona hardtail) and it fits me nicely. My next bike (next year), a stinky will be a 17 inch frame, but any bigger than that is too big. I like the bike to be somewhat small so I can whip it around better, and with the seat down far I feel better with the bike "slanted" back a bit. But for strictly cross country I could probably be on a 19 inch no problem (friend has one) but for techinical lader bridges, drops, and jumps, I prefer something smaller.

einsteinjb

Well, I spent about an hour at the LBS today. The owner who I've been dealing with wasn't there so I talked to his wife and a young guy that works there. They had no 4500s in 16" so I took a 17" Specialized Rockhopper Comp (non-disc) out, and that is a SWEET ride, felt really tight, but it still didn't feel fast on the road and the price, $700, was more than I wanted to spend. I really didn't want to spend as much as $500 considering how little I plan to ride and the fact that I won't be doing any really rough riding, but I have a serious aversion to cheap crap so I'm compromising, hehe.

Now the 17" Rockhopper felt great size-wise, very comfy to ride and gave me a couple inches standover unlike the 18" 4500 which gives me almost none. Having said all that, I took the 18" 4500 out again and couldn't imagine riding a smaller bike, since the reach was great and it really seemed to fit me. The only nagging doubt was the lack of standover clearance. I know, I could put a longer stem on it to get about the same reach, but that involves more money and more waiting, and I'm VERY impatient, hehe. I wanted a bike today, so I ended up going home with the 4500 18" and a solemn oath to myself to ride carefully. Really, I'm never going to be a serious mountain biker and will use this mainly on roads and easy trails, and it's fine for that. If I ever get the itch to try some rough stuff, I'll wait til I get the money for a smaller, tougher bike like the HardRock or Rockhopper. For now, this is more bike than I ever had before and it's sweet.

Only thing buggin me now is I have to take it back to the shop tomorrow and whine to the owner that his young kid adjusted the front derailleur wrong, and I can't shift out of middle gear. I was able to get it into the low gear if I worked at it until I tried following the owner's manual instructions to adjust it myself, now it's pretty much stuck in middle gear (though the rear Deore is working fine). Grr. So tomorrow I'll either leave the shop SURE that it's adjusted right, or I'll complain til they swap it out for a better derailleur.

Thanks guys for all your advice! Even though I ended up with the 18" anyway, at least I know what I shouldn't do on this bike because of the size.

nirvanaschains

If your just riding around town, the big frame will be fine. It lets you 'stretch out' and be comfy. I used to ride my brothers bikes (who are all taller than me) and i loved them around town, but couldn't imagine taking them on trails.
Imagine your on a trail, you are on a tricky section and you need to dab your feet or you slip off the pedal....on that big frame you will be crying holding you jewels. On the smaller frame you'll dab and be on your way!