Greetings!

I’m in the process of buying my first hard-tail mountain bike.

I’m a Canadian living in Taiwan (where almost all bikes are born).

There is a good selection of mountain bikes here but I’m having a terrible time figuring out what frame size would be appropriate for me.

I am 170 cm tall.
My inseam is: 76-77 cm

Where I live in Taiwan, there are very few trails so I won’t be using my bike for super technical mountain biking.

I will mostly use if for road riding in the mountains, the odd trail / rough road / gravel road and especially, for touring this summer on paved fairly mountainous roads.

I plan to go to the Japanese island of Hokkaido and ride around it for a few weeks this summer with some mates. I’ll be using front and back racks and panniers.

According to some frame-fitting-formulas I’ve found on the net and people I’ve talked to, I should be riding a 16 inch frame.

However, I’m wondering if I shouldn’t get something a bit bigger so it will be more comfortable riding on the open road.

I have heard horror stories of people who took their cramped mountain bike, that was great on the trail, touring and were very uncomfortable.

I’m looking at some GIANT 17inch frames / some FUJI 17inch frames and some MERIDA 16 or 18 inch frames (MERIDA doesn’t have a 17 inch).

Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Have you actually tried riding the bikes to find what is comfortable for you? That will tell you a lot more than any of us here can.

So far, I've ridden the 16 inch MERIDA and the 18 inch MERIDA bikes.

I can say that the 16 inch seemed cramped, it was almost as if my hands wanted to grip the handle-bars a little 'beyond' where they were.

The 18 inch MERIDA seemed 'roomy'.

The sales-staff said that I would be possible to shorten the stem-extension on the 18 inch so that the handle-bars were a little bit closer in. This would -so they say-shorten the bike a bit.

Is there some 'sticky' post somewhere that describes (in detail) how to fit the bike and what to look for?

I've read a heap of advice elsewhere on the net and even watched some youtube videos but they all assume that people want a mountain-bike for hitting the trails and rock-gardens.

I'm still wondering if a little more length also means the top-tube is longer and therefor more roomy.

Cheers

Fitting is best done in the stores by the staff. You will get better advice there than here.

That being said make sure the bikes you are looking at can support panniers. Most mountain bikes do not have eyelets and will not easily support off-the-shelf racks.

Sorry folks,

I do get what you are trying to say, but you've got to understand that while Taiwan may be something of the 'mother ship' for bikes.......... we simply don't have the same ultra qualified staff that you would undoubtedly encounter at shops in Canada and the US.

Most sort of shrug and smile when asked about frame fit.

Thanks anyways

In that case you can try one of the online fit calculators.

Many have used the Wrench Science one found in the list of links below.
https://www.cyclemetrics.com/Pages/Fi..._fit_links.htm

Ok, I ride a Novara Bonanza Mtb as my main ride for Everything...The best "Roadie" fit is all in the Top Tube. in other words make sure that you have a good feel to the cockpit... the correct reach,stem length,handlebar width. you might play with a coupla different head stems to find out what length/angle works fer you.and if you ride a 18 inch in the dirt mabey you should look at one size bigger (19/19.5 in as an example) for a good commuter/Touring fit....you need a bit more room to maneuver in the dirt as opposed to the road.

This is an old Bridgestone XO-1 Rigid Mtb set up for touring....Long top tube/long chainstays,Nitto Dirtdrop Handlebars/Slack Geometry (makes for long distance comfort) and I would use barend shifters instead of these downtube shifters,otherwise this is a grate example of a fantastic touring rig!!.As a piece of advice look for an Older Mtb and change a few things (like losing the shock forks) and this is what I would ride long distance...

Downtube shifter bosses? Caliper brakes? No offense but I think you may have linked to the wrong image. That's definitely no mountain bike, modified or otherwise.


OP: I think most true touring bikes are well suited to the type of riding you described. Very few will not be able to handle the very light off roading you describe, and they are actually purpose-built for carrying loads.

Some are more suited for off-road than others. The Surly Long haul Trucker has clearance for quite large tires if you feel the need:


No idea how much you want to spend, but the complete can be had for under 1000 dollars or you could build from the frame up.