29"er Bike Sizing Issues
 

I've been riding fixed gear for a while now and I'm new to 29ers. I've got my eyes set on the SE 29" Stout and I'm confused on what size I should get, I'm 5'8" almost 5'9" and I still have alot to grow since I'm only 13 and I wan't my bike to last. I ride a 54cm fixed gear but with the seat post raised up quite a little bit and I also feel comfortable on a 55cm or 56cm frame as well so I was thinking about a 17" or 19' 29er thinking about the fact that I still have alot to grow, and I'm planning on getting a 90mm stem too. Please help me out.



-Eddie

I ordered a Moto 29er from bd and was not sure of the size. I am a bit older then 13 (54) and probably not going to grow much more. I am 5'10" with an inseam of about 30.5. I was debating getting a 19" but the bike I wanted was sold out in that size so I settled for a 17". As it turns out it is a perfect fit. Hope that helps.

Thanks a bunch, but is the 19" significantly bigger than the 17"? Because Im used to riding bikes that feel a little big and plus im going to be running a 90mm stem and i can probably just start with the seatpost at a small height and then just work my way up to a normal one as i get taller maybe. And sweet signature good luck with your goal.

A 17 should be a lot better fit for you and still give you a lot of growing room. You also may decide in the future you want a new bike as well.

Oh yeah, what's the facination with a 90mm stem?

I'll throw out my own sizing experience. I'm 5' 9", and I'm finding that many 17" bikes feel a tad too small for me. In Specialized's Rockhopper line, for example, 17" feels clearly too small for me in both 26er and 29er frames. A 19" Rockopper 26er feels great. A 19" Rockhopper 29er seems a little high in the handlebar.

I realize the OP is talking about a Stout, not a Specialized. All I can do is relate my experience, which I've done.

I've goofed around on a couple Stouts, just in a parking lot but never really riding it on a trail. But just from that I felt much much more comfortable on the 19" frames. I'm 5'10.5", 30" inseam and relatively normal proportions. If you can ride them, I know how difficult that can be if you're not near a Performance or SE dealer, there just aren't enough of either around. But try to get on them if you can. If you're 5'9" at 13 years old I have a feeling you're going to outgrow a 17" pretty quick.

FWIW, I have an '09 Jamis Durango 29. It is an 18" frame. I'm about 5'9" 1/2 with an inseam of just under 30". I've had it since April and so far so good. The top tube is angled such that it dips down a bit, thereby providing a bit more standover height. Speaking of standover, it's not as much as I would like, but I sat on the 16" model and the fit seemed too compact for me.

Good luck with your decision...

Make sure you go with something with a sloped top tube. Swinging your leg over it may be hard in your skinny jeans, otherwise.

Rude. And not very funny.

I'm 5' 11" and ride the 17" Stout. Perfect Fit. I have long legs too. The top tube on the SE Stout is as long as most bikes in the 18" to 19" size. Good luck! Great Bike!

I chuckled a little. 13 is a little young to be razzing, though. Maybe save that for the 17-college age skinny jean fixie kids.

I'm 5'7" and I ride a small Sir 9 Niner Bike. The founder of Niner Bikes is 5'6".

Perhaps



Debatable

False!!!!! Junkyard was just trying to save the tyke the embarasment of splitting his pants in front of all the young hotties while mounting his cool new ride. He would need to sell his bike to afford therapy if that happened and then he would have no bike. You need to start looking at the big picture.....plus it's never to early to start them out right.

Eddie, you still haven't filled me in on the 90mm stem.

Wow, Im surprised by some of the folks saying the 17 is perfect that are 5'10 especially retnav94. Cause i tried out a 17 and 19" hardrock at my shop. I know different manufacturers can be different in sizes. The 19 hardrock went right up to my balls in boots. The 17 " was ok if i raised the seat almost all the way up. that told me the 17 was too small. i am the same size and inseam as retnav. The standover height on the 19" hardrock is 32.44" and the motobecane 19" is 31.77" . i am thinking of ordering a 19" motobecane fantom 29er. the hardrock 19" felt very comfy, but I can get a lot more for a lot less with the motobecane being my first mtn. bike. I am a roadie by the way and have a trek madone 5.9 dura ace setup and a felt 55 for a spare bike. I think I can adapt to any position since I am so used to being in an aggressive position on my madone. the hardrock felt like a lazy boy!Also, i dont want to pay state tax here in ny. sick of it! Sorry to butt in on the post, just looking for opinions/ comments . i figured it would be ok to post here because of the topic. thanks

cchistanis, My logic is based on not wanting the bar and my balls becoming one. If I am reading your post correctly you feel 5/8 of an inch clearance from balls to bar is adequate. I am not comfortable with that so the 17 gives a bit more clearance and some would say better control. Either way it is personal choice, to each his own. I was simply relaying what I had done to give the youngster more options.

I'm 5'10" and I ride a 15 inch Hardrock.....I guess that really too small.

Sounds like it.... I ride 2 MTB's of that size and I'm 5'3".

mtnbiker66 youre probably going to injure your knees. they should be almost straight without being locked. See a dealer. Im assuming your knees are bent a lot and you are crouched up like a big teen that rides the neighborhood on a bmx.

retnav , i measured my inseam wrong. i ordered a 17" motobecane which is shorter in standover height within the same size than the hardrock

Thanks for the input. How would I find a good dealer that would know what I would need in a bike? Is it bad to have a 6" fork on that bike too?

You need to use your judgement . I had a dealer sell me a bike that was too large once when i was first starting out. You should do some research on fitting a bike. There is lots of stuff on the web.

For some reason this reminds me of a scene in Jaws...

http://thesquish.net/Jaws_Brody_Chumming.jpg

Nah, didn't you read about his sweet road bikes? Obviously he's got it all figured out. Besides, '66 is an elderly hack.

Elderly hack is a very nice way of saying that 66 is a real old dude that likes to shred the knar. I really love watching him ride his tiny bike with 20 inches of travel down the trail. He looks like a circus monkey on a stolen Harley. 66 is the man. He is a legend in his own mind. You should all be lucky enough to ride with him