What size Mtb

[FlashBastardo]

Not owned a mtb for years but seen an offer on a Look 920 fs bike for a good price new. I ride a Medium Look 695 road bike but this one is only available in a small or large. I obviously won't want the large but I'm baffled by mtb sizing. I'm just under 5'8" so will the small fit me or be too small? Anyone had experience of this bike by the way?
Thanks for any advice in advance.

 

[King Boonen]

At 5' 8" you probably sit right between a small and a medium in general, which means you need to ride it and see how it feels.

 

[FlashBastardo]

Re:

At 5' 8" you probably sit right between a small and a medium in general, which means you need to ride it and see how it feels.

Thanks for that. The only problem is I've seen the frame on offer in Italy and I live in England...!

 

[King Boonen]

Re: Re:

At 5' 8" you probably sit right between a small and a medium in general, which means you need to ride it and see how it feels.

Thanks for that. The only problem is I've seen the frame on offer in Italy and I live in England...!

What kind of mountain biking do you intend on doing? That's an out and out XC race bike. Is that what you want to do?

They have that weird stem set up which means fit is a pain in the arse and expensive, I'm pretty sure it's 26" wheels (which are fine but forks are becoming harder to find for a build), they don't make it anymore so spare parts could become and issue etc. Does it have a tapered headtube? It should do but I'm not sure and that would make forks even more difficult to find.

 

[FlashBastardo]

Re: Re:

At 5' 8" you probably sit right between a small and a medium in general, which means you need to ride it and see how it feels.

Thanks for that. The only problem is I've seen the frame on offer in Italy and I live in England...!

What kind of mountain biking do you intend on doing? That's an out and out XC race bike. Is that what you want to do?

They have that weird stem set up which means fit is a pain in the arse and expensive, I'm pretty sure it's 26" wheels (which are fine but forks are becoming harder to find for a build), they don't make it anymore so spare parts could become and issue etc. Does it have a tapered headtube? It should do but I'm not sure and that would make forks even more difficult to find.

Hi.
I'm just going to be doing the usual trails and off road kind of stuff, nothing too extreme to start with. I have the c-stem on my bike and it allows quite a bit of play tbh. I assume the forks are still fairl easy to find for the 26 wheeled frame even now the fashion has changed. I'm probably just being lured in by the £700 brand new frame.

 

[King Boonen]

Re: Re:

At 5' 8" you probably sit right between a small and a medium in general, which means you need to ride it and see how it feels.

Thanks for that. The only problem is I've seen the frame on offer in Italy and I live in England...!

What kind of mountain biking do you intend on doing? That's an out and out XC race bike. Is that what you want to do?

They have that weird stem set up which means fit is a pain in the arse and expensive, I'm pretty sure it's 26" wheels (which are fine but forks are becoming harder to find for a build), they don't make it anymore so spare parts could become and issue etc. Does it have a tapered headtube? It should do but I'm not sure and that would make forks even more difficult to find.

Hi.
I'm just going to be doing the usual trails and off road kind of stuff, nothing too extreme to start with. I have the c-stem on my bike and it allows quite a bit of play tbh. I assume the forks are still fairl easy to find for the 26 wheeled frame even now the fashion has changed. I'm probably just being lured in by the £700 brand new frame.

If you're not racing then honestly, you can get a great trail worthy bike for the price of that frame, ride that and decide what kind of MTB you really want. The Look is a great bike, but if you decide you want to get into more technical stuff (trail centre black routes, off-piste/enduro stuff) it's going to start feeling nose heavy and steep pretty soon. The problem with the Look stem is that most people are now finding a shorter stem suits them much better for general purpose riding. Correct my if I'm wrong but the look stem is a minimum of 80mm I think? I currently run a 40mm stem I think and most people I ride with would be around that, possibly 50 or 60 at a push.


Forks wise, as long as it has a tapered head tube then yes, 26" is fine (I still ride 26"). But if it's straight 1 1/8th then it really is getting difficult to get decent forks to fit. It looks tapered but I can't find anything confirming that.


Personally I'd get a fairly decent spec, trail hardtail. Ride that, see if you like it and what kind of trails you ride the most and then buy a more expensive bike if you want. Just my opinion though

 

[FlashBastardo]

Re: Re:

At 5' 8" you probably sit right between a small and a medium in general, which means you need to ride it and see how it feels.

Thanks for that. The only problem is I've seen the frame on offer in Italy and I live in England...!

What kind of mountain biking do you intend on doing? That's an out and out XC race bike. Is that what you want to do?

They have that weird stem set up which means fit is a pain in the arse and expensive, I'm pretty sure it's 26" wheels (which are fine but forks are becoming harder to find for a build), they don't make it anymore so spare parts could become and issue etc. Does it have a tapered headtube? It should do but I'm not sure and that would make forks even more difficult to find.

Hi.
I'm just going to be doing the usual trails and off road kind of stuff, nothing too extreme to start with. I have the c-stem on my bike and it allows quite a bit of play tbh. I assume the forks are still fairl easy to find for the 26 wheeled frame even now the fashion has changed. I'm probably just being lured in by the £700 brand new frame.

If you're not racing then honestly, you can get a great trail worthy bike for the price of that frame, ride that and decide what kind of MTB you really want. The Look is a great bike, but if you decide you want to get into more technical stuff (trail centre black routes, off-piste/enduro stuff) it's going to start feeling nose heavy and steep pretty soon. The problem with the Look stem is that most people are now finding a shorter stem suits them much better for general purpose riding. Correct my if I'm wrong but the look stem is a minimum of 80mm I think? I currently run a 40mm stem I think and most people I ride with would be around that, possibly 50 or 60 at a push.


Forks wise, as long as it has a tapered head tube then yes, 26" is fine (I still ride 26"). But if it's straight 1 1/8th then it really is getting difficult to get decent forks to fit. It looks tapered but I can't find anything confirming that.


Personally I'd get a fairly decent spec, trail hardtail. Ride that, see if you like it and what kind of trails you ride the most and then buy a more expensive bike if you want. Just my opinion though

Hi.
Just checked an old review and it is tapered so that's one less thing to worry about. Regarding the stem length, I'm not sure what the minimum is but I would of thought if I'm trying to get a small frame to fit I may need a slightly longer stem? I do tend to dive head on in to buying stuff. I thought when I bought my first road bike it would be all I ever needed. It's now my winter bike and I have 2 more too. Thanks for all the advice so far.

 

[King Boonen]

Re: Re:

Hi.
Just checked an old review and it is tapered so that's one less thing to worry about. Regarding the stem length, I'm not sure what the minimum is but I would of thought if I'm trying to get a small frame to fit I may need a slightly longer stem? I do tend to dive head on in to buying stuff. I thought when I bought my first road bike it would be all I ever needed. It's now my winter bike and I have 2 more too. Thanks for all the advice so far.

Good that it's tapered. The stem length is more to do with steering, longer stems result in slower steering and on technical courses it can make things difficult, the trend these days is short stem, wide bar. Of course, the trade off is less stability when climbing at slow speeds, but it's one almost everyone is happy with.

You also need to take into account that you move about more over an MTB. You need to be able to comfortably get your weight (i.e. your arse) out over the back tyre, especially on a steep XC bike when the trail gets tricky. Longer stems can hinder this.


In all likelihood you could buy the frame and it'll be great, feel great and ride fantastically. However, you may find as your riding progresses that you feel something else would suit you better and you then have to go through the buying and building process again and losing out on money. I can tell you from speaking to a few friends that selling high end XC frames/bikes is tough here, especially 26" wheeled ones now ever the smallest riders are on 650b at least and usually 29ers. If you're happy with those risks and can afford it should you have to take a hit on the frame/bike in a year or two or decide to keep it and buy another bike for different riding then I'm sure you'll like it. Personally I'd be looking at a hardtail around £1000 or more if you want to spend more. If you're not racing I think it would be a better bet.

 

[FlashBastardo]

Re: Re:

Hi.
Just checked an old review and it is tapered so that's one less thing to worry about. Regarding the stem length, I'm not sure what the minimum is but I would of thought if I'm trying to get a small frame to fit I may need a slightly longer stem? I do tend to dive head on in to buying stuff. I thought when I bought my first road bike it would be all I ever needed. It's now my winter bike and I have 2 more too. Thanks for all the advice so far.

Good that it's tapered. The stem length is more to do with steering, longer stems result in slower steering and on technical courses it can make things difficult, the trend these days is short stem, wide bar. Of course, the trade off is less stability when climbing at slow speeds, but it's one almost everyone is happy with.

You also need to take into account that you move about more over an MTB. You need to be able to comfortably get your weight (i.e. your arse) out over the back tyre, especially on a steep XC bike when the trail gets tricky. Longer stems can hinder this.


In all likelihood you could buy the frame and it'll be great, feel great and ride fantastically. However, you may find as your riding progresses that you feel something else would suit you better and you then have to go through the buying and building process again and losing out on money. I can tell you from speaking to a few friends that selling high end XC frames/bikes is tough here, especially 26" wheeled ones now ever the smallest riders are on 650b at least and usually 29ers. If you're happy with those risks and can afford it should you have to take a hit on the frame/bike in a year or two or decide to keep it and buy another bike for different riding then I'm sure you'll like it. Personally I'd be looking at a hardtail around £1000 or more if you want to spend more. If you're not racing I think it would be a better bet.

Ok. Thanks for the input.

 

[red_flanders]

Coming from decades of road cycling I was considering a hardtail when I bought my Ripley. I'm so, so, so glad I got the FS. I think everything you're saying about that frame, the stem and 26 is spot on, but I'd not recommend a hardtail except for the lightest of trail riding. The fun factor is off the charts. With suspensions what they are now, there's just no looking back.

I'm a newbie MTB rider so take that for what it's worth. But my hardtail friends are extremely envious and can't begin to keep up with me. Seriously. They look depressed.

 

[FlashBastardo]

Re:

Coming from decades of road cycling I was considering a hardtail when I bought my Ripley. I'm so, so, so glad I got the FS. I think everything you're saying about that frame, the stem and 26 is spot on, but I'd not recommend a hardtail except for the lightest of trail riding. The fun factor is off the charts. With suspensions what they are now, there's just no looking back.

I'm a newbie MTB rider so take that for what it's worth. But my hardtail friends are extremely envious and can't begin to keep up with me. Seriously. They look depressed.

Hi.
Every opinion is appreciated. I've been talking to my cousin who races mtbs thinking he'd be a hardtail man but he said full suspension all the way. I suppose with that you have the option of doing rougher trails or locking the forks for the smoother stuff. Then again, I'm like you and oblivious to this mtb lark. The options of forks and gearing seem endless. I don't even know what I'm meant to wear ffs!

 

[King Boonen]

Re:

Coming from decades of road cycling I was considering a hardtail when I bought my Ripley. I'm so, so, so glad I got the FS. I think everything you're saying about that frame, the stem and 26 is spot on, but I'd not recommend a hardtail except for the lightest of trail riding. The fun factor is off the charts. With suspensions what they are now, there's just no looking back.

I'm a newbie MTB rider so take that for what it's worth. But my hardtail friends are extremely envious and can't begin to keep up with me. Seriously. They look depressed.

You're riding with the wrong people then

I do downhill tracks on my hardtail and through a Scottish winter I have ZERO headaches with pivot bearings, rear shocks, frame bushings etc. Although I think you get better weather than us!

 

[jmdirt]

I'll wake this thread up to vent my displeasure:

I'm an old school XC guy, but with a motocross background. I still like to get after it, air it out quite a bit, but none of the trails that I ride daily are too 'gnar'. The bike I have now is a 2020 Scott Spark 910. Its their XC bike (Spark RC) with a bit more travel and slightly slacker head tube ('downcountry'). I've been kind of shopping for a new bike, but there isn't much to shop right now. Some things that are irritating me though are:

-The industry trend is 'longer and slacker' now, but they really aren't longer because they add 20 mm of top tube, but run a 30 mm shorter stem. Granted that puts you more between the wheels/behind the front wheel, but over all its shorter. Sure I could put a longer stem on, but...

-Dropper post are a great thing! The industry trend of specing too long dropper posts is crazy though! The Specialized Stumpjumper is the only medium bike that I could get the seat low enough to ride with the stock post (didn't come to terms with that bike though). The the replacement for my bike runs a 150 post instead of the 100 in mine with the same seat tube length (did they think that people grew 50 mm?!). Sure, I could buy a shorter post but...

I've ridden a medium (17"/18" back in the day) since 1991, I prefer a seat to BB center of 653 now, but in 2022 I can't ride a medium with out buying new parts before I even ride!

Canyon has some bikes in stock so I opened a chat with them about their long seat tube+long dropper post sizing me and thousands of people out of medium bikes. The reps reply: "these bike were meant to ride aggressively in a crouched position". WTF?! Its a 130 travel bike not a world cup dh bike. Plus, riding in a aggressive position on a poorly fitting bike doesn't seem like a great IMO.

 

[jmdirt]

I'll wake this thread up to vent my displeasure:

I'm an old school XC guy, but with a motocross background. I still like to get after it, air it out quite a bit, but none of the trails that I ride daily are too 'gnar'. The bike I have now is a 2020 Scott Spark 910. Its their XC bike (Spark RC) with a bit more travel and slightly slacker head tube ('downcountry'). I've been kind of shopping for a new bike, but there isn't much to shop right now. Some things that are irritating me though are:

-The industry trend is 'longer and slacker' now, but they really aren't longer because they add 20 mm of top tube, but run a 30 mm shorter stem. Granted that puts you more between the wheels/behind the front wheel, but over all its shorter. Sure I could put a longer stem on, but...

-Dropper post are a great thing! The industry trend of specing too long dropper posts is crazy though! The Specialized Stumpjumper is the only medium bike that I could get the seat low enough to ride with the stock post (didn't come to terms with that bike though). The the replacement for my bike runs a 150 post instead of the 100 in mine with the same seat tube length (did they think that people grew 50 mm?!). Sure, I could buy a shorter post but...

I've ridden a medium (17"/18" back in the day) since 1991, I prefer a seat to BB center of 653 now, but in 2022 I can't ride a medium with out buying new parts before I even ride!

Canyon has some bikes in stock so I opened a chat with them about their long seat tube+long dropper post sizing me and thousands of people out of medium bikes. The reps reply: "these bike were meant to ride aggressively in a crouched position". WTF?! Its a 130 travel bike not a world cup dh bike. Plus, riding in a aggressive position on a poorly fitting bike doesn't seem like a great IMO.

UPDATE: I rode my wife's small Ibis Ripley on a little 20 minute loop today: solid little climb, some rolling flats, and a fun ripper down to where I started. Its a great bike, but I can't imagine riding a bike with that TT/reach. To satisfy the Canyon rep I was in a aggressive, couched position, but I was also too cramped.