[Wa-Aw]

I'm 5'7-5'8, which puts me smack in between small and medium on most of the stuff out there.

Most of my friends ride smalls and a few ride larges, strangely I don't know anyone who rides a medium. My problem is that on most smalls, the toptube length or reach feels pretty good, but as soon as I get up to pedal my knees get really intimate with the fork legs. I suppose my legs are on the long side compared to my height and the fact that I have never owned a bike with double crowns could be contributing to this too.

So what I'm wondering is: Is my problem the reach, where I should get a medium instead of a small and possibly compromise with a longer cockpit (I'd rather have this than kick the fork every time I pedal) or is it probably just technique and the way I pedal in which case I should just get a small and get used to it?

This doesn't take into account the companies that are sizing at extremes, ie: Banshee and Specialized.

 

[spocomptonrider]

I'm in the same boat, about 5-8 more legs than torso and was facing the same predicament when I went to purchase my last bike, however most of my friends ride mediums so I was able to try a few out before I pulled the trigger and ordered one up for myself.

The biggest things that I noticed were that the smalls always felt more playful and flickable but on longer high speed tracks the longer wheel base and top tube of the medium felt MUCH more stable. If you're the kind of guy who likes jumps and playing around a bit, go for the small, you will likely get used to the pedaling position you have to maintain in order to keep your knees happy.

However if you like hauling ass on a race course and speed is your thing I would go with the medium, you can always throw a 35mm stem and some flat bars on it to get the cockpit to feel similar to a small. That being said I ended up on a medium, its what I've always ridden for my dh sled (all mountain and xc I usually end up on a small) but the longer bike has its advantages especially once you get used to it.

Good luck on your search.

 

[davep]

Stem lengths vary for this exact reason. It seems that 50mm has until receintlybecome THE length for DH and that many looked at this as something that cannot be changed on a 'DH' bike, unlike every other cycling discipline.

Small frame with 60mm stem, or medium with 35mm stem...over an inch in reach length change right there. Now add varing bar sweep and you should easily be able to make up the real hand to foot horizontal difference between two frame sizes.

Pick the frame (if you are between sizes) size that gives you the wheelbase and 'feel' you prefer and then use cockpit parts to fine tune.

 

[illnotsick]

Changing the stem length only affects the reach, ie distance to the handle bar. A longer or shorter stem doesn't affect where the stanchions are in relation to your knee. That's all about the frame.

Get a medium and within a few rides you'll be comfortable with the slightly longer #'s from a small. I'm 5'6" on a small and I don't have any knee/crown interface issues, if I were an inch or two taller I would get a medium. Doing back to back runs between my small and a friends medium (same year frame) they didn't feel noticeably different.

If you get a small and your knees hit the fork, you're SOL. You'll get used to the added 2-4" of wheelbase in no time. Since you have long legs, it's very unlikely you'll run into problems with the added standover. This is why they overlap frame sizes.

 

[Wa-Aw]

Thanks for the replies guys. I'll definitely be getting a medium. I'll just try to make the reach for the medium as small as possible.
This works out pretty well for me seeing as I learned to bike on a bike 2 sizes too big for me. All is well.

Thanks again!