Quantcast

(((* Fried hay *)))

  • Come enter the Ridemonkey Secret Santa!

    We're kicking off the 2024 Secret Santa! Exchange gifts with other monkeys - from beer and snacks, to bike gear, to custom machined holiday decorations and tools by our more talented members, there's something for everyone.

    Click here for details and to learn how to participate.

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,832
7,086
borcester rhymes
Whoa careful there... Or a certain monkey will starting talking about ebikes
LOL he's not wrong...I'm just saying that building a bike around being able to slam a 48" wheelbase, long chainstayed shred sled into a 130* corner at the end of a 45mph section through the woods is a lot different than traveling at 6mph through rocky, horribly designed trails gaining 25ft of elevation and losing 28ft over and over again for 3 hours...and that it's OK to carefully consider what you need to be comfortable riding those kinds of shit trails and design your bike around them, rather than designing it around the 24 seconds you spend going downhill out here.
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,832
7,086
borcester rhymes
LOL "yeah make bikes nimble!" He said atop his coil sprung, 48" wheelbased YT.

I'm the retard that's "only" running a 455mm reach
 

Changleen

Paranoid Member
Jan 9, 2004
14,733
2,712
Pōneke
YOU MUST HAVE A 50mm STEM OR YOU WILL DIE FOREVER
Mine is 40mm, fork has 44mm rake. The short version of all this is now we size our bikes to our reach avec plus de précisment for our bodies. At a normally proportioned 5’7” I have a 435mm reach which I sometimes think is short and sometimes long, so probably about right for me.

Just on Yetis, today at the trails I saw three brothers, I wanna guess they were all late teens, all on 2021 slightly different, but basically ultra spec’d 160s. Fancy all the things. Rich Dad must be rich.
 

Adventurous

Starshine Bro
Mar 19, 2014
10,851
9,891
Crawlorado
Mine is 40mm, fork has 44mm rake. The short version of all this is now we size our bikes to our reach avec plus de précisment for our bodies. At a normally proportioned 5’7” I have a 435mm reach which I sometimes think is short and sometimes long, so probably about right for me.

Just on Yetis, today at the trails I saw three brothers, I wanna guess they were all late teens, all on 2021 slightly different, but basically ultra spec’d 160s. Fancy all the things. Rich Dad must be rich.
I've yet to figure out, when most people are quoting their reach measurements, is it reach of frame + stem length (effective reach)? Or just reach of the frame?

I'm 5'7", on a small 2015 Yeti SB5, which from what I can find says it has a 396mm reach. I've paired this with a 50mm stem. I suppose maybe that would put me around the same place as you?
 

Changleen

Paranoid Member
Jan 9, 2004
14,733
2,712
Pōneke
It’s just reach of the frame, normally to a spot in the center of the top of the headtube.
Having a tall stack above that point reduces the effective reach. Stem length extends it so you have to add stem length to reach, and in a perfect world you allow for the angle of the stem too but on shorter stems it’s normally negligible.
 

Adventurous

Starshine Bro
Mar 19, 2014
10,851
9,891
Crawlorado
Your ‘to the bar’ reach is 446mm, mine is 475mm, that’s quite different I would say.
Ah, that is quite different, especially considering we are the same height. Guess it goes to show that height isn't a great dictator of how to fit a bike. 475mm feels like it would be stretch for me.
 

Changleen

Paranoid Member
Jan 9, 2004
14,733
2,712
Pōneke
Sometimes when I am a bit tired and the trail is up and down a lot it’s hard to keep pulling yourself forward enough to keep the front weighted, but on the other hand when you’re in attack mode and on top of things it kicks ass.
 

CrabJoe StretchPants

Reincarnated Crab Walking Head Spinning Bruce Dick
Nov 30, 2003
14,163
2,485
Groton, MA
Ah, that is quite different, especially considering we are the same height. Guess it goes to show that height isn't a great dictator of how to fit a bike. 475mm feels like it would be stretch for me.
Welcome to my "looks right" build technique.


I'll convert all you nerds eventually.
 

Toshi

butthole powerwashing evangelist
Oct 23, 2001
39,758
8,757
I’m 173 or 174 cm tall depending on the day. Positive ape index and long torso. Was on 425 mm reach—too short. Now 445. 50 mm stems. Could go longer reach yet and remain happy.
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,832
7,086
borcester rhymes
I've yet to figure out, when most people are quoting their reach measurements, is it reach of frame + stem length (effective reach)? Or just reach of the frame?

I'm 5'7", on a small 2015 Yeti SB5, which from what I can find says it has a 396mm reach. I've paired this with a 50mm stem. I suppose maybe that would put me around the same place as you?


Reach is the distance from BB to the center of the top of your headtube. Reach is a really effective way of measuring frame size while disregarding seat tube angle. Seat angle is absolutely ridiculous as the industry likes to report effective SA and not actual, meaning if you want a smaller frame or bigger, you end up with wildly variable actual angles.

Anyways, reach ignores headset stack, spacers, and stem length. The current trend is to stretch reach and steepen the seat angle, which keeps your arms not stretched out when seated and your weight centered, but when you stand you have a lot of space to move around. This is great for high speed downhills and reasonable for long climbs, but it's not the best geometry for constant ups and downs that you find out here in new england...
 

Changleen

Paranoid Member
Jan 9, 2004
14,733
2,712
Pōneke
It’s good to have a pic. :)

When you see it drawn like that it’s easy to see how a high stack of spacers below your stem can reduce reach a fair bit. If you have such a stack a slightly longer stem might help if you want more reach but with the associated loss of direct steering feel. Slightly longer forks may be better if you want a higher front end but they also have the effect of slacking the head angle and this also noticeably reduces effective reach if you add like 20mm+ travel, 10mm won’t make too much difference and is a reasonable stack add. Fork rake can make a tiny difference here too, but not much. Less would be better in this scenario.
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
88,815
27,031
media blackout
And unless you are shuttling all the time you are still going to spend most of the time in the saddle, so where that ends up is pretty important.
yea. reach and stack aren't the end-all be-all of sizing, it kinda came out as a quick way to get a ballpark answer of "is this bike gonna fit me?" and allow a quicker/more direct comparison across bikes/brands independent of other geometric frame measurements.
 

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
56,005
22,043
Sleazattle
yea. reach and stack aren't the end-all be-all of sizing, it kinda came out as a quick way to get a ballpark answer of "is this bike gonna fit me?" and allow a quicker/more direct comparison across bikes/brands independent of other geometric frame measurements.

I always look at the contact point triangle, hands/feet/ass, and where your COG will end up within wheelbase for the type of riding you will be doing.

I busted out the tape measure and my motorcycle has a reach of 570mm and what is effectively a 0mm stem.
 
Last edited: