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Iron Horse Sunday size (THAT thread again!), for a beginner 5'7" girl?

- seb

Turbo Monkey
Apr 10, 2002
2,924
1
UK
Title pretty much says it all - should she be looking at a small, or medium?

I've found a good small for sale at a great price, but don't want to buy it if it's going to feel too cramped for her. Trying it first isn't really an option as it's a fair drive to collect it, so would prefer to know if it's the right size or not before going.

Thanks all :-)
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
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borcester rhymes
Small or smaller. IIRC, eTT is 23.5 on a med and 22.5 on a small. I felt comfortable on a med @ 5'11". I think she'd be too stretched out on a med, and may even be a little stretched on a small, but that's my opinion.
 

scottishmark

Turbo Monkey
May 20, 2002
2,121
22
Somewhere dark, cold & wet....
The tt measurement on a Sunday means bugger all as the bb feels very close to the bars when standing. E.g. my g/fs Sunday feels far smaller than my old small Glory (in my and her opinion). Given this, I'd be inclined to recommend a medium
 

Kntr

Turbo Monkey
Jan 25, 2003
7,526
21
Montana
I have a friend that has a small Sunday for sale here in Montana. She is injured and has to sell it. The thing is in pristine shape too.
 

- seb

Turbo Monkey
Apr 10, 2002
2,924
1
UK
Thanks for the replies guys. Anymore? Off to buy in a few hours if the consensus agrees.. :-)
 

norbar

KESSLER PROBLEM. Just cause
Jun 7, 2007
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Yup. Sunday is quite compact in the cockpit but for that height a small should be great.
 

Udi

RM Chief Ornithologist
Mar 14, 2005
4,915
1,200
Yup. Sunday is quite compact in the cockpit but for that height a small should be great.
The Sunday actually has a pretty sizeable cockpit compared to most other bikes in medium size (v10, glory, legend, etc).. maybe you meant the small specifically?
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
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The Sunday actually has a pretty sizeable cockpit compared to most other bikes in medium size (v10, glory, legend, etc).. maybe you meant the small specifically?
I agree. My medium felt really similar to every other 23.5" eTT bike I've ever owned, which is 4 or 5. Great fit for me @ 5'11" for two and a half years.

Keep in mind for a beginner, I'd probably want a smaller/shorter bike vs. a cadillac lounger.
 

norbar

KESSLER PROBLEM. Just cause
Jun 7, 2007
11,346
1,587
Warsaw :/
The Sunday actually has a pretty sizeable cockpit compared to most other bikes in medium size (v10, glory, legend, etc).. maybe you meant the small specifically?
It might be the cockpit setting on the one I tried but it felt pretty small and comparable to my legend which is indeed small. Defo felt shorter than a v10.
 

toodles

ridiculously corgi proportioned
Aug 24, 2004
5,479
4,720
Australia
It might be the cockpit setting on the one I tried but it felt pretty small and comparable to my legend which is indeed small. Defo felt shorter than a v10.
I've owned two medium Sundays and they both felt much more roomy that the Medium V10 IMO. If I was getting a V10, I'd only go a Large and I'm a bee's dick under 5'10 which is pretty average.

For a 5'7 rider, I'd be inclined to suggest the medium myself, particularly for a learner. Shorter cockpits (heheh I said cock) can make the bike feel a bit too front heavy on steeper sections.
 

norbar

KESSLER PROBLEM. Just cause
Jun 7, 2007
11,346
1,587
Warsaw :/
I've owned two medium Sundays and they both felt much more roomy that the Medium V10 IMO. If I was getting a V10, I'd only go a Large and I'm a bee's dick under 5'10 which is pretty average.

For a 5'7 rider, I'd be inclined to suggest the medium myself, particularly for a learner. Shorter cockpits (heheh I said cock) can make the bike feel a bit too front heavy on steeper sections.
Even a few mm longer stem and a higher bike make a big differance so it was probably the setup (defo felt it on my legend).
As for the bike length wouldn't a combo of a medium and a short shem ala sunline 28mm dm stem work quite well? Longer wb would add stability and a shorter stem would push your weight a bit back from the wheel. It may not be the super short stem Cesar is pushing with Mondraker but it is the closest thing.
 

Gary

"S" is for "neo-luddite"
Aug 27, 2002
7,538
5,470
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The tt measurement on a Sunday means bugger all as the bb feels very close to the bars when standing. E.g. my g/fs Sunday feels far smaller than my old small Glory (in my and her opinion). Given this, I'd be inclined to recommend a medium
I ride a small Sunday, your Glory was def shorter (coming straight from my bike to yours)
you've just gotten used to the feel of longer bike you have now you're an XC/Enduro poofter.

def a small for a 5'7" girl (girls also usually have shorter upper bodys than men of the same height)

if you want proper measurements Seb, give me a shout and I'll get the tape measure out.
I tend to measure my bikes by Downtube length rather than TT (as TTs are often EFF measurements and it's not like we sit down while riding)
 

Gary

"S" is for "neo-luddite"
Aug 27, 2002
7,538
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Ok. maybe one day we'll settle this once and for all with a tape measure and a half inched small Glory in a car park somewhere (as long as there's a burger van ;) )

Funny thing is, Mike's (also small) is far too cramped for me to even ride..
only major difference in our set-ups is that his bars are fashionably/un-fashionably both much lower and wider than mine.
 

jasonvelocity

Monkey
Aug 26, 2008
177
0
Palmer Lake, CO
140lbs nekkid + 5lbs of shoe + 5lbs of gear, and the #300 starts to make sense. My wife has been riding the #300 and gets the appropriate sag. Her riding style favors gnar over the air
 

- seb

Turbo Monkey
Apr 10, 2002
2,924
1
UK
Hmmm, I was going off of the rate recommendations on the official sunday thread, and the spring calculator over at tftuned. Ah well, it's ordered now, can give it a go and buy a 300 if it's too soft. There's a 500 on there at the moment, I know that ain't right!

HOPEFULLY removing the shock to change the springs over will be a doddle, but I think I'm right in saying it could easily be a complete nightmare on a Sunday... :)
 

Gary

"S" is for "neo-luddite"
Aug 27, 2002
7,538
5,470
UK
quickest/easiest way is to change Sunday springs is to drop the shock eyelet out the top rocker plate, rotate it forward, compress the shock fully and slide the spring on without removing the lower end of the shock at all.

you're not wrong about the other end sometimes being a nightmare.

TF tuned spring recommendation is in the ball park for how I run mine (But I prefer to run slightly more sag than most)
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
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I think you gotta remove the whole shock IIRC, but once it's out, it's super easy to do again. Getting it out the first time might be a problem.

FWIW, I think the spring rate guides on that page are horribly incorrect. My bike was very undersprung at my weight by their recommendation, stepped up past their max and it was pretty spot on.
 

Udi

RM Chief Ornithologist
Mar 14, 2005
4,915
1,200
Ok. Done, bought. Now, spring rate for a 140lb girl. 250 I think?
I think that'll be right, especially since you said beginner. Just crank the bottom out adjuster and add a bit more pressure if she's bottoming out.

It might be the cockpit setting on the one I tried but it felt pretty small and comparable to my legend which is indeed small. Defo felt shorter than a v10.
Just spent a day riding the Legend MKII and my previous DH bike was a v10. The Sunday definitely has a longer hand-foot distance than both those bikes, thus longer reach. The v10c is longer for a given size than the previous gen (which I think is great, the old one was way too short in M) but it still doesn't feel longer than the Sunday. Was probably just to do with setup if it was a medium you rode.

The tt measurement on a Sunday means bugger all as the bb feels very close to the bars when standing. E.g. my g/fs Sunday feels far smaller than my old small Glory (in my and her opinion). Given this, I'd be inclined to recommend a medium
Sizing of a small bike isn't indicative of the medium's size, a medium Sunday is (noticeably) bigger than every medium Glory I've ridden. I do know the small Sunday is very small. FWIW at 5'11 I fit a medium Sunday and a large Glory. I probably wouldn't put a beginner 5'7 girl on a medium.
 

- seb

Turbo Monkey
Apr 10, 2002
2,924
1
UK
This is on a dhx5. I thought I read that 300 was the standard spring sundays come with, so when a spring calc suggested a 10st girl should go softer at 250 that sounded about right! Ah well, it's arrived now, will bung it on and see how it feels for her.