Looking at my arm span, and inseem. The charts tend to say I am at the very end of the large frame set and most put me squarly on an XL 21/22 inch frame. Looking for a trail bike, we typically will ride 10 to 15 miles with a rare 20 depending on location and heat/humidity, I dont know if that falls in the short or mid range for riding
I just did a search for “xl mountain bike”, on FB Marketplace, and a few nice bikes popped up. So long as you stay with something from Giant, Specialized, Niner, Salsa, Santa Cruz, etc and 120mm-150mm of travel, you’ll be pretty safe. If you ride smooth trails, even 100mm of travel will be good. You can always find some bikes and post up for opinions. I’ve no idea where you’re at, so can’t really search for you.
This thread always pops up right when I buy a new or in this case new to me bike. Picked up a 2015 Devinci Troy XP this evening . It was lightly used and my first venture into a true trail bike. Went for a short ride and it is sure a better fit for me than my old spec epic comp . Course the comp was an XC bike so it should be better but,I’m liking it so far. Nice and plush but still climbs very good even with the rear shock opened all the way up. Like the previous poster mentioned . I found it on Facebook marketplace at what I thought was a decent price .
Had my first really big off on the MTB, earned myself a trip to the ER for 9 stitches and general wound care. In all seriousness I had a helmet on but no elbow or knee pads or anything at the impact split my elbows open like a watermelon rind. Gotta gear up better I guess. Bruised ribs and shoulders and serious road (trail) rash are other casualties. Gotta order some more protective gear if I am going to ride that thing hard.
Sorry to hear, hope the heal up is uneventful. Last time I had to get stitches from a MTB get off it got infected and was a bitch to get over cleared up. On the gear side of things, I’ve had good luck with the Dainese Trailskins being breathable and comfortable while still being fine for everything besides a bike park. There are a lot of great brands with great safety products.
Face planted today. First ride on crank bros mallet dh pedals and five ten hellcat pros. It was really really difficult to get unclipped when I got to the trails but I rode anyway. Slipped on a climb and couldn't get my foot out. Going to need the shoe savers and spacer under the cleat after reading. Broke the derailer hanger too.
I still ride flats on my the mtb even though I am really comfortable with my road bike clips. Not sure clips would have made my recent crash better or worse but I have had a few where I was glad I got away from the bike.
Eddie, I’ve run eggbeaters for years on quite a few bikes. Eggbeater 3’s on the XC bike, and Candy’s on the fun bike. I use flats on the fat bike and single speed paddock bike.
sometimes there isnt much size difference from md to large and usually at the top tube. Depends on the OEM. You cant check size charts heres an example. Then you can add a stem or bar rise for a comfortable fit https://www.evo.com/giant-bikes-size-chart
Candy fan. I don’t like Eggbeaters, because there’s no platform and support, which can cause soreness over a long day. Also, Eggbeaters roll, when trying to clip in, which can be a hassle. Just step on the Candy and they clip right in.
That is true. I elected to take the trade-off, since I like to put my foot down/hit the eject button quickly at times and would get hung up in SPDs. Clipping back into the eggbeaters just took a bit more practice/feel to quickly get back into.
Nice, Scott. Yeah, too many times going over a series of roots, on a camber/banked uphill - and I couldn't put my foot down in a pinch quick enough, and down I went in a heap of embarrassment. I'd like to think I'm a better rider now, but that still happens from time to time.