Big JD
Wheel size expert
"The evolution of frame geometry definitely makes bikes better and more capable, but nothing comes without consequences or adjustments. To some extent, we're all having to re-learn bike fit." CEO of Ibis Bikes
Perhaps this is just related to tall buggers - Im 197cm. I recently brought a stunning Ibis Ripley XL but have struggled to get comfortable/ feel right. It is certainly a different beast to my previous rigs- Rocky MT Element XXL and Santa Cruz XXL Highball. On paper the numbers looked fine but in reality it just felt weird. It feels great when climbing and descending but odd when riding seated. My LBS have been super helpful and I even had a chat with the boss of Ibis - who is 6.6 tall to get a tall blokes thoughts (see response above).
I got the Ripley (120 rear and 130mm front) because it was more XC/trail than trail/enduro and would suit a greater range of my local riding. Reach on the Ibis was longer than the Rocky and ETT was slightly shorter but I feel the combination of slack head angle and steep seat tube really compacted the fit. I also found I needed an extra 40 mms of spaces under the stem for the saddle to bar drop to be acceptable. Why do people slam their stems- us old buggers cant bend that far!!!!
To get around the "cramped feel" I have increased the stem length from 50 to 70mms, running a super long steerer to get the front up and will soon change the inline dropper to a setback version. This should do it but these changes are quite dramatic from previous setups and fly in the face of recommended setups. I reckon tall people should still factor in ETT as the primary metric. Its all about reach these days- so we can run short stems and wide bars but the trend of slack HA and steep SA really impacts ETT. I dont feel cramped when im out of the saddle so I reckon reach is ok- just when seated.
Anyway- long story .................................... just wondering if others have found the latest geo trends have impacted fit??
Pic before changes
Perhaps this is just related to tall buggers - Im 197cm. I recently brought a stunning Ibis Ripley XL but have struggled to get comfortable/ feel right. It is certainly a different beast to my previous rigs- Rocky MT Element XXL and Santa Cruz XXL Highball. On paper the numbers looked fine but in reality it just felt weird. It feels great when climbing and descending but odd when riding seated. My LBS have been super helpful and I even had a chat with the boss of Ibis - who is 6.6 tall to get a tall blokes thoughts (see response above).
I got the Ripley (120 rear and 130mm front) because it was more XC/trail than trail/enduro and would suit a greater range of my local riding. Reach on the Ibis was longer than the Rocky and ETT was slightly shorter but I feel the combination of slack head angle and steep seat tube really compacted the fit. I also found I needed an extra 40 mms of spaces under the stem for the saddle to bar drop to be acceptable. Why do people slam their stems- us old buggers cant bend that far!!!!
To get around the "cramped feel" I have increased the stem length from 50 to 70mms, running a super long steerer to get the front up and will soon change the inline dropper to a setback version. This should do it but these changes are quite dramatic from previous setups and fly in the face of recommended setups. I reckon tall people should still factor in ETT as the primary metric. Its all about reach these days- so we can run short stems and wide bars but the trend of slack HA and steep SA really impacts ETT. I dont feel cramped when im out of the saddle so I reckon reach is ok- just when seated.
Anyway- long story .................................... just wondering if others have found the latest geo trends have impacted fit??
Pic before changes
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