New bike shopping size

[El Garto]

Hi All!!

Hope you are well.

I am looking for a little bit of advice/guidance/experience in regards to buying a new bike. Looking for a new enduro, such as a canyon strive or pivot firebird.

One issue I've found (apart from actually committing to a bike) is the sizing on the canyon strive has me confused. I am currently on a medium on this bike (here is the measurements for your reading pleasure: 2018 Focus JAM C SL 27 – Specs, Comparisons, Reviews – 99 Spokes

If I can draw your attention particularly to the reach which on my current bike is 430mm, the strive has a minimum reach of 475mm in medium. I am 177cm and inseam of 83cm. Canyon's sizing puts me smack bang between small and medium. The Small strive has a reach of 450mm.

Would there be a better option for me or would one be rather unrideable compared to the other? I understand that these are fairly subjective however given that canyon are online only it makes it hard to test ride. Canyon have simply said to size down for a more agile ride or size up for a more stable ride .. is it really that simple??

Also any other thoughts on these bikes or recommendations for bikes to look at?

Thanks so much!!!
Mark

 

[teK--]

Check out Rider Area Distance measurement. Works for me.

 

[PJO]

Check out Rider Area Distance measurement. Works for me.

This is what teK was talking about:

Dialing in your bike setup step 1: Make it RAD - Lee Likes Bikes

This article is adapted from the book Dialed and ran on Pinkbike. It lays out the most important aspect of mountain bike fit and setup. I hope you find it helpful! When it comes to mountain bike setup, the most important measurement is the distance between your bottom bracket and your grips. I...

www.leelikesbikes.com

As you've said it's pretty subjective.
I'm a few cm taller than you @ 181 and inseam of 84. ape index is about 1.
I think I would be pretty happy on a medium strive based on the current geo (same stack and reach as my current bike).

What stem length are you riding with at the moment?

 

[Tubbsy]

Lee also thinks I should be riding 840mm handlebars.

I don't mind the RAD concept, but some of his thinking is a bit wacky

 

[PJO]

Lee also thinks I should be riding 840mm handlebars.

I don't mind the RAD concept, but some of his thinking is a bit wacky

Yeah I'm not so sure about the handle bar thing either. I'm pretty happy at 760-770mm.

 

[Jabubu]

Lee also thinks I should be riding 840mm handlebars.

I don't mind the RAD concept, but some of his thinking is a bit wacky

There has to be a limit, we grow tall but we don't necessarily grow proportionally wide. Otherwise I'd be 750mm wide at the shoulders or something stupid like that.

 

[Chriso_29er]

I'm 1cm shorter than you and had all the same issues choosing a bike recently lol.
Smack bang in the middle of most manufacturers size guides.

I test rode a few 480mm reach bikes and could certainly ride no problem, but just felt a little to big/stable. Then found bikes next size down were perfect reach for descending but were then cramped for seated riding due to the steep seat angles.

In the end I ended up on an older model with 465cm reach and could not be happier.
My trail bike with 435 reach now feels very small and I wonder how I rode it all these years haha.

 

[ozzybmx]

Remember to look at ETT and stack too. Reach is bb centre to HT centre, important when in attack stance, ETT is seated pedalling.

 

[ozzybmx]

I'm 1cm shorter than you and had all the same issues choosing a bike recently lol.
Smack bang in the middle of most manufacturers size guides.

Same at 176cm, usually tossing between med and large. Deviate was hard but the Ibis was easy. 470 reach med, 500 reach large.

 

[Hal-9000]

So, how do you know what your 'RAD' should be without buying the book?

 

[BKMad]

So, how do you know what your 'RAD' should be without buying the book?

He's got some videos on youtube which explains some of it. The numbers don't make sense to me. From what I could gather I think he wants everyone to ride short upright bikes. My current trail bike is spot on based on his RAD dimension, but it feels a bit short and cramped - I can ride it fine, but just feels a bit short. I have 2 other bikes with longer RAD and they feel fine. The one with the longest reach and highest stack feels the best