Quake3World

It's a giant boulder frame, and the frame's really small. I'm so newbish when it comes to bikes i didn't even notice until i started riding it. It's got full sized wheels which is good, but the frame is small compared to my height.

The guy i got it from is gonna put a higher seat post on it to compensate, and longer handlebars, and he might offer to replace the bike if i ask, but before i take that step, i'm wondering if there are any advantages to having a small frame (assuming you compensate with high seat and long handlebar stem).

Light weight is one advantage, but are there any others?

The fun girls like to ride on the handle bars.

cant you just take it back and try n get an exchange ?

id be pretty pissed if i spent the money on a bike i didnt like :L

losCHUNK wrote:cant you just take it back and try n get an exchange ?

id be pretty pissed if i spent the money on a bike i didnt like :L

The guy i got it from is gonna put a higher seat post on it to compensate, and longer handlebars, and he might offer to replace the bike if i ask, but before i take that step, i'm wondering if there are any advantages to having a small frame (assuming you compensate with high seat and long handlebar stem).

serves me right for reading the 1st 2 lines

[xeno]Julios wrote:It's a giant boulder frame, and the frame's really small. I'm so newbish when it comes to bikes i didn't even notice until i started riding it. It's got full sized wheels which is good, but the frame is small compared to my height.

The guy i got it from is gonna put a higher seat post on it to compensate, and longer handlebars, and he might offer to replace the bike if i ask, but before i take that step, i'm wondering if there are any advantages to having a small frame (assuming you compensate with high seat and long handlebar stem).

Light weight is one advantage, but are there any others?

The only advantage is it's light weight. I don't know how mountainbikes really work in this regard but when I used to race I had two street bikes. A time trial bike and my racing bike. The racing bike was much larger than the time trial bike. What happened was if I was racing a short distance I'd take the time trial bike, it was extremely fast but very uncomfortable. Eventualy the comfort factor comes into play and you get tired much more rapidly so it wasn't any good to race for races that were 100+km's.

Now I don't know how much you plan on using the bike but I suspect that you'll likely get tired out a lot quicker on a small bike even if it's lighter. If you just use it to go here and there then it should be fine. I'm 5'9 and my bike size was 18"

Ill post measurements of my frame and my height when i get back from work.

Any decent manufacturer should have it written right on the frame somewhere. Usualy down by the pedals. My devinici Enigma, the time trial bike was a 16 and all my other bikes have been 18's. They look smaller than what I COULD be riding but you generaly want your seat post to out quite a bit, I'd say a little over half. Actualy...

This was my old bike

Mine was blue and not yellow but you see where his seat is set to? Except the fact he's got it tilted back like that it's about the same height I've used. It depends on your leg's length though but generaly you want your leg almost straight when the pedal is at it's lowest to get the best results.

I miss my old bike...

So basicly if your seat isn't at least level with your handlebars (mine is higher) the bike frame is too big.

K i just measured:

12.5 inches from bottom tube to top tube.



the top tube is 20 inches

the diagonal tube is 23 inches.

Right now the seat is raised as high as it'll go, and it's a few inches above the handlebars.

The handlebars are pretty much identical to the one in the pic you posted.

I'm about 5'10, but i'm long in the legs.


Just went for a 45 minute ride to work, and 45 min back. Lot of it uphill and boy it was tough coz my legs were not anywhere near their fully stretched position.

Considering replacing the bike...

but if i extend the seat a few more inches it might work. Would there be any disadvantage to having the seat really high compared to handle bars?

whats your inseam

yea its always a drag to exersise service but you must do right be yourself.

gl

I think it could be extra strain on your back which is not good, just replace it for something that fits you.

[xeno]Julios wrote:K i just measured:

12.5 inches from bottom tube to top tube.



the top tube is 20 inches

the diagonal tube is 23 inches.

Right now the seat is raised as high as it'll go, and it's a few inches above the handlebars.

The handlebars are pretty much identical to the one in the pic you posted.

I'm about 5'10, but i'm long in the legs.


Just went for a 45 minute ride to work, and 45 min back. Lot of it uphill and boy it was tough coz my legs were not anywhere near their fully stretched position.

Considering replacing the bike...

but if i extend the seat a few more inches it might work. Would there be any disadvantage to having the seat really high compared to handle bars?

Yeah it won't be comfortable and you'll tire out easier. It's all about what feels comfortable not what you get comfortable to. The more you race the higher your seat will tend to be but for casual riding it shouldn't be much higher than your handlebars. Especialy on a mountainbike. I was basicly leaned over the front tire of my time trial bike the seat was so high but that's for aerodynamics bs.

You don't need it with a mountainbike. It sounds like you need a bigger frame.

Billy Bellend wrote:whats your inseam

from crotch to bottom of foot = about 34 inches

Billy Bellend wrote: yea its always a drag to exersise service but you must do right be yourself.

gl

i have no idea what this means

it means you have to exchange the bike hehe

the be was a by but the internet is sooo like riggerz0rd

whoa 12.5 inches is 31+cm.....that's a child's bike. you need at least 21" (mountain frames measured in inches, most everything else is metric)

your ass should not move when you finish your stroke and your foot should be parrallel with the ground, toes pointed down means seat is too high/frame is too large, heel down means too small/seat too low. your leg should never be straight. it should be at a comfortable extension that keeps your ass/hips planted in position on the seat, no rocking with each downstroke.

i only ride road/track so standover height is at least 1" over toptube, not sure about mountain as frame geometry is totally different. if you bought the bike from a shop they should have totally fitted you to it before letting you take it out of their shop. if not, i would take the time to go to a shop and get measured for a bike and return the one you bought. then find something that suits you, otherwise you'll be in serious pain in a few weeks.

edit: 12.5 inches bottombracket to toptube...mountain, forgot. so thats probably around 45cm road, still too small. should 55-57cm for your height.

small bikes are amazing, i always had mountain bikes that were supposedly too small, and found them to be far more agile.

downsides are i doubt its going to be comfortable on long journeys and you probably wont be able to get a decent position for top speed,

comes down to how you want to ride it, if you want some off road touring, get a bigger bike, if u wanna do the more intricate shit, keep it.

btw seat height should not matter, because you should be standing up most of the time, treat it as a big bmx and have some fun

ive been thinking more and more about getting a bmx

i got a 24 inch cruiser which is a good compromise.

have decided to replace it for a bigger frame - the guy that runs the business was really cool about it.

thanks a lot for the advice guys