Bike sizing, 5'11"can go Large or Med. which do you choose?

5' 11"
32" inseam
180 lbs
long arms

I seem to fall right at the cut-off on sizing charts from bike Maunfactures, at the tall end for Med and short end for Large. I'm looking at buying a Niner Jet 9 frame and can't decide. I feel comfortable on both sizes depending on the bike. for instance, a large 26" stumpjumper fsr is good, but my Large Inbred 29er feels too long. I've demo'ed a few Medium full suspension bikes that felt great, but the Large Scapel I just demo'ed felt a little too long. It really just seems to depend on the bike. I guess maybe I should start paying more attention to geometry specs and top tube length.


anyone have a Med Jet-9 I can try? LOL

 

I would go with the large.....run a shorter stem.

with long arms and 5'11", a medium seems pretty short.

Yes, you need to pay attention to the all the geo numbers, most notabily TT/STA/HTA.

These 3 will often tell you how a bike is gonna fit....especially between different brands.

 

If you weren't set on the Jet 9, I'd suggest looking at a few other bike companies that have 'tweener sizes. With Trek for example, you have the 17.5 as medium and 19.5 as large, but with several of their models, they make the 18.5" - which would be your sweet spot. I'm sure other manufacturers have this tweener size as well.

Otherwise, I agree with the sentiment that if you HAD to pick, go larger for your apparent cross-country usage. My XC race bike is a half size too big and it's just fine. But I'd be miserable with that size in my all-mountain bike.

Last, you sound like exactly the person who would benefit from one of those professional bike geometry fittings they do at the Path.

 

this: the word "large" is relative to who wrote the word. your not the person who wrote that word, so their large could be your medium. look at the numbers. TT tells me what i need to know for each category of frame that i am looking to buy. i could care less what some guy at some bike manu decided to call it, whether large or medium.

 

Large...

 

I, too, am 5'11...OK, 5'10 (old age is making me shrink); I went from a Med Specialized Enduro to a Lrg Turner 5-Spot. The only thing I needed to change was the stem (to a shorter one), otherwise I feel no difference.

In general, I always demo a Med tho.....

 

My wife is 5'-9 1/2" she rides a mens medium, she was to large for a women's medium 31 inseam. I hope this helps.

 

Got a local buddy who has a large, hopefully I can get a test ride on it here soon....

Found this while reading the geo specs:

>>
For those who fall between sizes we recommend sizing down for a more maneuverable ride or sizing up for more stability.


The guy at Jenson's recommended a MEdium. but that may be because I am on the fence about buying a OE fox shock with a steerer tube cut short. probably wont work on a large. will have zero adjutsability for stem spacers.

I'm just really worried about it because I really want to be comfortable on this bike for longer endurance rides 50+ miles

 

I agree with hobie above, the TT length will be key. The cock pit can feel cramped or it can feel too big. I would go with larger TT length and then run a 35 or 50mm stem if you need to.. better than going medium and needing to run 70 or 80mm.. but I prefer very short stem.. I've seen TT ranges of like 23 to 25 inches in various large size frames

 

I just bought a Jet 9 a few months ago. I'm 6'-0" with a 32" inseam. I have always riden 19"/Large bikes and I tend to like to be stretched out a bit. I was only able to demo a medium... loved the bike, but it felt too short in the TT. Niner rep and others tried to convince me to go medium, but I knew it wasn't right. I ordered the large... it's perfect. I was concerned that it was going to be too big, but the difference between M and L doesn't feel significant. When I first climbed onto the Large, it felt really tall... but once you start riding, those thoughts are gone. The Jet 9 Large still has a very short ETT and cockpit. Because of the short cockpit and steep effective ST, I'd like to try a setback seatpost. I would guess that at 5'-11", you'll have no issues at all with a Large. To be certain, you are in the gray zone where either frame will work for you... it comes down to personal preference. I would compare ETT and cockpit size between the bikes you like and the ones you think are too long and see how they stack up against the Niner geo. I did that spec comparison myself and in the end, that was my basis for choosing the Large.

The Jet 9 is an awesome bike! Very nimble handling. The suspension is sooo adaptable... just a quick throw of the switches (CTD) and you can go from a full-rigid carbon hard tail to a well-manner FS climbing machine to a super-plush FS bike.

 

hey thanks a lot. good info. was that a new Jet 9? I'm looking at the 2011 on sale at Jensons

 

I am 5'10" with a short (30") inseam. I bought a Santa Cruz Tallboy 2 at The Path about two months ago and went with the Large. I have always ridden medium bikes. Always. But after riding both a medium and large around the parking lot (and demoing the medium), and doing a professional fit with the Path, we decided the Large with a shorter stem was a better fit for me. I couldn't be happier. I like the shorter stem (on my medium bikes I always had to run long stems), and the bike just fits.

Every bike brand fits a little different. I would definitely recommend a professional fit to get the right size if you are plunking the money down for a new bike. It was well worth it to me.

 

I bought the 2013 Jet 9 Carbon.

 

Drool......

 

I'm about the same but w/ extra tonage....
the geo of the bike really does matter...I road a large Heckler w/ a 110mm stem but down hill I felt too far over the front wheel and when I shortened the stem I felt cramped....I ended up selling the frame and fork and buying a Bionicon b/c the fit was much better both climbing and descending....I have felt the 29ers I lean towards a medium for some reason.

 

Size up on the frame, so you can run a short stem and lower bars. I am between sizes and went with the Medium Nomad. It always felt on the cramped side so when I snapped the rear triangle a couple months ago I asked Santa Cruz if they would send me a large frame, and they did. Big big difference. The biggest improvements are in off camber corners and fast rock gardens. I was always told that smaller bikes are quicker in corners but it turned out to be the opposite in this case. Climbing is also much more comfortable.

 

5 10"
185/190 depending on monthly burger count
31ish inseam

26" Full squish ....Santa Cruz
29" rigid ...Salsa
29" HT....Niner

All bikes are large and I adjust the stem size accordingly.

At 5 11" you should be fine on any large especially with the " long arms "

 

@garrett how tall are you, I'm 5'10 31 inseam run a 50 stem.. Bike doesn't feel to cramped but sometimes I wish I went with the large 2012 nomad myself

 

I am 5'10 with a 30 inch inseam and ride a large. Generally anything with a 24"TT. I have short legs and a long torso. A med with a 24 inch TT or longer should work for you.

 

Another vote for large and a strong push to test ride, if at all possible. I have test ridden a lot of bikes lately (5in6months) and every test ride of a medium has me telling myself, I don't need to try a medium anymore- after about 20min. They feel better in the parking lot, but not on the trail.
Hope you get to try one.