If you’ve been reading for a while you’ll know all about the Epic that I bought before Christmas. Well, great bike that it was it had to go I’m afraid. I learned a lesson in frame geometry and now know that a Specialized size Medium isn’t for me.
I’m 5ft 10, not a tall man by any measure, and I saw many recommendations on the net saying that a Medium was perfect for my height. In fact, I saw a few recommendations for anything up to 6ft on a Medium frame. Well, I’m not sure what kind of a freak I am but it appears that my legs are too long for me. Or my body’s too short? I’m not sure…
Anyway, to stretch my legs to the proper degree the seat had to be too high – not massively, but enough that I worried about the stress it was putting on the frame when gripping such a short bit of seat-post. It was dissapointing because I wanted to get a good frame which I could gradually upgrade with top components and end up with a long-term, top class rig. Too short tho means not perfect enough and I took the decision to sell it on. Someone with normal sized legs will love it far better than I, alas… Take my advice though, make sure you try a bike out before buying it, even if you have to go and borrow an equivalent from a local shop for a go as I should have. An ill-fitting bike wont do you any good.
So, the search continues. I loved the Epic, but in my current financial state I’m relying again on the second hand market. Let’s see what we can get…
[tags]Specialized, specialized epic, bike size, bike geometry, mountain bike, mountain biking[/tags]
Weird… I am 181cm (just over 5’11”) and just got rid of my Large size Epic. It was like steering a boat – the thing was too long. Have downsized to a medium equivalent and it’s so much better on singletrack.
Looks like I’m 2 years late to this blog post, but better late than never I suppose.