streetjibs Posted January 14, 2007 Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 (edited) iv been ridin 24s for almost 18months now and before that rode the short (1030ish) older ashton. IMO i stil prefer short bikes for streety stuff however, im curious about gettin a long wb bike for more natty/and possibly street stuff depending on how it goes. Lookin at the zona zenith. No1 in oz has one and i think it looks pretty decent for the $$.Anyhoo... its lead me to this I remember wen bikes first started to get longer (over 1040ish) weelbase and sites like echobike were saying that the long version of the pure etc were for riders over 180cm or there abouts. Just curious now that these bikes have taken over (longer and longer wb) If people still feel the same that some bikes are just too long for their height or whatever??I know there are style issues here.. short bikes suit some people better etc. But i guess i just wanna know if people stil see different length bikes being suited for different height people..?For example... I love my short bikes pashly, old ashton, 24 etcand at 179cm im thinkin i could manage on a zenith (1070) once i adjust oviously. But would u say that a MBK or limey2 would be too long??let the opinions fly.... Edited January 14, 2007 by streetjibs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomm Posted January 14, 2007 Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 At 179cm you can ride what you want, anything from a 1020 to 1100+. I really believe that frame length is due to style and not height. Maybe some short people (less than, say, 5'8") would struggle on a really long bike, but it really does depends on what you want to do and what you're comfortable on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krisboats Posted January 14, 2007 Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 I don't get the whole wheelabse thing... What makes a bike feel longer is the cockpit size. You can't simply not do things anymore just because the front wheel is an extra couple of cm's forwards. When i first got my T-Rex after my base i was still bunnyhopping it and spinning it fine, despite it being 45mm longer.... i think people make a lot of fuss over nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jez Posted January 14, 2007 Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 I don't get the whole wheelabse thing... What makes a bike feel longer is the cockpit size. You can't simply not do things anymore just because the front wheel is an extra couple of cm's forwards. When i first got my T-Rex after my base i was still bunnyhopping it and spinning it fine, despite it being 45mm longer.... i think people make a lot of fuss over nothing.Agreed. Cockpit length....Having said that I ride a 2.zero which has a tiny cockpit on it, and I'm 5'11"ish...feels fooking lovely to me.Try some mate's longer/shorter bikes next time yer out and see what feels wrong/right, but bear in mind their bars/stem combo may make a MASSIVE difference to the ride. Probably moreso than wheelbase.The only thing I would say is that it will probably be harder to get the front end up on a longer wheelbase bike because the weight of the front wheel is further forwards = more weight off the back required to counterbalance it.I ain't ridden many long bikes so I'll keep my trap shut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali C Posted January 14, 2007 Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 I agree, wheelbase isnt as important as cockpit length....its down to the head angle really....Ashtons have a 73 degree headangle and a 1055 wheelbase, but the steeper head angle on bikes means you have to reach further to the bars, Ashtons are the same cockpit length as long echo controls, they have a slacker headangle that moves the cockpit length colser. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Concussion Posted January 14, 2007 Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 Like everyone else, I think it's all about cockpit length.... don't know how Kris bunnyhops his T-Rex though?Ah` I know, skill! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTF Posted January 14, 2007 Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 The cockpit lenght have more to say than the wheelbase.The yellow koxx frame (1100 wb) has the same cockpit lenght as a 06 Echo Control (1065 wb) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash-Kennard Posted January 14, 2007 Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 i went from being 5.4 on a 1010 leeson to a 1095 echo control and I'm now just over 5.8.christ 4 inches in under a year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
streetjibs Posted January 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 ahh good points... thanks guys!will have to try out some bikes and keep in mind that i can change stem/bars to increse/decrease cockpit length. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinJI Posted January 14, 2007 Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 Personally I do think that a bike can be too long for a person. But yeah, its not wheelbase alone that makes the difference.I'm 5' 8/9" (173-175cm)ish, and pretty thin built, and I find my mate control too long for me. I just can't shift my weight around on it, because I feel too stretched out. This isn't the wheelbase's fault though, its more that he's got a 130mm*17deg stem and a 29" bar, which stretches me right out.I ride a 1040 24", which has a cockpit length (BB center - Headtube top-center) of 66cm so near the same as a short control, but with a 65mm stem and 27" bar, its a lot shorter feeling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie_Neal Posted January 15, 2007 Report Share Posted January 15, 2007 Funnily enough I was thinking about this yesterday and how I managed on a Planet X Zebdi. From what I remember of having a quick measure yesterday, my control (1080/85) came out at 810mm from the centre of the BB to the bars compared to 800mm on a jack flash (virtually the same as a zebdi) which only has a wheelbase of 1040mm. It's all in the head angle. Having said that the control does seem to fit me much better as I'm about 6'4". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
future orange 660 Posted January 15, 2007 Report Share Posted January 15, 2007 agreed again for cockpit. you can transform a bike by changing the stem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NirZionTrials Posted January 16, 2007 Report Share Posted January 16, 2007 (edited) so is it correct to say that Cockpit Room = Center of BB to Bars(where the bars and stem meet) ? Edited January 16, 2007 by NirZionTrials Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glass Posted January 16, 2007 Report Share Posted January 16, 2007 Ok let me clear up a few things. What matters is not only how much the rider is stretched out on the bike but his/her position over it. This is because you can have the same stretched out position with two different top tube lengths if the stem length is adjusted (like in mods). So there is a big difference between running a long stem on a short bike (short in the Effective top tube sense) and a long bike with a short/medium stem even if the overall cockpit length is the same! In the first example the rider will have more weight on the front wheel whereas in the second eg the rider will be in the middle of the bike. Increasing the headangle (eg from 71º to 73º) will also put the rider more over the front end. Increasing the bb drop also shortens the Effective Top Tube but puts more weight on the front end (if you don't increase the rise of your stem). So a the Koxx Derangboy with a +80mm bb drop and a wheelbase of 1085mm has a shorter (ETT) than an Koxx Coustellier 1085mm with a 0mm bb drop. Now assuming all things are equal (chainstay length, bb drop, headangle, stem length) then a longer wheelbase (eg 1100mm) bike will be longer in the cockpit than a short (1060mm) one.I have a 1100mm Koxx and I'm 180cm and I think the bike is too long. Kenny Belay is ~179cm and his koxx was a 1080mm. My opinion is that a bike with a wheelbase over 1080mm is for riders over 180cm. Sure there are exceptions but I think this is a good generalization. If you used to sub 1060mm then going to 1060mm maybe better than 1080mm. I would definitely stay away from 1100 if I were you! Of course if you have the opportunity to try out some bikes then that would be the best way for you to find out how long is enough.The attachment below may help you "see" what I'm on about:Stock_Geometry.doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyb Posted January 16, 2007 Report Share Posted January 16, 2007 I have tried lots of different bikes and my a2 now measures at 1080 and i can ride it properly. When i had the long control i found it too long so i went back to the short one.I like to feel i can throw the bike around.Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Has anyone seen my shoe? Posted January 16, 2007 Report Share Posted January 16, 2007 (edited) So at 188 cm am I tall? Maybe a bit too tall for the t-pro I ride(ish) lol Edited January 16, 2007 by Has anyone seen my shoe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTF Posted January 16, 2007 Report Share Posted January 16, 2007 I have tried lots of different bikes and my a2 now measures at 1080 and i can ride it properly. When i had the long control i found it too long so i went back to the short one.I like to feel i can throw the bike around.AndyThe a2 have a much higher bb than the control, deffo it feels shorter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubZero Posted January 17, 2007 Report Share Posted January 17, 2007 I agree, wheelbase isnt as important as cockpit length....its down to the head angle really....Ashtons have a 73 degree headangle and a 1055 wheelbase, but the steeper head angle on bikes means you have to reach further to the bars, Ashtons are the same cockpit length as long echo controls, they have a slacker headangle that moves the cockpit length colser.totaly agree! but ALI please make a new vid on your ashton! Since you are ridin the mbk your style was just like the other riders out there!With the Ashton you were so unique, and please dont let the new ashton be one of these long boring comp bikes! New vid like "ali c gravity" is needed! in lovemartin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
streetjibs Posted January 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2007 thanks for clearing that up guys..having read all the posts and got the information sorted i went bk to tarty website and looked at geo/etc of different bikes and yes like Ali said it makes a lot of sense... eg: the ashton 1055wb and 73ha (plus other specs) has a reach of 27"while the control for eg 1060 and 72 (again) has a reach of 25.75"To further put this in perspective... the mbk (wb-1100!) has a reach of 27.25" - ONLY a quarter of an inch longer then tha ashton but for a ton more wb!!Anyways thanks again for everyones posts and helpin me get a grasp on how the different geos/angles etc affect the total bike.danny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.