Newby to MTB, frame size for me?

[Frimley111R]

Very basic question here but I am dippin' my toe in the MTB water and am going to by a 2nd hand bike from eBay. I don't want to waste £500 if I don't use it. However I am not sure, at 5'8" tall, what size frame I should go for. I went into Halfords and sat on one with an 18" frame which seemed fine but there is a nice Carerra Vulcan on eBay with a 16" frame. Would it be a bit small or is it largely irrelevant given how much the seat moves?

[ccr32]

You have to remember that a bigger bike will be longer too, so if you get one which is smaller than ideal, it will also be shorter, making you sit more upright on the bike which won't aid climbing. That said, a smaller/shorter bike is generally more manoeuvrable.

If buying a second hander, you may be able to alleviate some of the length issues by getting a longer handlebar stem for it, though that will also change the way it steers.

Best bet, try before you buy...

[51mes]

Recently been through this as a newbie ;-)

I was reccomended to leave a good inch or two clear gap between the crossbar of the frame and your crown jewels...

Also a smaller frame is much easier to manouvre..

I'm 5' 10" and have a 16" frame.

SImes.

[itsnotarace]

Also depends what you're going to use it for, as well as the rest of your dimensions. Your overall height does not tell us if you have short legs and long torso or vice versa. FWIW I'm the same height and I ride a 17.5" frame

Standard advice: test ride test ride test ride test ride test ride test ride test ride test ride test ride test ride test ride test ride test ride

[Frimley111R]

Thanks all!

[Gooby]

People seem to forget the flip side to the small frame / agile point. It is also less stable at speed. A light frame with good wheels is also agile. A frame that is too small or too big will be uncomfortable and difficult to ride.

The advice is simple and basic;
1) buy from a shop that knows what they are selling and understands cycling.
2) TEST RIDE. Good shops that care about the customer will have demo bikes that they will lend you for a weekend.

[RobDickinson]

I' 5'8" too and have a 17.5" trek which is a touch too big and a 16" 29er khs which is better

[anonymous-user]

Other important question, what sort of MTB, and what terrain will you spend most of your time on??

I'm 6.2 and i have a 19" Marin, which tbh, on the road is a mite to small, but in the twisty technical stuff i spend all my time on it's ace!

As mentioned, see if you can at least try to test ride a few bikes from various manufacturers before hitting ebay, that will help you sort out all the issues of size, rake, geo etc!.

[Kuroblack350]

I asked the very same question a few weeks ago!

Thankfully the advice was consistent and centered around testing as many bike sizes as possible.

At 5' 10" I was advised that anything from 16.5 to 18.5 might be ok, but would depend on the bike in question, as they're all quite different. In the end I went for an 18.5" Trek, which feels fantastic.