# Some perspective on bike sizes from someone who went from a Trek powerfly 4 XSmall to a SC Heckler MX-S Large



## underblu (Aug 24, 2021)

The past few months has found me haunting various LBS , demoing a variety of emtb and coming up with some thoughts on sizing. I think there is a good amount of overlap. My first bike was a Powerfly 4 XS. It was the least expensive eMTB available and was only available in XS. It felt pretty good when I lightly demoed it so I decided to give it a whirl. After a few weeks it felt a little cramped and I looked for something bigger. 

I did some more extensive demo of the following:
Levo Comp SL Medium
Moterra Neo 2 Small
Moterra Neo 3 Medium 
Heckler MX-S Medium
Heckler MX-S Large

The bikes I found the least comfortable were the Levo SL and the Neo 2. The Neo 2 felt way too cramped and the Levo SL felt a touch big. Maybe because of the dual 29s front and back.

I liked both M and L Hecklers and was leaning toward the medium due to the size guide. However, someone beat me to the punch so I bought the Heckler large by default. While I haven’t taken on any real challenging trails since getting into biking, I can tell you the Heckler is a joy to ride. It also feels more tractable than the XS Powerfly 4 which despite its diminutive proportions kinda felt like a tank. Maybe due to the lighter wait of the Heckler. 

Anyway, I thought I’d share some of my observations with other newbies on this forum.


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## BushwackerinPA (Aug 10, 2006)

You never said how tall you are or what you inseam or "APE" index is?


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## underblu (Aug 24, 2021)

5’ 8” with a 29” inseam.


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## TooTallUK (Jul 5, 2005)

I think you went from a bike that was way too small to one that is just a bit too big. But if you're having fun you do you.


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## BushwackerinPA (Aug 10, 2006)

underblu said:


> 5' 8" with a 29" inseam.


So I am 5'8 with a 27 inch inseam and pretty long arms. I prefer a 450-460mm reach with a 35mm stem. So the size L Heckler does not seem that off.


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## BushwackerinPA (Aug 10, 2006)

TooTallUK said:


> I think you went from a bike that was way too small to one that is just a bit too big. But if you're having fun you do you.


reach on Size L heckler is only 465mm. That doesnt seem to big. I have a bike with a a 460mm reach and quite frankly its feels great. I am basically the size of the OP and I feel like until the last year or so reachs were always too short.


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