# Transposing fit from an XC hardtail to a FS bike



## sbornia (Nov 27, 2008)

I’m probably asking for trouble by looking for fit advice on the Interwebz and/or not going out to test ride a bunch of bikes, but let me give this a shot…

Say you’ve got a XCish hardtail that fits well and has reach and stack measurements of X and Y.

When looking at full suspension bikes, would you try to get as close to X and Y as practical? If that’s not possible — especially for reach, which from my casual observation is typically much longer on trail FS bikes than on XC hardtails — how much greater than X can you go before the resulting frame will not likely fit well?

Perhaps another way of phrasing my question would be: is there an approximate rule you’d apply when transposing your fit from an XC bike to a FS bike? What other dimensions of the frame geo beyond reach and stack would you consider carefully? 

Thanks for any experience you can share.


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## prj71 (Dec 29, 2014)

I use RAD. The hypotenuse on my XC hardtail is nearly identical to my full suspension bike even though the geometry numbers are totally different. Other than the front tire being out further in the front on the full suspension bike, when I switch from one to the other they feel exactly the same.









Dialing in your bike setup step 1: Make it RAD - Lee Likes Bikes


This article is adapted from the book Dialed and ran on Pinkbike. It lays out the most important aspect of mountain bike fit and setup. I hope you find it helpful! When it comes to mountain bike setup, the most important measurement is the distance between your bottom bracket and your grips. I...




www.leelikesbikes.com


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## joecx (Aug 17, 2013)

sbornia said:


> I’m probably asking for trouble by looking for fit advice on the Interwebz and/or not going out to test ride a bunch of bikes, but let me give this a shot…
> 
> Say you’ve got a XCish hardtail that fits well and has reach and stack measurements of X and Y.
> 
> ...


The reach on a hardtail grows as the fork compresses and an FS tends to shrink slightly as the bike settles into it's sag point as the rear typically has more sag. Most modern FS bikes also have a steeper seat tube angle that will shrink the top tube length combined with shorter stems and wider bars that make transferring fit dimensions a real balancing act.


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## TylerVernon (Nov 10, 2019)

For my short and mid travel pedaling bike, I transferred my ett measurements over exactly. For my long travel bike I like a reduced ett and shorter stem.


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## sbornia (Nov 27, 2008)

Thanks guys, good info.


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