# Hows your inseam compare to overall height.



## liltommy (Aug 9, 2004)

I'm asking here cause alot of clydes tend to be on the tall side.
I've been playing with my saddle height trying to find a good fit. If I keep it high where its comfortable for xc I feel less stable on technical sections. Lower it and it bugs the knees.

I was curious how I compared to others as far as leg length to height ratio.
Wondering if I was just oddly proportioned.

I'm 6'-3" (1905) with a 35" (889) inseam. 

seeya


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## Brianjonesphoto (Jan 23, 2005)

liltommy said:


> If I keep it high where its comfortable for xc I feel less stable on technical sections. Lower it and it bugs the knees.


I think everyone has this problem not just clydes. I hate adjusting my saddle all the time so I founf a position that works well for me. maybe 1/2" lower than it should be. It took some time to get used to but I eventually did.

As far as build i'm the opposite of you. I'm 6' 6" with a 34" inseam. I don't sit as tall as you do, but my bike's so long I can't get around many tight corners


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## ishmael2k (Feb 25, 2006)

I am 6'6" and have 34" inseam.

I have to have the seat set higher than I like for tight areas to feel comfortable in regular sections.


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## langen (May 21, 2005)

i´m 6´9" with a 42" inseam.

i´m running the seat as high as it will go without breaking the top of the seattube. and i would still like to run it a little bit higher for the non-technical sections. i think the biggest obstacle of having a high seat is getting behind it and up again on steep descents.


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## b3n (Oct 31, 2005)

This is an interesting question. I searched something on the net a few weeks ago and I didn't find anything about average man proportions. I'm 6' 1" with 35" inseam. Pretty long legs, I guess.


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## DrDon (Sep 25, 2004)

6'0" with a 35in inseam. Have to run a long post on a 19in frame. I have broad shoulders and long arms so I usually use a DH riser.


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## DrDon (Sep 25, 2004)

6'0" with a 35in inseam. Have to run a long post on a 19in frame. I have broad shoulders and long arms so I usually use a DH riser.


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## Guyechka (Jul 19, 2005)

I'm 6'2" with a 33" inseam. Actually, I haven't had much trouble with finding a bike that will fit me well. I can use a 19" to 20" bike and feel comfortable. I run my saddle height at 30" (29" on a bad day and 30.5" when I'm on an easy, fast trail). The amazing thing is that not that I don't have trouble with saddle height, but that I don't have trouble with a cramped cockpit. Maybe it's because frame builders are making their frames a little longer than they used to.


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## Capt Tripps (Jan 19, 2005)

6'4 35 inch inseam. I ride a XL GF Sugar race on most trails, Back in the day, I used HiteRites on my Ritchey, and other rigid rides, for that quick drop the saddle on the technical / downhills and a flip of the qr back to full height while still in the saddle. I still have one on my Ritchey, and have a second I am thinking of adapting to my Sugar, the seat tube clamp would have to be bigger is all. 

The more things change the more they stay the same.


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## walrasian (Aug 16, 2005)

aha I have the shortest inseam of you all........32inches and I am 6'3 just try and find someone more proportioned like a gorrilla.....i dare yah


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## MrHyde (Nov 11, 2004)

langen said:


> i´m 6´9" with a 42" inseam.
> 
> i´m running the seat as high as it will go without breaking the top of the seattube. and i would still like to run it a little bit higher for the non-technical sections. i think the biggest obstacle of having a high seat is getting behind it and up again on steep descents.


Woah.. And I thought I had troubles with frame sizes! I'm 6'6" with a 40" inseam, and I run a 21.5" frame with a 410mm seat post as far as I dare go. I find the major issue with this is ballance. It seems that the seat angle puts the center of gravity farther and farther back as the seat gets higher, to the point that standing up and leaning way over the bars for relatively easy climbs is nessessary. With my bars 3" lower than my seat and a 120mm stem, 24.5" top tube my balance point is when the front wheel is about 2' off the ground. This means my front end is getting light at only a foot higher than the rear. That's not much of a hill to get me going over backwards with each pedal stroke! Anybody else run into this? I have tried slamming the bar way down low, like 7" lower than the seat with the longest stem possible, but decending was scarry to say the least! It seems like longer cranks would help. Anybody find any long cranks other than the zinn roadie-esque stuff? There is a company in BC, Canada called North Shore Billet that makes CNC'd ISIS cranks, and said that they possibly could build me some long cranks. According to the formulas on the Zinn Cycle website I should be on 210-220mm cranks. Likely I would get something more reasonable like 205, Just so that I don't start running into the chainstays and smacking rocks. I consitered finding a longer shock to raise the rear to compensate, but I think that may have to be custom, as I can only afford about 1/4" longer before the swingarm starts to interfere. But just thinking about it makes me drool... It would put my body about an inch and a quarter lower and farther ahead. That would get more weight up front. Anybody else already find the solution to this problem?


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## langen (May 21, 2005)

MrHyde said:


> Woah.. And I thought I had troubles with frame sizes! I'm 6'6" with a 40" inseam, and I run a 21.5" frame with a 410mm seat post as far as I dare go. I find the major issue with this is ballance. It seems that the seat angle puts the center of gravity farther and farther back as the seat gets higher, to the point that standing up and leaning way over the bars for relatively easy climbs is nessessary. With my bars 3" lower than my seat and a 120mm stem, 24.5" top tube my balance point is when the front wheel is about 2' off the ground. This means my front end is getting light at only a foot higher than the rear. That's not much of a hill to get me going over backwards with each pedal stroke! Anybody else run into this? I have tried slamming the bar way down low, like 7" lower than the seat with the longest stem possible, but decending was scarry to say the least! It seems like longer cranks would help. Anybody find any long cranks other than the zinn roadie-esque stuff? There is a company in BC, Canada called North Shore Billet that makes CNC'd ISIS cranks, and said that they possibly could build me some long cranks. According to the formulas on the Zinn Cycle website I should be on 210-220mm cranks. Likely I would get something more reasonable like 205, Just so that I don't start running into the chainstays and smacking rocks. I consitered finding a longer shock to raise the rear to compensate, but I think that may have to be custom, as I can only afford about 1/4" longer before the swingarm starts to interfere. But just thinking about it makes me drool... It would put my body about an inch and a quarter lower and farther ahead. That would get more weight up front. Anybody else already find the solution to this problem?


go custom  that way you can get the seat angle as steep as you want. i'm actually waiting for an XXL waltworks 29er frame as we speak - hoping it will arrive this week. 25" seattube and 26" eff toptube. and big wheels of course!

i also think long cranks are a good idea for us tall fellas. enables you to lower your seat in relation to your bars. yey!
because of somewhat bad knees i think i'll go for 190mm's. http://www.profileracing.com/loader.php?load=shop&productid=43 have some that supposedly are bomber.


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## DrDon (Sep 25, 2004)

I like to run risers about a inch below the seat so even with me being six feet tall with a 35 inch inseam, running a long post didn't affect the bar/seat relationship for me that much. The biggest issue for me was the seat now being positioned further over the rear wheel which like you made me wheely like crazy on climbs. To me this is the best reason to run 29 inch wheels. I'm 250lbs and now I can grind low gears and not have the front end come up with just shifting my body back ever so slightly.


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## crashtestdummy (Jun 18, 2005)

abscar said:


> I like to run risers about a inch below the seat so even with me being six feet tall with a 35 inch inseam, running a long post didn't affect the bar/seat relationship for me that much. The biggest issue for me was the seat now being positioned further over the rear wheel which like you made me wheely like crazy on climbs. To me this is the best reason to run 29 inch wheels. I'm 250lbs and now I can grind low gears and not have the front end come up with just shifting my body back ever so slightly.


I'm 6'2" with 36" inseam and I have to agree about 29ers. On my last 26er I had 13" of seatpost sticking out. My XL 29er fits great, although I have to keep my seat slid back for my monkey arms to be comfortable. No endo's so far at least.


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## MrHyde (Nov 11, 2004)

Those profile cranks look great, but is it just me or are those aimed at bikes with 150mm DH rear axles? A six inch spindle would likely put the chainrings in line with the wider back end. And as for custom frame, I'd love to! But I'm a student.... on a mack and cheeze budjet just so I can afford my current bike - which is awesome but still cost less in total than a custom frame. I've been drooling over that Lenz levithan since I seen pics last year of the prototype... man, that would be perfect. Zinn has a wicked all mountain type 29'er too, but that frame alone would be more than four grand by the time I get it into Canada. By the time I get a beefy custom 29er wheelset built I'll really be hurting (and hungry) What we need is more big boys on bikes, then mabee the manufacturers will start paying attention and give the XL frames another inch or so on the chainstays and cranks!


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## Mikey984 (Apr 4, 2006)

I'm 6'3" with a short inseam as well. Plenty of people have a long trunk like myself. It does make it odd when you sit so far over the bike making it hard to reach the grips. I have a 21" Giant Yukon and it works pretty good.


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## Wherebob (Mar 29, 2006)

I'm 6ft with a 33" inseam. My main bike is a c dale f400 XL. Good fit for everything except tight areas on the trail. Its a pretty big bike.


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## icodeit (Mar 31, 2005)

6'4" with 33" inseam.

Biking is Okay... but buying a car with a enough head room when your long in the body is a pain in the A.


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## ruralakay (May 4, 2006)

stripes said:


> 5'4" with a 28" inseam. I'm not sure how that is proportionally to everyone else here as I'm female.


Hey, Stripes...We've discussed our heights in PM's, but I don't think I mentioned my inseam. Mine's somewhere between 30-31" (prob. just slightly above 30", but silly me...it's darn hard to measure it by yourself... ).

That may explain why my 17" Trek frame seems comfy to me, even though the general recommended frame size for 5' 4" is usually 15-16".

I know you've said you have actually had to go UNDER the recommended 15-16", because of your inseam, right?

Guess that just goes to show that 2+2 doesn't ALWAYS equal 4!!:skep:

Angela


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## ruralakay (May 4, 2006)

Oh, and get this...my 43 yr. old husband wears 28X28 jeans. This year is the first year since we got married (1993) that he had to go up from a 27 inch waist. 

Yes, it does make me jealous!! LOL.


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## Blue Shorts (Jun 1, 2004)

I have long legs for my height. I'm around 5'8" tall and I have a 32.5" inseam. Needless to say, it's tough to find a bike that fits me.. 

I currently ride a medium Turner 5 Spot. There's about 9.5 - 10" of seatpost exposed above the seat tube.


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## DrDon (Sep 25, 2004)

*Addendum - I'm a freak*

I was just fitted to my road bike by a certified Serrotta technician. I was told by him he has never had anyone with such a long inseam relative to torso length. My inseam is 51.8% of my total height. It seems that the average is 47-48%. So goes the Madone SL, the purchase of a Nashbar special replacement, and the beginning of saving for a custom frame. I do have a semi-custom Ventana courtesy of Sherman which fits me perfectly.


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## ruralakay (May 4, 2006)

Exactly, Stripes.

And, let me tell you, I get more hot, the more I think about the fact that our LBS sold my husband a bike frame that was way too big for him. Granted, my husband probably should have done more research, back when he bought the Trek (over a decade ago), but the LBS people were supposedly the "experts," and bore the responsibility of saying, "That frame isn't going to fit you. Why don't you let us order you a smaller frame?" As it is, I feel like they were only interested in the sale, not the customer's satisfaction, and they took advantage of his lack of knowledge.

Definitely makes me think twice about using that particular LBS for my FS bike purchase.:madmax: 

OR...maybe what I ought to do is go in and feign ignorance about mtbikes, in general, and see what they try to stick me on....I'll bet it'll be whatever model they are having trouble getting rid of.


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## Blue Shorts (Jun 1, 2004)

ruralakay said:


> Exactly, Stripes.
> 
> And, let me tell you, I get more hot, the more I think about the fact that our LBS sold my husband a bike frame that was way too big for him.


Things change over time. I remember when I got my first mountain bike in 1987. It was a Trek 850 mountain bike..... fully rigid. I also got a bike that I later (much, much later) realized was too big. Back then, mountain biking wasn't near as popular as it is now. Most bike shops fit bikes similarly to road bikes.

Long stems were the norm. Being stretched out was also the norm.

Give the LBS a chance. Things have changed a lot since then.


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## ruralakay (May 4, 2006)

That's true. This bike shop has always had a tendency towards catering to the road rider, more than the mtb rider. Even now. However, I CAN say the guys down there are very friendly and seem eager to help (at least, the ones they have now).


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## artnshel (Jul 10, 2004)

abscar said:


> I was just fitted to my road bike by a certified Serrotta technician. I was told by him he has never had anyone with such a long inseam relative to torso length. My inseam is 51.8% of my total height. It seems that the average is 47-48%. So goes the Madone SL, the purchase of a Nashbar special replacement, and the beginning of saving for a custom frame. I do have a semi-custom Ventana courtesy of Sherman which fits me perfectly.


I'm right there with you at 51.4%.

181 ht
93 inseam


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## TooTallUK (Jul 5, 2005)

a mere 6'7" tall with a 40" standover here. I find the standover is more meaningful than inseam here - more descriptive of the measurement and more useful overall.


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## BubbaTime (Mar 9, 2004)

*Seat ht.*

I'm 6'2'' w/ 34.5 inseam . I run my seat ht @ 31'' . Middle of bb to seat ht. My knee is centered over pedal at 3 o'clock. Any farther back and the knees are screaming.
I leave my saddle alone. This is ideal, in all situations for me. I used to full around with it etc.. Heck, I even bought a gravity dropper. Never used it.

Ride On !!:thumbsup:


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