# Help selecting a bike, tall/heavy rider



## rockchalkjb (Nov 30, 2014)

I am looking for some help selecting a bike. I have 3 pretty nice bike shops in the city that I live in and am a touch confused at what may be the best bike for me with an ~$1500 budget and mixed feedback from shops. One shop is suggesting I should go full suspension and the other shop is suggesting that a hard tail would be just fine. I am 6'7" and about 290-300 lbs and haven't ridden in about 8 years, my previous bike was a $650 Giant XL which would need pretty thorough updates to become rideable again. So my current thought is why not upgrade. My primary riding will be in a local canyon which is actually not bad as it is the 2nd largest in the country. That said, I do have some options locally that I have tracked down including:

Cannondal Scalpal 29 4 (2015) current sale brings it to ~$2500, out of my price range.

Stumpjumper 29er aluminum frame, what I know is it is a mechanics bike and is pretty upgraded, it is a hard tail and he said that he has had it for ~ a year and a half price on it is $1400.

I could also probably get a hard tail Cannondale in that $1500 range with a lefty fork which seems to be the main selling point of the Scalpal other than the full suspension that "will make it easier on my back."

What input do you guys have?


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## nate-roth (Aug 28, 2010)

A few hundred bucks above your $1500 budget, but take a look at a Surly Krampus. We are both the same size guys - I'm a little lighter now about 250-260 but most of my time on the Krampus was at 280-300lb and it is simply the best bike by far Ive ever had. I'm pretty good intermediate rider, at least for a 6'7" 250+ guy, have not had any problem staying with or leading group rides, etc. on the Krampus.

I ride 100+ miles a week in Texas desert and hill country when Im not working in Alaska. i also have a GT Sensor 29'r. The sensor is the only full-suspension bike that really pedaled well for me and didnt suffer from geomtery change due to suspension compression when attempting dificult techy climbs or switchbacks. 

Bikes Ive ridden quite a Bit:
1. XL Salsa Spearfish - too small for me, at 6'7" could never get my weight balanced very well
2. XL Raleigh XXIX-G - steel hardtail - cool bike, once again too small 
3. XXL - Rockhopper Expert - fit really well with the high stack and very long TT, fast bike but brutally rough on anything but really smooth hardpack
4. XXL (23") - Ventana El Rey - very nice bike, fit well, too much suspension movement for my liking 
5. XL GT Sensor Elite - I-Drive works well for 250+ guys, great bike 
6. XL Surly Krampus - I am so much faster on this bike than any of the above, bike fits very well, has a variable wheel base with the horizantal drop outs, the 3" tires grip great in dry conditions and allow me to climb really weel, I left the steer tube un-cut to adjust bar height where I wanted, and the volume of the tires does a great job soaking up the little typical trail chunk that you really feel with a normal 29'r hardtail


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## scottzg (Sep 27, 2006)

I'm a 'lil munchkin at 6'3 220lbs, but at my size i push the envelope of what is available in a production bike. If i was 6'7 and knew i'd be riding mountain bikes for the next 5 years, i'd knuckle down and get a custom steel 29er hardtail frame custom built for myself. I'd want something built around a 70-80mm stem and sturdy 120-140mm fork.

You tall guys just have no idea how good it feels to ride a bike that fits. It's AWESOME, and so much of what you might perceive as lack of skill can be attributed to cramming yourself on to a bike made for someone smaller than me. Spend the ~3.5k and get a really durable custom hardtail and have the fun you deserve for the next 10 years.

Hunt down an XXL if that just isn't possible. Cannondale, trek, and spec make them in a couple models. Don't do this, take the initial advice.


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## TooTallUK (Jul 5, 2005)

6'7" doesn't need a custom. I'm 6'7" and riding my 23" Turner Sultan I know what a bike that fits feels like. We're right on the edge of custom, and as a 1st bike 'back in the game' I'd certainly not advise going anywhere near custom. Very few builders know what a bike that size needs so most would need a customer who has a firm idea of what they want and need.


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## scottzg (Sep 27, 2006)

TooTallUK said:


> 6'7" doesn't need a custom. I'm 6'7" and riding my 23" Turner Sultan I know what a bike that fits feels like. We're right on the edge of custom, and as a 1st bike 'back in the game' I'd certainly not advise going anywhere near custom. Very few builders know what a bike that size needs so most would need a customer who has a firm idea of what they want and need.


You're right, i'm being silly. I rode my buddy's XXL tallboy today and it wasn't too big for me, and i'm confused. It's hard to know what you want when you don't know what you want.


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## rockchalkjb (Nov 30, 2014)

Thanks for all the feedback, I also had the chance to visit with my wife's cousin who road biked at a D1 school to get some ideas from him. He suggested going full suspension if possible and I fortunately ran across a '13 Scalpel 29er XL so I plan to get on it this week and hopefully I will have found my bike!


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