Thanks for the bike recommendations! Question on Sizing?

[michaelsnead]

I get my used Monty 219 tomorrow.My buddy already got his.This looks like it is going to be a lot of fun once we pick ourselves off the ground and figure out how to stay on these things for more than two minutes.We set the bike up according to some great instructions I got from biketrials.com:


http://www.biketrials.com/how-to/setup.shtml (http://www.biketrials.com/how-to/setup.shtml)


We are both 5’10”, 175-180 lbs and we both feel like we are waaaay over the front wheel on these trials bikes.We are both experienced mountain bikers who can already flat pedal bunny hop, track stand a little and wheelie pretty well…..on our XC mountain bikes.The body position on the trials bike is so different from the mountain bike or a bmx bike that I wonder if we have it set up correctly or did we just buy beginner bikes w/frames that are too short for us?Would one of you please educate me on the difference between short wheelbase trails bike and what I guess are the more modern longer wheelbase trails bikes?Thanks, in advance, for your help with this question.By the way, falling down has so far been a lot of fun too.

Michael

[Gargamel]

You feel you are over the handlebar because the hanflebar are lower then most XC bikes and because the wheelbase is smaller, however a bmx is similar in WB to a mod (dont know about handlebar height, i never rode bmx).

You'll get use to it. Ive seen people 6" tall using old monty's mod with amazing skills.

I ride a PX Zebdi (short wheelbase), im 5'11'' and i felt the same way when i changed from my XC bike to it. I got use to it.

[Matt]

I agree with Gargamel for the most part. You are definitely going to feel cramped, at least at first. I know of at least one 6'3" or better kid on here riding an x-lite mod though, and he's a great rider. I think the main thing is to just keep getting out there and riding it. The feeling of being cramped may never go away, but you'll get used to the way it rides and be able to progress just fine on it. In the future you may decide you want a bike thats a bit stretched out. At that point, you could always change to a stock bike or a long mod.

[michaelsnead]

Good Morning Guys,



First of all, thank you to both Gargamel and Matt for the feedback and support. We are hooked and will defiantly keep riding. Everyone suggested that the Monty 219 was a great beginner bike so we jumped on that choice and I’m sure it will turn out well. However, we bought the bikes without knowing anything about this short wheelbase vs. long wheelbase mod bike question/issue. Would you please educate me why folks have gone from short wheelbase to a longer wheelbase and what the advantages of each are? Thanks for your help with this question. I’m sure it has little to do with our learning curve as raw beginners but I’m interested in design evolutions.



Michael

[Gargamel]

Well im not sure about mod but for stock :

Short WB are used for street :
+ Easier to manual
+ Easier to spin
+ Easier to bunnyhop
- Less confortable on the back wheel
- Taps, front wheel move are harder


Long WB are used for natural/pure trials :
+ Easier to roll up
+ More confortable on the back wheel
+ surge, sidehops are easier / more confortable.
+ Taps, front wheel move
+ More space for your legs
- harder to bunnyhop
- harder to manuel

On a mod i think its probably only a question of comfort, they are 2 sizes of mod around 1000 and around 1030, stock can go from 1020 to 1100.


Feel free to correct me if im wrong....

[Elan]

stocks are in the 1000 range also. and some people have 1103 wb stocks. :momaru:

some mods go as high as 1045 from what ive seen.

if you are an xc rider i think after you learn some basics on the monty mod, youll want to go to a stock if you decide to stick to trialsing. but some opt to stay on the mod... but a stock will definately feel more familiar to a person with an xc background.