Best bike for super tall guy

[kizzy]

Hello all, what a wonderful forum! I am looking for advice on which bike to get for my son he is 19, 6'5 and a big lad he also has a heart murmur so to keep him healthy I thought this was a great option as he loves cycling for the extra help on hills. Is there any that are in a more affordable price range? It''s a big ask I know :/
Thank you!

 

[Alan Quay]

If you are handy it's, an easy job to convert any mountain bike. That way you can find a bike that fits and go from there.
Where are you (roughly) as there are are a few companies/individuals who will do the job for you

 

[Emo Rider]

If you are handy it's, an easy job to convert any mountain bike. That way you can find a bike that fits and go from there.
Where are you (roughly) as there are are a few companies/individuals who will do the job for you

Sorry Alan, I meant to make a general reply, not your comment. Btw, a great idea.

A variety of Hiabike Xduro (Bosch) and Sduro (Yamaha) mountain bike models feature large frame sizes that would be suitable. They are sold by Raleigh through many dealers across the UK.

 

[falmouthtony]

I'd suggest a large frame together with 29'' or 700c wheels for someone that tall.

 

[kizzy]

Great advice, will get on researching those thank you, we are in Leeds West Yorks.

Um, after looking at the ones suggested I may be better trying to have a bike converted after all, I just don't have that kind of budget I was thinking about £600, no chance then

 

[RobF]

Don't get too hung up on wheel sizes - it's the frame size that makes the fit.

There are three points of contact on a bicycle - saddle, pedals, and handlebars.

The wheel size is irrelevant to the length between these contact points.

To illustrate the point, a Brompton folding bike has 16" wheels.

But one with an extended seat post - or possibly even with a standard post - would fit your son.

One little mentioned advantage of buying a more expensive ebike is there is a choice of frame sizes.

The budget £1,000 bikes tend to come in a 'medium' size only, which does fit a large proportion of the population adequately, but may not fit an unusually tall or short rider.

 

[trex]

the cheapest you could buy is the Woosh Sirocco CDL
crank drive, 700C wheels, 15AH battery.

http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?sirocco-cdl

 

[Cyclezee]

Hi Kizzy,

Not within your budget, but we have the Heinzmann PAN eTR with 700c wheels and 57cm frame for £1495.

The one below is the 49cm version
​

 

[jonathan75]

Stop!I'm 6'5" but have the leg length of someone 5'5".

The important measurement isn't height and frame size but inside leg measurement (ie leg length) and distance from seat top to bottom bracket (allowing extra 175mm for crank-length).

In English that means if you get a bike that's too tall at the seat, you've got a useless bike,you can't fit decent suspension seat posts, you're into knee damage, etc etc. If you get a bike, any bike, that's supposedly "too small ", you can simply raise the seat post and handlebars, with new parts if necessary.

The bike shop guy is going to sell you a bike. Sadly it's on you to ensure it's one you can really use.

 

[jonathan75]

Oh and ninethly, it's not enough to be able to reach the pedals with a straightened leg (from a good seat/suspension post combo as and when required) , you also need lots of knee bend available,otherwise the knee can hyperextend backwards injuring your knees;plus you need at least certain margins available in order to be able to get the right adjustment so as to have safe and appropriate leg angles for applying repeated downforce.

 

[anotherkiwi]

If you get a bike, any bike, that's supposedly "too small ", you can simply raise the seat post and handlebars, with new parts if necessary.

Except if the top bar is too short and your knees almost touch the handlebars... My seat post and bars are at the maximum and I still feel "perched" on a tiny little thing. Very uncomfortable downhill also with no way of laying down out of the wind, the handlebars would have to be above the front axle!

 

[Sherman]

I'm usually between sizes L/XL (6'3") and go for the bigger size because smaller bikes are shorter both vertically and horizontally. Sadle goes too high compared to handlebars and it's not that easy to rise handlebars on modern bikes (unless you get some hideous adjustable stem). The numbers I look in the bike geometry are stack and reach. If they are ok I check the seat tube length to confirm it's long enough for me.

I can't imagine anyone 6'5" riding biking smaller than XL/21"/60cm. What size frame do you have Jonathan and how long stem?

 

[Nealh]

Hello all, what a wonderful forum! I am looking for advice on which bike to get for my son he is 19, 6'5 and a big lad he also has a heart murmur so to keep him healthy I thought this was a great option as he loves cycling for the extra help on hills. Is there any that are in a more affordable price range? It''s a big ask I know :/
Thank you!

Converting a normal bike does not always mean cheap as you have to factor in the bike cost and the kit, if you already have a bike that fits then a kit will cost about £500 - £600 + £80 - £100 for someone to fit it or a forumite may fit it for a few cuppa's and a bacon butty or two. If you have no bike then finding the right one may cost up to another £300 - £400. A budget of 1k is fairly typical.

 

[Alan Quay]

Converting a normal bike does not always mean cheap as you have to factor in the bike cost and the kit, if you already have a bike that fits then a kit will cost about £500 - £600 + £80 - £100 for someone to fit it or a forumite may fit it for a few cuppa's and a bacon butty or two. If you have no bike then finding the right one may cost up to another £300 - £400. A budget of 1k is fairly typical.

You are correct here, it's not always cheaper, unless:

: You have a bike that you like already.

: You can use eBay, and are happy to fix something up.

: You want something unusual.

At 6ft5 I'm guessing (it is just a guess, happy to be proven wrong) that most of the usual sub £1k bikes will be a poor fit.

For what it's worth, I'm just under 6ft, 32" leg, and a 21" frame is as small as I like to go.

 

[jonathan75]

I'm usually between sizes L/XL (6'3") and go for the bigger size because smaller bikes are shorter both vertically and horizontally. Sadle goes too high compared to handlebars and it's not that easy to rise handlebars on modern bikes (unless you get some hideous adjustable stem). The numbers I look in the bike geometry are stack and reach. If they are ok I check the seat tube length to confirm it's long enough for me.

I can't imagine anyone 6'5" riding biking smaller than XL/21"/60cm. What size frame do you have Jonathan and how long stem?

LOL It's the leg length which is your governing dimension, not your taste in 'hideous adjustible stem Seriously you can violate your taste and not get a knee injury. You'll survive the blow to your pride ;-) I've pasted below a couple of ok-looking adjustible stems. While I'm at it - this is a good site with advice on ergonomics.

Seriously, beauty follows function. There is no value to anyone in a bike which looks beautiful but causes them physical pain.

My inside leg is 30", so if I had a 21" bike (21" is from bottom bracket to the top of the seat-post-hole), and you subtract 7" (175mm) for the crank length, then that means I'd have 2" only for a) a seat, b) seat-post, c) some significant extra allowance so my leg doesn't go straight or over-extend at the bottom of the pedal-stroke. That's just not doable without pedal raisers (wooden chocks you tie onto the pedals) or platform shoes.

My bike is actually 23" frame, a disaster, and I had to buy special 155mm child's cranks off ebay so my knee doesn't hyperextend - and there's no room for a proper suspension seatpost.

The Satori Easy Up looks elegant to my mind and is good for £38, and it fits modern bikes, and for older quill stem bikes the Humpert Up and Down is good and the same firm make some elegant tall quill stems in black and chrome.

Why my post has lines through it I do not know

 

[jonathan75]

Except if the top bar is too short and your knees almost touch the handlebars... My seat post and bars are at the maximum and I still feel "perched" on a tiny little thing. Very uncomfortable downhill also with no way of laying down out of the wind, the handlebars would have to be above the front axle!

Oh dear yes I think I know what you mean. Do you mean your stem is too short? This one is available for modern bikes. Also you could go Dutch with the handlebars & seat.

 

[flecc]

Why my post has lines through it I do not know

That line is not only weird Jonathan, it's also affected the "Reply" behaviour. Normally when using the reply button the quoted text persists, so has to be used or a post made and deleted if necessary. In this case that doesn't happen to your lined through text, when I quoted to check it out, it just disappears if not used.
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