hey guys and gals. quick question for options. long story short...i used to own a niner one9 in size M. i felt it was too long for me and upon further review it was almost an inch longer than my comparable 26'ers ETTL. i know 26 and 29 are comparing an apple and orange...but at the end of the day, i couldn't handle running a 70mm stem just to be comfortable. i also could not keep the front end down and i felt very twitchy and uncontrollable on the bike. fast forward a year later and i started buying size small Niner frames with ETTL more closer to my 26ers and so far a lot better. after making stem and rise adjustments to compensate i have between a 100mm and a 110mm stem with a slight negative rise slammed all the way down. i am 5'8", not sure if i have torso long or short. i gave a 32" arm sleeve, and wear 30" length jeans (that are not floods) which is about 28.5" inseam barefoot measured. i have to run a Thomson 410mm post and it is about 1 inch above the min line. that places plenty of post below the cross area of the tubes. i know Niner (compared to others) has very long TT and short seat tubes, but am i crazy? my simple math tells me i am about in the same boat since i have subtracted the length out of the frame and added it to the stem. i can effectively keep the front end down and the bike flows very nicely. i just get a lot of **** that i ride a small with so "long" of a stem and people shorter then me in my crowd ride size M. i know it is all opinions and hear-say of what works for you...but based on my basic specs and ride...does it makes sense?
oh, final note. this is my "race bike" set up 1x10. very aggressive styling i was shooting for.
sounds like you have shifted your weight forward with a longer stem (in proportion to the whole bike), which keeps the wheel down. Should also give you more front wheel traction on cornering. As long as you don't have the feeling you'll endo, it may just be your style or shape suits that size? You'll have a shorter wheelbase I would guess although sometimes the head angles on bikes change for small sizes to compensate, so I can't say for sure that is what the reason is.
I agree that if it works, you should keep rockin it that way. I'm 5'9" with a 30" inseam, and even I have been thinking about a small Niner lately. I do not care how I look when I ride or what people think about what I ride, I only care how much I'm enjoying the ride.
I had a 70mm stem on the size M frame and I could not keep the front end down. I'm still tinkering with stem length...I know the trend is shorter and shorter...but I feel more stretched out and distributed with around 100mm on the size S frame. Anyone here riding a air9C or air 9?! Or something similar in geometry spec? I like to hear what everyone is rocking and their application in riding/riding style.
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