At least the suspension could have been set up properly for each other's bike as it was a test for the wrong size bike, not improper suspension set up. Poor suspension setup can have a big impact on perception of size differences.
I tought the same immediately when they discussed Rich bottoming out on the climb. It's so easy these days I'm surprised they didn't do it the first time
I would've been really interested to see them each try a size medium as well, since sizing up or down one size is much more common, either intentionally or just because of what's available.
I think the more important thing about sizing is not whether it’s a small, medium or large, but what are the dimensions of those sizes, because a medium can have a different reach depending on the brand. I have seen as much as a 15 to 20 mm difference across brands in their medium size and for me being 170 cm I fall at the top of small in the bottom of medium
yeah i think being only 1 size off on a properly set up bike will be closer to what people are actually trying. but still interesting to see two very good riders managing ok on completely the wrong bike
Yes, do it again on properly setup Medium bikes. Also, as a novice I would love to see a video on getting the right size bike and then what adjustments to make it a perfect fit.
I think a rematch is in order. I really appreciate Anna's input as I'm a shorter rider. It really helps getting that perspective. Thanks for another great video!
Agree on the rematch but you should set up the suspension on your bikes for each other then try a medium for a control ride to see if a little over/under sizing is workable. 🤘👌
I feel a better "real world" comparison would be for the rider to be riding an oversize and undersize bike set up as best as possible for that rider... As that's what we face in the real world... a bike that's not quite the right size... but with a taller/shorter seat, longer/shorter cranks, bigger/smaller/higher/lower head stem... wider/narrower bars etc etc.. It's not often you ride another riders bike that is hugely different to your own (unless unavoidable)... but far more common (especially on a budget like me) where you buy a bike 2nd hand... didn't get a lot of choice over size (but most likely tried to at least get close).. then adjusted what you could on that budget... (For me that was just putting a dropper on and hopefully at some stage, trying to mullet a 27.5 into the 26" totems to get the rake out a little on what is an extremely agile (twitchy) Giant Faith 0 sitting under an otherwise mediocre 55yo)
Smaller is fine, larger is pain. My Lapierre Forggy 318 (09) used to be WAYYY too large for me, it was horrifyng to ride on gravel and on any trails because all you felt was how the front wheel would slip and murder you if you sneezed, then i got my Demo 8 (09 too) and it was an upgrade so notizable that i still can't believe it to this day. It's really nice knowing that the bike you have fits you.
I usually ride a medium, and during my trip in Whistler, I rented a small size GT fury. And I can't describe how much more easier it was for me to throw the bike around and just do steezy things. I'm pretty sure my next bike's gonna be a size small if I do happen to replace my old one.
I ride 26'ers and only have played around in a carpark and a climb on a mates 29er... and trying to wheelie made me feel like a 5yo on his brothers 10speed (ok showing my age with that ref)... I couldn't get the front over 1ft without trying to back flip it... and even then still couldn't reach balancing point.
@@The2808erik actually wheel size does actually come into play with wheelies... as the height of the pivot point is higher.. and I'm used to mid size 26'ers (Like my 25yo Foes and 13yo (tho I have only had it 4y) Giant Faith. and what's worse, when I first learned to wheelie (back in the 70-80's) I taught myself... so stood up... bringing the frame even more upright (near vertical) in a wheelie. The last 20 years I spent using a throttle on a 2 poke MX bike so that didn't help either.
@@TheButlerNZ The seat angle of those older 26 inch bikes is way slacker than modern bikes, that is whats shifting the pivot point more then the wheel size.
Yes and no. My mate is 145cm and has an XS Pinnacle HT. Fits her perfectly. I'm 176 and it fits me just fine in context. I couldn't ride it for any distance but when railing a jump line it's like a BMX for MTB riders. It's amazing. I've also ridden an XL Mondraker Summum DH. Again, couldn't ride distance but my gods it was fast downhill. Relative to a correctly fit bike it felt way more stable due to the extra wheelbase. Ultimately, size is important for long term riding. If you're hitting bike parks with uplift then you can get away with inappropriate sizing if it offers a more throwable or more stable set up depending on what you want. If I were riding jump lines all the time then the mini Pinnacle would be perfect, it's like a slopestyle you can climb.
Would be really interesting to see the follow up video and how much faster you both could have been if you had the suspension set up to your weight, particularly sizing down. I personally size down on my bikes to a medium and find it both comfortable and fast.
I used to ride my dad’s old Trek hard tail before I bought my Santa Cruz 5010 in April. The Trek bike is a size Large and the Santa Cruz is a size X-Large. Anytime I rode on my local trails with my dad’s Trek I would always get lower back pain. With the Santa Cruz, I haven’t had any problems with it so far. Still use my dad’s Trek at jump tracks because it’s the same weight as my Santa Cruz and is easier to throw around
430 mm for a size small is about the reach of a size large 15 years ago , my old dh bike had 425 mm reach . At 6 feet tall I find a 465 -470 mm reach to be spot on
I’m 5’2 and demo-ed a Trek Fuel Ex in a med/lg because there were no small bikes available. Once I was on the bike and adjusted the seat with the dropper, I was good to go. Getting on and off the bike was a challenge. It is a shame that small bikes often have to be special ordered because no one stocks them. Special orders can take months to come in. 😩
Great idea, like you said, set up the suspension next time, and maybe things like handlebars/controls, too, since that can have an affect on body position.
Forget about sizes, focus on reach. After you discover the right reach for you, modify stem and handlebars, till you find a cockpit set up with excellent leverage. And master your skills and position on the bike.
Earlier this summer I went for a ride with my brother in law and he's pretty much Anna's size and I'm Rich's size... He had his new MTB and he loaned me his old one and I proceeded to max out the seat tube adjustment. We went for a ride on a trail near his home. We had a blast going through the mostly uphill bits of the trail and at the end of it we swapped bikes. I'm not gonna lie, the new bike felt way better when sending it downhill, it just blasted through everything but the climbs were dreadful and the ride back home on a few K's of paved road were the worst bit... It just felt too small overall. His old bike, while too short I could at least find a compromise. I went back there this past weekend and I had my cyclocross bike and we hit the same trail... There were a few sketchy bits like a washed out culvert with just stones sticking out and my chainring had no chance of clearing that... So I had to portage that bit and there were a few brutal climbs that I was'nt geared for, but all in all I managed to keep up with him when it got to the CX bits and we had a blast!! My takeaway was that it was not the optimal bike for the task, but at least when it did shine through I came out at my best and I was hard on my BIL's tail!! When we flew out of the trail there was a long downhill paved road with a 30Km/h speed limit.... promptly broken... Then The road climb back up I gained the advantage and the more road bike gearing left him in the dust but it was so much fun! Size does matter! it's ergonomics!! And after watching Seth's review of the Ozark Trail MTB over on his channel, I might cross the border to get one (Can't get them in Canuckistan, need to go to Vermont) or wait 'till next year when a Decathlon opens in town!!
Size is very important, I’m just under 5’10” but have very short legs (30” jeans) and a so a long torso (I’m taller seated than a friend who is 6’1” tall), my first MTB I was advised to get a small for my leg length, it was far too short for my torso height (length as you lean forward), I now ride a medium but have the saddle right back and a longer stem (a large suites better for length but hampers me moving around on the bike), my road going hybrid is a large frame to get the right length as moving around on the bike isn’t necessary.
For pedaling pedal efficiency is key to getting from point a to point b in the speediest fashion . Many things apply to this . The mechanicals of the bike . It's fit ,tires and the list goes on . There is almost a better bike out there for everyone . Finding becomes a very expensive endeavor . This keeps bike companies selling product
Just seeing Anna try to get on Rich's bike at full height makes you realise just how much smaller she really is. You could see why Rich's bike was harder to steer for her in the techy stuff.
I ride a small on every bike and the internet tells me I am suppose to ride a medium and I feel great on all my bikes. I have tried a medium and feel too stretched out. So get on a bike see how it feels and adjust your stem and bars and see how it feels
Opinion: even without controlling all setup variables, this test is still very relevant. In Anna's case, she's slower by a mere 3% and Rich 3.5%. For hobbists like me, bike sizing sounds like just a matter of preference. I have been in the "downsizing" phase of my hobby & have been loving it. Perhaps I should pick up a Large frame again & feel the difference going the other direction?
My bikes are too small for me both my mediums have a 435 reach on them and I'm 5'9. I personally find that on smaller bikes it's harder to balance your weight due to the shorter wheel base and it's harder to stay over the bottom bracket esp in turns and any shifts in position can make a big difference in grip. That also applies to balancing your suspension. While they are more maneuverable, even when jumping, you have a lot higher chance of crashing if you're not perfectly centered when leaving the lip or pushing through a turn. My future bikes will all be 460/470. Can def too long of a bike being a problem too esp in the maneuverability department.
Unfortunately GMBN has gone from one extreme to another again… L to S is completely irrelevant! Why not have S to M and L to M or do it with someone who’s actually between sizes as this is where the topic actually matters! Not have a 6ft rider ride a S and a 5ft rider ride a L… it’s not in anyway helpful unfortunately guys! :)
That was definitely my thought , reset the suspensions , my other thought is set the seat height too , Anna is at a severe disadvantage jacked up that high , and being too low like him is not good either
Very interested in this type of thing, also the male/female bike fits, what do you guys feel about the female specific Liv bikes. Although i have no feel for the science of it all may female friends who have tried them say they are much more comfortable
One overlooked variable is familiarity with the bike. Do three or four runs on the incorrect bike and with the suspension tuned... then you will know is it the bike size.
I understand what you're getting at here but I have a different size bike for every task. Size small DH, size large Trail, Medium Cross Country and large Road.
My Nukeproof scout is too bloody long. Cant get my arse anywhere near the back hub. Im 5' 8 and riding a medium. Gonna try increasing my fork to a 150mm and shortening my stem. Hopefully that will bring my cockpit back a smidgen but probably not enough.
Anna says that riding the dropper partially down isn‘t good for the dropper. Is that really true? Because as a EMTB rider I ride my dropper all the time at different heights and not just fully extended or fully down…
The size of the bike definitely matters to me, I'm 6'5 and my knees are so bad ( torn all cartlages in both ) that I can't stand up and pedal a bike. I have a 36" inseam so I have really long legs too. Actually it's hard for me to stand on the pedals on any bike I've been on lately. Maybe I just haven't been on the right size bike, what do y'all think?
Rich at 6' 1" to Anna's 5' 1" were you standing in a dtich at the start of the clip cause Anna' didn't look that much smaller than you and a helmet isn't a foot. Great idea on the rematch.
Surely they should have set the suspension up for each other’s weight difference, the focus on suspension and set up is always a key factor and area of reviews etc… ?
What would make more sense, even not that funny as this video, would be for a rider normally using medium, to test a small and a large frame, both set up for the rider. That would provide some usefull data and observations.
well do it again with correct suspension setups Me with 3 friends have the exact same frame: 2022 Transition Spire Size M, I aim for an S, but I can't find one on Stock, so I Build my bike at the most budget I can; and the most Small I can (I'm 1.62 tall) with 27.5 tyre size being a 29er frame Another friend its 1.78, uses the same frame, but he built his bike the most Hi end posible, signature components, and the bike its always shiny And the last Friend its 1.88, so he is big, and he aim for Type M too, he came from a GT Force in L Size than never felt comfortable, and just swapped frames, and he went faster almost on day 1 When we swapped bikes, everybody says than the mine it's the most nervous one; and I find than the other bikes are much more harder to steer, they could find nimble differences between the 3 bikes, even the mine with a very different setup, and me? I'm just blocked on trying to not fall down because those bikes are so big to me, and so stiff, wich its utterly hilariuos because as I state at the beggining, all the 3 are the same freacking frames, but built differently
To be fair you should of done it on a medium in the first place because moving 2 sizes is to much and you can't really tell without having suspension setup correctly because you are 2 totally different weights.
Would be good to see a rider smack in the middle between two manufacturer recommended sizes and then testing both sizes for speed and comfort. It's a dilemma many riders face. This is really more of a comical, exagerated comparison of extremes; we knew how it would play out before it started.
I mean you’ve done this video already multiple times. Like you said at the end The idea to give Anna a size up from hers and rich a size down ie both ride a medium is what this video should have been. Let’s be honest someone 5 foot 2 isn’t going to be debating getting a size large nor is someone 6 foot 1 going to buy a small. The average person between sizes will not find this helpful as it’s too big of a jump between sizes. Plus there’s 2 other videos on this channel that this is repeating.
I definitely think this test was a waist cause yes you did different sized bikes but normally you don’t just buy a bike and go you buy it and have it properly set up to your needs which is what this test should have been done as
