| The most important reason why you want 3" clearance is for your
safety . If you are to fall between the top tube you'd want to plant
your feet down before your jewels hit the tube.
One thing you should know besides clearance is top tube lenght . This
when properly fitted you will not be crunched that your elbows hit
your knees when pedaling, and alows plenty of room for your lungs to
expand. ( The handle bar should cover the front hub from your view
while riding , Road fit Rule). This can however be corrected by a new
longer stem at extra cost. Your head tube angle will be affected also,
( steeper angles 70degree has longer top tube than 68degree angle.)
This in turn will affect your steering . Steep angles are good for
single tracks where you need to pick a path . Relaxed angles are good
for fire roads and fast decents. The smaller the frame size the less
weight you will have to push up the hill, less flex (lost of comfort)
Easier to manipulate during extreme handling or when throwing it side
to side for climbing off the saddle.
6" clearance is too much for me cause the cost will go up when I have
to buy a super long seat post, handle bar stem, and posibly new crank
arms cause they will be shorter than desired. Buying a good bike does
not mean spending the most. Find the best one for you then find ways
to save like mail order , cross the border , order from a shop in the
US. You'll need the money for a helmet a pair of shoes, shorts etc,etc.
Regards
Ed S.
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Ed, I like the GIANT ATX 760 on the basis of fit, feel and quality,
with price being a secondary factor. However, I want to make sure of
the right amount of clearance, for me, and what concerns me is that
I may ride quite differently after a few months than I do now (remember
that I'm totally green at this). However, the GIANT, with an 18 inch
frame, feels "right" with respect to arms, back, legs, everything, and
gives me about 3.5 inches of clearance. It has quite a long stem, and
I can't see the front hubs at all -- this is very comfortable for me
because I have long arms (and can reach the bars easily), and because
the seat is well back over the rear wheels without being uncomfortably
high. The ride also feels good, but then I'm not really experienced
enough to know what to look for -- I'm just going by feel. Some of the
bikes I've tried feel kind of "wooden", even light ones. The GIANT
feels livelier. The best analogy I can make is that with some of the
bikes I feel like I'm driving my wife's Chevvie station wagon, and with
the GIANT (and a couple of others) I feel like I'm driving my Acura.
Even though the GIANT (at 27.5 lbs.) and the Acura are both heavier,
they have more life, more power, better handling, are more FUN, and oddly
enough, give me a LOT more confidence. The confidence, as much as anything,
tells me that that the GIANT is probably a good choice, for me.
Any thoughts on the ATX 760, or on GIANT? Any alternate suggestions?
Thanks for your interest Ed.
Doug.
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| The place I found clearance most critical was when climbing. When climbing and
the surface gets too soft, or the wheel wedges against a rock, or the wheel
loses traction ... and it is necessary to put feet down the clearance needed is
more than stand-over on the flat, significantly more.
It goes something like the more radical you ride the more clearance you need.
It is much easier to get off a smaller frame when you have to --- not if, when.
Small, stiff, keeping the length needed in the frame --- look at observed trials
frames.
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