I'm 6'5" with 97-ish PBH and ride a 65cm Clem H. I'm at the low for pbh range of the 65cm and high for the 59cm and have very little standover clearance on my 65cm but once I'm on it I couldn't imagine wanting the smaller one for most of MY riding... which mostly involves non-technical multiuse paths/road. I'm also somewhat biased from riding a too low MTB for most of my adult life (I'm 38 and rode only my early 90's rigid MTB from age 14 until my late 20's/early 30's.) I had originally considered ordering that first 59cm Clem Prototype... that undecaled gold/tan powdercoated one they once listed, still can be seen in some parts pics on their site... and I know I'd likely have been just as happy riding the 59cm with more seatpost and stem extension but having ridden the 65cm the past two years I find I definitely like the bigger fit for most of my daily rides but if I had more local technical single track instead of all the gravel multiuse paths I'd probably consider going down to a 59cm for similar reasons and gaining the extra standover clearance. I have a short single track detour in my local park system that I could handle with the 65cm but I've had to place a foot or bail out enough times to know I'd want something lower if riding the same terrain the majority of the time.
59cm and 65cm both share 29" wheelsize. Your proposed change incorporates going from 29" to 27.5" wheels. Not sure how much a difference that makes in the bigger picture with your fit/crank length/etc. or if that's also part of the appeal for you? Maybe also consider a Gus or 59cm Clem L? Or maybe someone local to you will have a 52cm to test ride and compare them side by side? Brian Cole Lawrenceville, NJ On Wednesday, May 8, 2019 at 10:09:11 PM UTC-4, tc wrote: > Thanks all for your comments so far! > > Patrick, I know you are a bigger frame kinda guy. I'm finding that I > don't like the bigger frame on my local trails. My 64 Atlantis is > wonderful for gravel and pavement, but feels way big (as does my 59 ClemH) > on singletrack. A longish stem and a MTB flatish bar, or Wavie, might be > the ticket for me on a 52. Dunno... > > Christopher, I guess my saddle height reference is more of a side > comment. Back in the 60s when my friends and I tore up trails on our > "BMX'd" Stingrays, we'd always lower our saddles. I guess it was what > you'd call a learned adaptation to riding rigid bikes that bounce over > roots and rocks when ridden fast :) Done that ever since when riding rigid > when the going gets rough off-road. > > Zed, I was hoping you'd chime in too, as I've followed your Clem > experiences with great interest. You have probably toyed with more > combinations of Clem setups than any of us. I think you're on to something > re: making a smaller Clem bigger is an easier feat than a bigger one > smaller. > > Eric, yes that's a great point re: reach...but it's kinda crazy of me to > even compare. The 52 Clem H's ETT (actually 60cm, 71.5 ST angle) would > effectively give a greater reach than my 61 Roadini (60.5 ETT, 72 ST angle) > and my 60.5 AHH (60 ETT, 71.5 ST angle), as their taller seat tubes would > put more of the top tube behind the crank. And of course the 59 Clem's > reach would be longer still. > > It is interesting that several of the Blue Lug Clem H's are set up with > more seat post height than what is normally confitured/pictured elsewhere. > That's really what started me down this line of thinking for off-road > riding. > > Tom > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/50480156-6b97-4608-bf8b-c84a3fe3da17%40googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
