Quote Originally Posted by mtnbkn1 View Post
wait, I'm 5'7 and rockin' a medium. Did I size my bike wrong??
Dood, I'm 6 foot and I just turned 3,000 miles off road on my 07 Giant Anthem 2 (That's the cheapest one in the line up!) and it's a n 18.5. I bought it a little small because I like a bike that others would call "twitchy". Lot's of doods like a more open kokpit and so they get a bigger size. The important thing to anyone reading these posts are:

1. Giant, Trek, Fisher, Specialized, pretty much all mass produced brands- with the exception of some Carbon fiber and specialty frames that are hand built elsewhere, the majority of ALL of these frames are made in the same overseas factory, but they have slightly different geometry. Doods and Doodettes have slightly different geometry, too. Start at the bike shop closest to your house and ride bikes until you find the one that makes you smile, and you are comfortable flying over the bars on.

2. Make sure the bike you decide on is in a cool shop- you want to feel comfortable hanging out and feel compfortable asking questions and getting advice. You are gonna want to build a long term 1st name relationship with this place, so you should feel good walking in the door. (this usually isn't a problem in the QC- I've spent dollars in all of'em and been pretty dang happy about it!)

3. Make absolutely sure you are comparing apples to apples. A 1800.00 bike at one shop will not be as nice as a 3600.00 bike at another shop, even if they have exactly the same frame. If one bike is more than 20% different than another bike- check components closely!!

4. Never, ever, under any circumstances start a Ford/Chevy style argument with brands that are made in the same factory.

5. 70% of doods age 25 to 40 have a mountain bike in their garage they haven't ridden in 6 months. DO NOT be one of those doods! Get on the beaten path and ride, man, ride!