Guy Yinon

Hi !
I'm considering building a 26er touring/bikepacking/all around bike.
I probably have most of the parts and I still can't figure out the frame in terms of sizing and usability
When I had a MTB, it was M (17.5)
Currently, the used frames (not a complete bikes) that are available are:

Used Orange P7 (2009 ?) - 19'', steel, currently has a 430mm a-2-c fork (Orange p7 uses 130mm-140mm suspension fork), disc brakes only, front and rear rack options
Used Trek 6500 slr - Medium (17.5), alloy, easy to get a simple rigid fork, v-brakes, front and rear rack options
Used GT aggressor - Large (20), alloy, easy to get a simple rigid fork, v-brakes, front and rear rack options
New Hardy1 UMF - 16.5, alloy, not the usual touring machine, no rear or front rack options but I might consider a trailer

I've been told that for touring, I need a one size up frame but I've been also told that any bike can be adjusted

I really appreciate any input !

Tourist in MSN

Drop bars or flat bars? Drop bars usually have a much shorter top tube than flat bar bikes. When your hands are on the hoods on a drop bar bike, your hands are quite far forward from the steerer tube, but on a flat bar bike your hands are not as far in front of the steerer.

Almost all my bikes are drop bars. I focus much more on the top tube length than on seat tube (or effective seat tube) height. The reason for that is that you can change reach on a drop bar bike with different stem lengths, but the range from short stem to long stem is a pretty small range.

But seat tube heights, you can vary the amount of seatpost sticking up above the frame by a lot.

Standover height is important too, but in this era of sloping top tubes, a bike with inadequate standover height is very rare, so that is the last thing I look at instead of the first.

robow

How tall are you and do you feel you are of average proportion, meaning of that height are you relatively longer in the upper torso or lower torso than average ? Without knowing effective top tube for each bike, it will be tough to make an exact comparison but we can give you some best guesses.

Guy Yinon

Hi, @robow. all of the specified frames are around 590mm-600mm top tube. My height is 174cm with 80cm inseam.

djb

Yes, I am being blunt, but that makes no sense, use a frame that fits you properly.
Riding is riding, touring is riding a lot more hours per day than you usually would do, so the right fit is even more important--and yes, stem lengths, bar height changes, actual bars that have different shapes, angled back hand positions etc all that can be adjusted.
You still havent said if you want to go flat bars or dropbars, but at your height, a medium frame is suitable, as you already know from experience.

imi

I definitely agree. (Effective) Top-Tube length is paramount to comfort.

cyccommute 

Nope. Don't go up one size for touring on a mountain bike frame. Mountain bikes are proportioned for specific sizes just like road bikes are. A 17.5" mountain bike is proportioned for someone who would ride 52cm road frame. A 19" to 20" mountain bike is for someone who rides a 58cm frame. Mountain bikes also tend towards longer top tubes than road bikes which means that putting drop bars on a mountain bike frame that is one size up would push the handlebars way out.

Stick with the 17.5" mountain frames.

RH Clark

I would stay between 17.5 to possibly 19 for your height but it depends on you and the bike. I'm 6'2" and have ridden a 17.5 inch frame MTB hundreds of miles before I knew it was too small. I've ridden a range of smaller 17-inch frames MTB's to 25" touring frames. I've made some work but the ones that actually fit without going to extremes are the most comfortable.