I am mostly legs and my ape index is 1.0 so I don't need monstrous reach generally. That said I've ridden bikes with 485 and 490 comfortably but the 490 reach of the MT (hi position) did not feel good in some situations. My ideal reach for that bike might be closer to 480 but the 470 never felt small either. I agree with you on longer reach however. My most recent personal bike was a large Yeti SB5.5 with a reach of 442 and until I rode something longer it felt fine. Now it feels tiny. The XL 5.5 is only 463 which gives a good idea how much things have changed in just a couple of years. That's smaller than most modern larges.
March 19, 2019, 1:56 p.m. - Cam McRae
I am mostly legs and my ape index is 1.0 so I don't need monstrous reach generally. That said I've ridden bikes with 485 and 490 comfortably but the 490 reach of the MT (hi position) did not feel good in some situations. My ideal reach for that bike might be closer to 480 but the 470 never felt small either. I agree with you on longer reach however. My most recent personal bike was a large Yeti SB5.5 with a reach of 442 and until I rode something longer it felt fine. Now it feels tiny. The XL 5.5 is only 463 which gives a good idea how much things have changed in just a couple of years. That's smaller than most modern larges.