Wazza 120

Thanks cptmayhem. Okay, so worth investigating the merida then on account of the budget. And perhaps then changing the seatpost from upright to the bendy one, and then play with stem length. Basically best options. I can't think of anything else unless something magical miraculously appeared in front of me. Ha ha.

Does the geometry make all the difference? Is it the be all and end all? The merida top tube is 650. The GT 610. Reach for merida 445. Not given for GT. Seat tube merida 560. GT 521. Stand over height merida 843 GT 831. There are differences, but will they affect the riding and comfort? What I didn't ask earlier was at what point do you think you are too far over front wheel, as in, if I took a longer stem for the max reach, am I not compromising being over the front of the bike?

This is a wonderful poll and question and one I'd like some help with too. Please. What are your suggestions for a 2m wanting to get into mtb riding? Your poll has excluded XXL bikes of which I know of one available to me. No one really wants to hold stock of one in case it doesn't sell. So in my budget and predicament I have two options. GT Avalanche XL or merida big nine 500 XXL. The XXL would be a keeper as I haven't seen anything XXL for sale in the classifieds. The motivation for the XL is riding something more compact and perhaps maneuverable in tight zones. Your thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks!