Mountain Biking Cross-Satisfaction?

I would be looking at XL and XXL. I ride a full 29er and really enjoy it. They roll a bit faster over technical terrain. 

I 10000% recommend riding a bike before buying it, especially when you are between sizes. 

YT bikes are cheap but keep in mind you don't get much warranty support and are on your own when it comes to repairs. Direct to consumer bikes are awesome for the money savings but suck in other ways. 

I ride a Santa yes, they are expensive, but their warranty is VERY good. I broke my 2019 frame in 2021 and they sent me a brand new 2022 frame (new model). I basically got a new generation frame for free. 

If your new to biking I would stick to a brand that is available at your local bike shop. 

I hate mnt biking…it sucks. Also crashed hard a couple time, worse than my damn mx bike…

I have mnt biking trails / course a mile from my house..can’t even stand driving past it. 
 

I am 6’ 4” and the XL fits me good, any bigger would be too big. 

I'm 6'4" and 215 lbs and have full confidence riding with carbon frames. I broke a few aluminum frames back in the day but haven't broken a carbon one yet.

To the original question, I'm a pretty avid cyclist but for me it does not scratch my moto itch. I wish it did lol

I have always had XL frames. You are going to be on the tall side for a large but XL might be too much reach. I'm not sure about YT's sizing.

Edit: Just looked at YT's sizing chart, it's different than what I'm used to. You would be between XL and XXL.

You're picking a good time to buy. The Covid rush is over and manufacturers have warehouses full of inventory they can't move. I just picked up a new gravel bike that was $700 below MSRP.

I’m 6’1 and ride xxl with a 33mm stem YT bikes do run a bit small I could ride xl but this thing feels sturdy. Also put 160mm fork cus I like to jump. I want to get a Capra for bigger sends I would probably get xl. The short stem makes it feel like bmx/mx. 

If you get a YT get a xxl for sure...you will want a bike with 500mm+ reach..

I stopped riding dirt bikes for about 4 years from 2017-2021. I went all in on XC MTB and road racing, got to be a top Cat 2 racer ready for Cat 1 when COVID shut down the racing. I lived in Laguna Beach, CA with epic trails and roads from my door step and tons of savages to ride/train with. 

It was fun, but it absolutely did not replace moto. Not even close. There's no feeling like laying over your MX bike or whipping/scrubbing actual jumps. 

It was nice not having to drive far or often to ride, and not having to wash your bike, change oil and cleaning air filters each ride makes things less taxing. 

It's cheaper to get started in MTB but adds up quick if you start taking it serious. A good bike is $8-9K, elite bikes are over $12k now. Much less wear parts than moto, which is where you save in the long run. 

I stopped riding dirt bikes to avoid big injuries while starting a business and save some cash to buy my first house. I just needed to prioritize my time and finances better at that time. Once I got through that period I bought another dirt bike and can't really fathom not having one in the garage again. 

Take a break, get your shit straight and come back in a few years. It feels extra good to ride these days, completely guilt-free. I also have a better understanding of training and recovery from those years suffering on the bicycle. 

I still ride my bicycle 1 or 2x/week to stay fit and keep in touch with the people I ride with. Cycling is great for networking and meeting other disciplined, badass dudes. 

This is from YT Halloween ride in San Clemente such a cool company, free beers and tacos after. They have cool clothing for cheap they are on the more core side even though they won a DH World Cup this year and have one of the sickest enduro racers jack moir. Fun brand but also serious and have a quality product. Hippies shred! 

I was in Bentonville, AR last week and they are building a new "YT Mill" downtown. Huge trail system there if you're unfamiliar.

I'll also add that bicycles allow you to access places you wouldn't be able to on a dirt bike, and they're much easier to travel with. 

I enjoyed riding right outside city limits of places like Aspen, Sedona, Portland, Park City, LA, San Diego etc. You will have a new perspective of areas as you will be climbing mountains right out of downtown. Pretty cool to get to the top and look over the cities. 

I bought a bike bag and flew with my bike on most business or leisure trips. Hotels have no problem with you keeping your bike in your room, so much, much easier to travel with than a dirt bike.

You want 29/29 wheels roll over dam near anything 

That’s what I heard from one of the workers at YT as well, he was saying the heirs of the Walmart family have invested huge into bentonville and love mountain biking. 

No way does a mountain bike equal the thrill of Moto unless you have access to legit DH riding. Great cross training, gets you outdoors, but without speed and jumps it simply doesn’t match Moto.

I belong to the no it doesn't replace moto camp. Spent a lot of time on bmx and some mtb's as a kid until my late teens. I had trails right on the property and stuff all over the neighborhood and was pretty good at it. Trails dirt jumps. Some of it translated between the two. The main thing being your on two wheels. 

My favorite type of riding was dirt jumping. Along with some urban riding like jumping off of ledges and stairs. I destroyed a few wheel sets. Cranks. Forks even snapped a head tube off once. 

I really hope you're not thinking bicycles will be safer. Unless all your doing is putting around on them. They can hurt you just as bad as your dirt bike. They tend to do those sudden stop crashes more. 

Bicycle will never replace the feeling of hitting the power and wheeling up a hill. Or hitting a set of whoops. 

For me they will never replace moto. With bicycles I get bored quicker and I don't have that problem with moto. 

I'm in a similiar boat as you. Most if the year I don't have access to moto, so I just ride MTB. I prefer moto all day every day, but the bike is still pretty damn fun.

As far as sizing, I'm about the same size as you. 6'3", 210 with a 34" inseam, and I ride XL frames. I wouldn't want anything bigger. I want the bike to feel nimble under me, and I'm right in the range for all the sizing measurements. I'm not sure how much this will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, my last few bikes have been Pivots FWIW. I wouldn't worry about the carbon frames either, I've broken a couple of aluminum frames so far, but never a carbon. Unless you're doing a bunch of downhill, I'd go 29" wheels too. Just get good one's. Big guys like us are hard on wheelsets. Having a moto background makes it worse sometime I think...lol.

Hey man if you are in KY I can’t recommend more to talk to Shawn at N+1 bikes in Louisville. He has insane deals on ibis bikes. I have a ripmo AF and it’s an incredible bike for the money. I just got an email from them and they are having huge sales on those bikes. If you can make it out to the shop check them out if not they will ship it to your door. I have no affiliation with them but have had awesome experience there.

That's a nice bike! What is it?

I love Motocross and Mountain Biking!  Motocross is first. But I enjoy mountain biking immensely too.

They're different.  For me, mountain biking is about exploring, and challenging myself physically.  I enjoy the downhills and uphills equally.  Plus, I can leave my house, and be on dirt within about 3 minutes, so I get to ride more often.  If you pick up some lights, riding at night is awesome, especially with a group of friends, plus, if you have a family, you can ride on a weekday after work, and leave the weekend for the kids/wife/girlfriend.

Motocross is, well, ...  Motocross!!!  There is no sport on earth that can match it!

"Also do mountain bikes vacuum all your money up like mx? I just wanna ride and I don't need the worlds greatest stuff and I don't mind if everything isn't perfect."

Well, I saved money by purchasing a used Turbo Levo, I then put a $1500 set of carbon fiber wheels with the high engagement for that cool sound on it, Tag metals carbon fiber bars, Renthal stem, Fox dropper post, new SRAM GX derailleur, Race Face pedals and a new motor just because I could get a new one for half price with a warranty. They also recalled my battery while my old one was fine, and I have both. I'm now looking for a frame so I can build a second bike with the old parts and recoup some of the costs. 

If you are a gear guy like most of us moto guys, you'll be addicted soon and throwing money at it like it's going out of style.

definitely interested in a YT myself. hoping to get the Core 4 Izzo. someone mentioned a challenge with warranty repairs which isn’t confidence inspiring but their main shop is in California so…