What's the most popular size of Ride Cymbal?

I have 3 Sabian rides, each different sizes that have different voices.

20” AAX Metal Ride - bright/ping definition from bow and clanging edge

21” HH Vintage Ride - dark/wash on edge and bow

22” AA Crash/Ride - bright/definition through bow wash on the edge

I’d say nowadays 21” is popular.
 
Should be 20". I've also a 19" and a 21". Used to have a 22" but sold it because it was quite heavy and clunky (probably not because of its diameter, though).
 
Yamaha Rider said:
Would an 18" cymbal be too small?
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On my main kit I use two rides to my right: a 20" Zildjian A crash/ride and an 18" Zildjian A Uptown ride. To the left a 16" Zildjian A crash, 11" K Custom hybrid splash, and 14" K Custom hybrid hats. I just love the versatility that the two rides provide. The 18" Uptown ride is wonderful (but I found the 14" crash and 12" hats that come with the Zildjian City Pack to be too small for anything I do).

On my smaller kit I use a 22" Dream Bliss gorilla ride, an 18" Dream Dark Matter crash and 15" Dark Matter hats. I'd like to add a 2nd ride here, as well. Perhaps a 20" Dark Matter flat earth. But in the US at least, prices of the Dreams have risen considerably. The Dream cymbals have such interesting tones, I really enjoy playing them as a change of pace to my workhorse Zildjians.
 
Iristone said:
Used to have a 22" but sold it because it was quite heavy and clunky (probably not because of its diameter, though).
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My 22" Dream Bliss gorilla weighs something north of 3500 grams, or around 8 pounds.
 
Sakae2xBopster said:
My 22" Dream Bliss gorilla weighs something north of 3500 grams, or around 8 pounds.
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I guess my Ping ride should have weighed similar - however it had too much clunk for me. I bet your Dream would have sounded much better, since my 19" Paiste heavy (with similar thickness) sounds much better than my former clunker.
 
It's been a while since I played anything other than 22" rides, so for me that is just the most "regular" size I guess. But I definately see the advantage with a smaller ride, fitting it into a tight setup with a lot of toms or other cymbals. I've thought about getting a 18" 2002 Psychoptopus (?) ride as a second ride on the left side, or some other kind of thick bell ride. But I guess it depends on your music style as well, I doubt I will ever go smaller than 22" as a main ride...
 
I was not sure which one to choose when I stared so, I asked the guy who sold my the kit to give it to me with a 21" Zildjian Rock ride at 3000g that I sold, but my most polyvalent ride is the Sabian HHX Grooves ride 21" for sure. More ping ride is my AAX Raw Bell dry Ride, in 21" too, I found in love with the Zildjian A Custom Sweet ride 23" for it's nice wash and found again for a super complex 20" Meinl Byzance Foundry Reserved Ride ....And a Sabian Artisan 20" light ride...
All that to say that for me, the most popular is the one you like to play the most... But I still cannot say which one for me!!!!😤😬😩
 
The most popular size is probably 20" - to my mind my ride must be larger than my crashes (no logic, just preference) and my crashes are 20"s so my rides are either 22 or 24.
 
I currently run a pair of 20"s. I also use an 18" Turkish K crash as a ride sometimes. I dont really want a bigger ride at this point in my life.
 
wildbill said:
Sweetwater currently lists 107 cymbal packs, and 55 of those have 20" rides - so a little more than half.
I think a lot of people start out with packs, and most of the lower priced packs have 20" rides.
So 20's are probably most popular still as a first ride.
In the past, 20's were almost universal for ride size.

For people who already have cymbals, I'm sure the trend is towards larger sizes.

Most of my playing time was with 20".
I had three 24" rides, but they're gone, and now I've got mostly 20/21/22, but have several smaller specialty rides too.
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Yeah, I didn't put out my personal preferences when I made that ranked list earlier. My preference is 21, even though I'm primarily on a 22 as of last month. I have 19/20/21/22 sizes in the stable myself.

I'd really be curious to see sales or manufacturing records from the big three companies over the last 30 or so years.
 
If I had to stick with only one size, I'd go 21" or 22" because I prefer them, not because they are popular

I like 19 to 24 inch diameters for rides.
 
SomeBadDrummer said:
There is no better line of cymbals at any price point. Some will have special inking, and some get beat up with hand hammering to create a different sound; others have different lathing, still others are thicker or thinner and then there are the cymbals produced from sheet metal that have their place for entry level players. But there’s really no comparison when looking at quality, history and most importantly sound when considering a consistent line of cymbals.
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While I don't want to disavow "sheet" cymbals (Paiste has been doing a great job with them for years, and Zildjian's S Series has many merits as well), I agree that Zildjian As are hard to top as a go-to sound for multiple applications. The impressive body of work in which they've been used supports that sentiment.
 
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SnickSound said:
I don't think I could do with smaller than 21, if only because I don't like my ride not being at least 2" larger than my bigger crash, and no way I'm going without a 19" crash
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Excellent observation! I tried having two 21"ers and it just didn't work. Your assessment of having a 2" differential b/w ride and crash is pretty spot on, although my 18" crash is 3" smaller than my 21" ride. But who's counting? It's all about the sound, right?
 
C.M. Jones said:
While I don't want to disavow "sheet" cymbals (Paiste has been doing a great job with them for years, and Zildjian's S Series has many merits as well), I agree that Zildjian As are hard to top as a go-to sound for multiple applications. The impressive body of work in which they've been used demonstrates that sentiment.
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Good point, there are other lines that can certainly fill any drummer's quiver. I've tried many other models/levels of cymbals over the years but always came back to A's.

There are some fabulous cymbals from other manufacturers, I suggest for anyone who wants to experiment and find other avenues of expression to absolutely do so by trying out at the local music store before purchasing. Nothing beats trying before buying.
 
Sakae2xBopster said:
My 22" Dream Bliss gorilla weighs something north of 3500 grams, or around 8 pounds.
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drop that on a bare foot and you'll lose a toe quicker than Sally in a minute. That is about what my 21" Rock Ride weighs, and I never move it barefooted lol.
 
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