Jumping in to the MTB Scene - Qs

[grinch]

Im not saying highrise harley bars and not bending your elbows. Im saying i like mine set up like my dh bike. There was a trend to have ultra low bars for a while. I never bought into that. Most pros have real riser bars. Sam hill is 5"10" and has a few spacers under his stem and the highest rise bar in the nukeproof line up. I ride just like him so of course i need bars that height......

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[Muggydude]

https://www.amazon.com/TRIWONDER-Bic...NrPXRydWU&th=1

Simple, works well, not much weight.

Front range Mags - any beginner-moderate difficulty trail suggestions to start riding at? have a few places but not too many

My 3rd season on an SB5.5 which is almost the same bike, look at the picts of any pro, modern bars are so wide the rider has a 90 degree bend at the elbows & they are over the front end charging but whatever

IME you sit pretty upright on that bike, reminds a bit of riding a a dirt bike

Not quite sure what your point is? What do my herniated disc issues have to do with how a pro would ride his bike? Or anyone else for that matter. I want to be more upright - because doing that and riding pain free is better than being over the front end charging and having nerve pain shooting down my leg while I'm at it.

[grinch]

Thanks. Not sure ill need it if my parts come through. Cheap option though. Put that link in a folder and put one in the tool box to have.
Maybe xxxer is talking about climbing specific or atleast thats how i understood it. Im more focused on the down and just bend my elbows to suit on the up to keep the front down. Even before s1,l3,4,5 and old age came into play that was my set up. To be fair Hill is a little more upright than most but most enduro racers set there bar height like their dh bike . Its bikes though so riders setups can be different and seem kooky. Diving of the front end is a popular problem that scares me when i watch some people whether suspension set up or bike set up, even on experienced riders. I do know and/or ride with s few fast ones that ,i think , are too low in the front but it works for them. It probably makes a little sense to be a bit higher in the front if the bike has a fair amount of travel or a lot more in the front than rear(incase of front end dive and rear suspension extending at the same time). I usually set my sag in the rear than just make my fork a touch stiffer then the rear and then try and keep the low speed compression as low as possible to keep it supple on small bumps not so low that it dives when you drop down into corners. If rear shock sag and fork air pressure is set the lsc set properly keeps the fork from diving . A balance between supple and not diving

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[Muggydude]

Little update - totally hooked. SB6C is super fun, love the bike. Been taking it all over Golden. Ended up getting a Delta stem raiser which is definitely more solidly built than the amazon one, works well. I need about 2.5” of rise over stock.

I did notice the medium frame seems slightly cramped, even though I’m only 5’10 or so which puts me square in Yeti’s medium size range. I did try a large sb6c a friend had and it was too big/low for me though. I happened to see a nice 2018 SB5.5 Turq for sale locally, went and checked it out. To my surprise it seemed to fit even better than my medium SB6C, and the stance I get is more upright which is better for my back. Works out great actually, needed a bike for the GF to be My riding buddy, so she’ll use the medium SB6C and I’ll use the SB5.5. Stoked to to see how the 29er compares.

[XXX-er]

At 5'8" I tried a large 5.5 and it felt a little long in the cockpit but i liked it, so I went for a medium and its perfect for me

[retirwntm]

^^^I don’t normally ask a dude right out here on the interwebz but what’s your inseam?


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[XXX-er]

we're just talking about bike fit, at 5'8" I've got a 30 " which puts me right in the middle of recommendations for a medium 5.5 and it feels very right

[retirwntm]

I promise, just bike stuff . Yeah I’m 5’10 with 30” inseam which is short leg longer reach from my understanding but seems not so simple as that with bike geo.

Any data points help, thanks.


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[Muggydude]

I have about a 32" inseam.

[XXX-er]

https://www.mtbmonster.com/yeti-bike...tCurrencyId=14

according to this ^^ 32" is still a medium

[TahoeJ]

I'm 5' 11" with a 30" inseam (so short legs, long torso) and ride a large Santa Cruz Bronson, which fits perfectly. I've tried my ex-wife's medium 5010 and it was fine but definitely a little cramped and found when I rode it my back hurt a little - I think from the descents where I wanted to be able to lean forward more.

[Muggydude]

https://www.mtbmonster.com/yeti-bike...tCurrencyId=14

according to this ^^ 32" is still a medium

Don't see inseam on there? Just heights

According to that chart, 5'10" is the max of the medium size for SB6. May explain why it feels cramped. Chart shows 5'11 is max for medium SB5.5. Regardless fit is a pretty personalized thing, tends to be an overlap from what I can gather for people right at the height inbetween too sizes, and they can go up or down based on it it feels for their style, body proportions, injuries, etc. If I ever get the chance I'll have to try a medium SB5.5

[XXX-er]

You said you were 5'10 earlier which puts you closer to the upper limit of the medium size

[XXX-er]

https://www.mtbmonster.com/bike-size-guide/

This is interesting a szie guide by brand

[SchralphMacchio]

The thing is if you are gonna run a steer tube extension on a bike with head tube angle of less than 67 degrees, then the bars will just jam back toward your chest and you will feel cramped. Edit: older bikes had the head tube and steer tube angles much closer to parallel (old xc bikes would be 70 degree hta 72 degree sta for example) while newer bikes have them much more of an intercept path (example 64.5 degree hta 76 degree sta) so the steer tube length now really makes a difference in terms of how close your hands push into your chest.

You can always get a longer stem (start with +20mm on your current stem) to push things forward and make more room, although the steering will start to feel more late and sluggish, so you’d have to change your riding style yet again to accommodate that.

You may end up needing to oversize your frame length on a slack bike to create room for that steer tube extension, but may be able to run a short 40mm stem to get that steering quickness back. The other trade off with the upright riding position demanded by your back, on a longer frame, is that you may not be able to get enough weight on the front tire as intended by the frame designers to get the best feel, handling, an control of the bike.

I know all about back problems believe me. Hopefully a lot more PT and yoga and in time you might be able to split the difference in terms of just being able to run an uncut 225mm steer tube with no extension, and being able to bend and crunch at your hips to keep your back straight while leaning over the bars.

I don’t know enough about the biomechanics and your back challenges to have any other frame recommendations, just guessing that getting an ideal fit and ride for your needs might be a long ongoing process ...

It took me about 5 years of PT and cycling to be able to ride a road bike after I injured my back in 2009, but eventually I regained all my flexibility even if the strength never fully returned.

[jamal]

I don't think STA stands for "steer" tube angle.

[SchralphMacchio]

STA = Seat tube angle.

I assume the OP is a mechanical engineering grad student or similar, so the concepts I’m expressing above should be pretty sensible to him.

I’d rather not have to draw this one out ... I can draw stick figures just fine, but not with proportional back, humerus, and forearm length, and certainly not multiple pics of these exact lengths at different procline angles!

[SchralphMacchio]

Also all that above was assuming bar width is sensible.

If you still feel cramped on the 5.5 you can also get wider bars and not mess with stem length, up to a point anyways.

One thing I did to dial in bar width was to use ODI lock on grips without the end caps to experiment with different riding positions. I ended up not cutting the bar down and just getting bolt on end caps, so that I can move the grips and loan the bike to bigger riders when they are visiting from out of town or their bike is out of service.

[grinch]

My bike came with not a lot of steerer tube. I was able to get some more height with a 40mm rise bar for an extra 2mm, 10mm more fork travel, and a low stack height deity stem(i think its the lowest stack height stem) 2.5mm . Stem is 3mm longer and thats close to the the reach i would have lost being higher

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[XXX-er]

https://www.mbr.co.uk/news/how-to-ri...5y6ONqZ1Z_2ng8

are modern mountain bikes ... modern

[grinch]

They had them pretty dialed from the get go with wide high rise bars and slack angles. Waay better than early 90's trail bikes.
Ill take modern suspension steep sa , shorter cs and lots of standover though.
Still i'm always on the lookout for an early 80's classic that will fit me. Been looking for a while now

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[XXX-er]

https://www.amazon.com/TRIWONDER-Bic...NrPXRydWU&th=1

Simple, works well, not much weight.

Front range Mags - any beginner-moderate difficulty trail suggestions to start riding at? have a few places but not too many




Not quite sure what your point is? What do my herniated disc issues have to do with how a pro would ride his bike? Or anyone else for that matter. I want to be more upright - because doing that and riding pain free is better than being over the front end charging and having nerve pain shooting down my leg while I'm at it.

This is a good artical on the difference between the new bikes and a bike that is 20 yrs old, besides the weight forward they are talking about straight legs & use yer hips

https://www.mbr.co.uk/news/how-to-ri...5y6ONqZ1Z_2ng8

[XXX-er]

Little update - totally hooked. SB6C is super fun, love the bike. Been taking it all over Golden. Ended up getting a Delta stem raiser which is definitely more solidly built than the amazon one, works well. I need about 2.5” of rise over stock.

I did notice the medium frame seems slightly cramped, even though I’m only 5’10 or so which puts me square in Yeti’s medium size range. I did try a large sb6c a friend had and it was too big/low for me though. I happened to see a nice 2018 SB5.5 Turq for sale locally, went and checked it out. To my surprise it seemed to fit even better than my medium SB6C, and the stance I get is more upright which is better for my back. Works out great actually, needed a bike for the GF to be My riding buddy, so she’ll use the medium SB6C and I’ll use the SB5.5. Stoked to to see how the 29er compares.

I was riding yesturday and my 5.5 started creaking ( again ) just a heads up that you really need to use the carbon paste when you put these bikes toegetehr especaily the seat post, i had it and so did my buddies 5.5

[SKIP IN7RO]

This is a good artical on the difference between the new bikes and a bike that is 20 yrs old, besides the weight forward they are talking about straight legs & use yer hips

https://www.mbr.co.uk/news/how-to-ri...5y6ONqZ1Z_2ng8

Have you ever checked out the Pedaling Innovations pedals? It's a mid-foot pedal meant to utilize the drive from your hips.

[XXX-er]

Have you ever checked out the Pedaling Innovations pedals? It's a mid-foot pedal meant to utilize the drive from your hips.

I normaly use clipless but for mtn biking I'm using some cheap flats right now cuz my knee is kacked so I don't wana be connected to the pedal and

I use some grippy bike shoes, my foot is all over the pedal, I think i lose some power without the the clips but the knee seems to like biking so thats good