I feel like if you had the actual steep SA, but a much longer reach and a slightly higher stack that should be best of both worlds? Climbs well, but fix the comfort problems?
New geometry and consequences for bike fit
- Thread starter Big JD
- Start date
I feel like if you had the actual steep SA, but a much longer reach and a slightly higher stack that should be best of both worlds? Climbs well, but fix the comfort problems?
beeb
Dr. Beebenson, PhD HA, ST, Offset (hons)
Doesn't work to resolve the weight on the hands when riding along flatter terrain between trails. The steep actual STA pitches the rider forward regardless of reach, meaning you're resting a fair portion of weight on your hands no matter what. Longer reach might give more space but also pulls your upper body further forward. If you bring the stack/bar height up so much you negate that feeling on flat terrain the thing'll likely be a dog on the descents as you'll struggle to properly weight the front tyre with the bars so high. Steep actual STA's work great when doing steep climbs on low/low/slack bikes, but aren't ideal for JRA transitioning the flat bits between trails.
When I first got the G16, the outrageous head angle was super low to the ground. Felt similar to the evo. Once I went to slightly less outrageous settings it went fine. Running the 29er in the front lifted it a bit, and 29 front and rear lifted it a lot. That combo felt great, but maybe not ripping the turns quite as fast.
A lot of this is subjective, but I definitely felt the pedal strikes on the evo were constant, while on the G16 and G1 they were a lot less.
A lot of this is subjective, but I definitely felt the pedal strikes on the evo were constant, while on the G16 and G1 they were a lot less.
yuley95
soft-arse Yuley is on the lifts again
'Reach' is actually a funny term and should probably be renamed. Reach describes the relationship between where your feet are and where your hands are when you are standing up. It should be considered in conjunction with stack.
Theoretically, you can have a long reach and short top-tube making you feel cramped when seated and pedalling (steep seat tube). And you can theoretically have a short reach and a long top tube (slack seat tube). It all depends on the seat tube angle.
My old Yeti SB66 had a reach of just 466 while my Kavenz has a reach of 500. The Yeti was MUCH longer in the top tube though because it had a really slack seat angle.
All in all I prefer the new geometry of something like my Kavenz over the SB66 but there is a limit to how far you can push it and, as with anything, there are circumstances where some geometry characteristics shine and other situations where it becomes a bit of a hinderance. It's all about buying and using the right tool for the job.
Have recently been experimenting with some Rulezman and Aston schools of thought (high bars/stack with super short stem) after liking the feeling of my brother's XXL Saturn 16 with a 10mm stem. Pitched nice and upright while climbing so improved comfort. Descending took some adapting about half a day as now pitched more central on the bike. Feels like I have to shift my weight forward and back less while having more balanced grip on the front wheel. Front wheel doesn't want to wash out on corners.
For reference running a 30mm stem 20mm of spacer with and 70mm 12 degree backsweep bars with a 1145mm bar height. Now to put the same bars on the G1 are see how it feels on the slack and long geometry.
I have the same thoughts as @DrHarry. I keep making the G1 longer and slacker enjoy it more and more due the comfort and confidence it provides at it's current 458mm CS, 535mm Reach, 1365 WB, 62.8 HA. An XXL will be on the cards next to try.
For reference running a 30mm stem 20mm of spacer with and 70mm 12 degree backsweep bars with a 1145mm bar height. Now to put the same bars on the G1 are see how it feels on the slack and long geometry.
I have the same thoughts as @DrHarry. I keep making the G1 longer and slacker enjoy it more and more due the comfort and confidence it provides at it's current 458mm CS, 535mm Reach, 1365 WB, 62.8 HA. An XXL will be on the cards next to try.
beeb
Dr. Beebenson, PhD HA, ST, Offset (hons)
IMO - It's the long chainstay allowing these setups to work for you guys (nothing wrong with that either), but try it on a bike with more conventional CS length and it'll likely get a bit washy at the front end.
[EDIT] One other thing that spring to mind from riding longish reach bikes with mid or short chainstays and really high bars, is the bars always felt really "in the way" while descending. As in I'd feel like I wanted to get lower over the front to weight the front tyre more round chopped out corrugated berms (or just for better weight distribution over rocks) and it often felt like my wrists were going to bump into my chest (even though I definitely wasn't riding that low to the bars).
Full disclosure, even within all the things I'm fussy about - getting a comfortable bar height is one of my highest priorities to have exact.
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Quick article comparing two similar-ish geos.
fjohn860
Alice in diaperland
Not sure if this is the best place, but here i go anyway.
When I trail ride (winch and plummet) I don't have any issue with hand/wrist pain. But if I bike path on the mtb (as I have been this last week for a fundraising challenge) I get some wrist pain after a while. Although my positioning on the bike for trail riding is comfortable I think I need to try some different seat positions (and possibly handlebar positions) to find a uniform position that's good for both types of riding.
Anyone else had a similar experience?
When I trail ride (winch and plummet) I don't have any issue with hand/wrist pain. But if I bike path on the mtb (as I have been this last week for a fundraising challenge) I get some wrist pain after a while. Although my positioning on the bike for trail riding is comfortable I think I need to try some different seat positions (and possibly handlebar positions) to find a uniform position that's good for both types of riding.
Anyone else had a similar experience?
beeb
Dr. Beebenson, PhD HA, ST, Offset (hons)
A little bit (on the gravel bike), yeah. You could try sliding the saddle back a bit as it'll rotate your posture slightly more rearward and upright (might need to drop the seatpost a tiny smidge accordingly too or the saddle height from BB effectively becomes longer as you're further from the BB). Whether it's worth actually adjusting the bars on a bike you still ride regularly off-road, not so sure...
I have the exact same experience. I ride a few Ks of flat bike path to reach the trails and the bike path is where I have sore wrists. I've narrowed that down to seat angle and resting on the brakes like a cabbie. When I set my bars etc, I do it in attack position pulling on the brakes, but riding paths seated is a totally different wrist/finger angle and I notice that I am twisting my wrist to keep my fingers resting on the brake levers. I have recently been making a conscious effort to ride death grip wherever I can.
I also find that seat angle is very much like a see-saw, with only the tiniest change enough to move the weight balance off my hands.
fjohn860
Alice in diaperland
Well I moved my seat back a little yesterday and it did make a small difference on the bike path ride I did, but I still got slightly sore wrists.
Today was "Try New Grips Day" as on Friday I bought a new heavily discounted leatt open face (~$80) so to get free postage I purchased some Oneup thick grips. The parcel turned up today (nice one MTBdirect).
Bashed the grips on (literally). They were tight as. I was even starting to think was there a different diameter handlebar grip size I had bought because to even just get them started on the bars was a battle lol.
Did another 14km bike path ride with the new grips and no wrist pain. Pending an actual mtb ride I think these are my new favourite grip.
They are a bit funky with "ribbed for you pleasure" bits underneath and a subtle bulge for the centre of your hand, but my initial impression is they are excellent.