# Feeling too far forward



## JTred (Jan 12, 2009)

I'm not sure if this is stems from my dirtbiking background, but a lot of times I feel too far forward on my bike. It interferes with keeping the front end light, and makes bigger drops a little precarious if I don't have a good run at it. The seat is definitely higher than the handlebars at optimum pedaling position, and above or level at a good position for technical stuff. Could someone take a look at my riding position and tell me if its too far forward?














































Video on a see-saw

https://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v144/JTsoccer59/?action=view&current=SouthParkwithPaige009.flv

Obviously if I'm too far froward the best option would be to buy a better fitting bike. Unfortunately that's not really an option, because money is tight for a college student. That's exactly why I have this bike in the first place, it was cheap. It's a 19.5" frame, and I'm 6'2". Is there any way that I can improve the geometry of this bike for cheap? I originally looked into a 29" fork, but that would cost more than the bike itself. Do they make high rise bars or stems? Or should I just deal with it until I can afford a better fitting bike?


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## insanitylevel9 (Sep 23, 2009)

you said you felt to far forward... just get a shorter stem. you can get left over ones from the year before for like 30 bucks or less.


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## jeffj (Jan 13, 2004)

You're riding a bike made and set up for XC riding. That's the way they are made to be.

If you want to hit some sweet jumps  , lower the saddle while you're jumping, descending steeps or hitting some small drops.

At 6' 2" on a 19.5, you might be a tad big for that frame, but it's not likely far off. I wouldn't go less than 90mm on the stem. Don't try to make the bike into something it wasn't designed to be. You'll just end up with a P.O.S. that doesn't do anything well.


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## scottzg (Sep 27, 2006)

exactly what jeffj said. If you're already comfortable with drops and jumps, a beginner-xc hardtail is going to feel pretty bad. The truth is that modifying your beginner-xc hardtail to be more receptive to aggressive riding is probably going to lead to broken parts, so it makes sense to just get a more gravity/jump oriented bike. If you have to stick with this bike, though, and don't mind making climbing suck, track down a seat post with a massive setback and a shorter stem.

Or enjoy good climbing manners and great cornering on flatter surfaces.


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## One Pivot (Nov 20, 2009)

having your seat tilted down so much will make your body slide forward. you'll always feel like you're too far forward. level that thing out to start.


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## Stevirey (Jul 16, 2005)

*position*

If you are other wise comfortable on your bike,yeh,a shorter stem and see if there isn't room to slide your seat back or get a seat post with some set-back.


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## Squash (Jul 20, 2003)

*Actually....*

your riding position looks pretty good. Even a bit on the upright side for an XC bike, which is common on entry level bikes. I would suggest two things, one, level that seat as One Pivot noted. It does appear to be nose down a bit. That will help. Second, if you absolutely feel that you must change your riding position try a slightly shorter stem. Don't go crazy with it, just a 10 or 20mm max shorter stem will make a noticeable difference. Or you could go with the same length stem but in a higher rise. The problem with that is knowing the rise on your current stem. From the pics it looks to be some where between a 10 and 15 degree rise. But it's impossible to tell for sure without measuring. But they do make fixed stems with up to a 40 degree rise. That would be a bit extreme though. Your call there.

Just keep a couple of things in mind. It is an entry level XC/Trail bike. Not designed for going big on jumps, drops, stunts, etc. You're not going to break the bike simply by going with a shorter stem, that's boulderdash. But you will change the ride and handling characteristics of the bike in the areas of climbing and manuverability. From the looks of the pics, if that's the way your are riding, and you don't go any bigger than that, you're fine. The bike will handle it. But if you goal is to go bigger, don't! The bike isn't designed for it. Save your pennies and get something that is designed for more agressive riding.

Good Dirt


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## Yogii (Jun 5, 2008)

From the first pics, it looks like your seat is pretty far forward. Hard to tell, a full side view would be needed. Move your seat back. And save your money for a better fitting frame.


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## AndrwSwitch (Nov 8, 2007)

Are you getting behind the saddle to do drops and descents? If you're not... there's your problem.

If anything, having too small a bike should make it a little easier to learn wheelies and manuals and all the little tricks involved in putting the front end in the right place. A taller stem or higher-rise bars might help, but if you haven't been getting behind the saddle, practice is free and much more likely to make you better.


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## Gasp4Air (Jun 5, 2009)

If you're saddle is most of the way back already, and your seatpost has no setback, then I also suggest a setback seatpost, Here's an example:

http://www.blueskycycling.com/product4608_47_-FSA-SL-280-Setback-Seatpost.htm

As you look pretty upright, I'd do this before trying a shorter stem. If you feel too stretched out, then go the stem route as well.

As others have mentioned, if you're seat is tilted forward at all you'll tend to slide forward. Also, your hips will be rotated forward. Small changes in seat angle can make a big difference.


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## JTred (Jan 12, 2009)

Thanks for the replies everyone. I'll try fixing the seat and see how that goes. It seems like the general consensus is that my positioning is ok, so I'll just keep practicing. I think the confusion for me was because I am much more upright on a dirtbike. I hardly have to put any weight on the bars while standing on a dirtbike, but I have a lot more weight on my hands on a mtb. I'm pretty good about getting behind the seat on descents, and I'm pretty confident on them, but I have a hard time with any drop bigger than about 2 feet. I don't really want to do any large drops or jumps, but there's one in particular at Moraine State Park that sends me over the bars every time that I want to conquer. I'll just have to practice lifting the front wheel without much room to set up. Thanks again everyone.


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## One Pivot (Nov 20, 2009)

you have a fairly short travel xc bike, its just never going to be that stable. A 2 foot drop to flat is really going to punish that bike. it wont hold up long to that!


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## zebrahum (Jun 29, 2005)

JTred said:


> Thanks for the replies everyone. I'll try fixing the seat and see how that goes. It seems like the general consensus is that my positioning is ok, so I'll just keep practicing. I think the confusion for me was because I am much more upright on a dirtbike. I hardly have to put any weight on the bars while standing on a dirtbike, but I have a lot more weight on my hands on a mtb. I'm pretty good about getting behind the seat on descents, and I'm pretty confident on them, but I have a hard time with any drop bigger than about 2 feet. I don't really want to do any large drops or jumps, but there's one in particular at Moraine State Park that sends me over the bars every time that I want to conquer. I'll just have to practice lifting the front wheel without much room to set up. Thanks again everyone.


To get a mountain bike to handle properly you're going to have to get weight on your hands. But you can reduce hand pressure by leveling your seat like has been said.

Lower your seat when doing technical things (like drops) it will help you get your weight back so you don't go OTB.


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## JTred (Jan 12, 2009)

One Pivot said:


> you have a fairly short travel xc bike, its just never going to be that stable. A 2 foot drop to flat is really going to punish that bike. it wont hold up long to that!


I know that this bike has cheap rims and a cheap fork, but will two and three foot drops really cause problems? They're tough for a beginner like me but 2 and 3 feet is really pretty mild.


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## AndrwSwitch (Nov 8, 2007)

Work up to larger drops over time. If you can handle them physically and you soak up the impact well, the bike should be okay. It's definitely going to be less forgiving than a long-travel bike and you'll wear out and break parts more often than if you rode on the sidewalk, but that's nothing you don't know. If the runout's good, there should be no problem.

If you find you're bottoming out the fork a lot and you can't get a stiffer spring kit for it, you should get a different fork. With inexpensive forks, there are a lot of reports of people slamming the springs through the top cap and crashing. If there's no spring kit available that'll handle what you're doing to the fork, that's a clue that the whole thing may not be adequate for what you're doing to it.

I think a lot of people forget that mountain bikers have been doing moderate-sized drops and racing down things since long before there were suspension forks. Today's equipment makes it faster and easier and even most entry level bikes now are better than anything that was available in the '90s. Just don't try to go straight from rolling the occasional boulder to dropping off a loading dock.


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## Drth Vadr (Jul 24, 2009)

Bike looks too small..even with the 1000mm stem.


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## jedrake (May 23, 2010)

You can play with your riding position for free because you have a riser handlebar- just rotate the bar in the stem to move your hand positions forward or back. You can make substantial changes this way that will allow you to decide if you want to change your stem length or angle. I wouldn't suggest doing this as a permanent fix, but it's a way to experiment and see what feels good to you.

I personally think you look too upright; I would want to be more stretched out, but that's the opposite of what you think you want. You're going to be able to ride faster and for greater distances with a more aggressive (i.e. more stretched out) positioning.


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## Berkley (May 21, 2007)

JTred said:


> I know that this bike has cheap rims and a cheap fork, but will two and three foot drops really cause problems? They're tough for a beginner like me but 2 and 3 feet is really pretty mild.


If you're smooth and drop to a transition, then you will probably be ok. Don't drop to flat - it's much harsher on the bike and any bike dropped to flat frequently enough will break.


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## Ryder1 (Oct 12, 2006)

6'2 with long legs - same as me; we're built for XC racing. You need a relatively short bike (which you have) but that means you're prone to endoing because you're high up in the air, and have a short wheelbase. I feel your pain. Set-up/fit has to be perfect or there will be something not right.

I'd say shorter stem, layback post (or just move the saddle back), and maybe a wider high-rise bar. With the industry moving to 31.8mm stem/bars, the 25.4mm stuff has been cheap lately online.


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## JTred (Jan 12, 2009)

Thanks for all the replies, it's been really helpful. I fixed the seat, so I'll see today how much of a difference it makes. Most likely I won't put any money into this bike, I'll just save my money and when this one breaks I'll try to find a bike that is a little better fit.


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