MTB fit...where's a good primer?

[Steve in SLO]

I have ridden MTBs for years but have never looked at fit as closely as on my road bikes. I did a bit of searching around and haven't found a good source for fitting. Anybody know of a good basic source--book, articles, etc?
TIA.

[John H.]

If your road setup is dialed start there.
Saddle position should be similar- saddle maybe slightly lower. But then you have to account for shoes/pedals that have more stack so it may be about the same- extension should be slightly less so you can better use your legs to absorb shock.
Reach to bars shuld be longer than reach to tops (on roadie) but shorter than reach to hoods.
Drop should be less than than road bike. I say split the diff between road bike drop and zero drop.
Bar width should be between 62-66cm depending on how wide your shoulders are. Don't go too wide like the current trend.
Should get you pretty close.

[pcxmbfj]

Try www.mtbr.com and search on fit.
You will find many philosophies on fit and variations based upon the type of mtb riding you do.
Because you are all over the saddle, may ride shorten stem to aid lifting the front, ride FS differently than HT, shortened saddle height, different frame sizes can fit.
IMO a lot more acceptable variation than road.
Don't overthink it.

[Steve in SLO]

Thanks, John. This is what I needed.
pcxmbfj: This may come later, but I didn't want to initially overthink it, so I won't be going to MTBR for a bit.
BTW: I've been riding MTBs since the mid-80s, but haven't ever gotten comfortable on the bikes. Possibly it is my lack of skill, but I wanted to get a starting place for fit.

[pcxmbfj]

If you're not comfortable mtbing check out some of the primers on sites like YouTube.
Some basis skills improvement like cornering, taking drops, learning to manual will increase confidence and let you ride better.

I have five or six bikes sized from 19" to 21", fully rigid, HT, and FS, single speed, geared, 26", 27.5" and 29" and feel comfortable on all, but some terrain requires a specific bike..

A lot of mtb skill is counter intuitive, ie speed is your friend.