Modern Mtb Seat Angles and Fore-Aft???

[HowardCosellsPR]

So... just curious about this... and it might be a total 'noob' question... but:

For folks who split time between road and mtbs, how are you dealing with/setting up your mountain bike fore-aft given the new geometry (eg... ~76d seat tube angles)?

Thanks, HCPR

[ah87]

On my Esker Japhy (hardtail) I keep my saddle pretty much level, but I also don't ride in an aggressive position on my road/gravel bike.

[darkmother]

Changing from road bike to MTB feels a bit strange if you have been riding one or the other for a longer period of time. For me, I find I adapt to the change fairly quickly, but it takes a few rides to feel at home after a switch.

One thing I find: My hamstrings, which are usually pretty tight, get *super* tight riding upright with steep seat tube angles. If I don't pay attention to that, bad things happen to my lower back muscles, piriformis etc.

[darkmother]

Also, don't set your MTB up like your road bike. Took me a while to figure this one out.

Lots of stem length and decent drop is a good recipe for me on tarmac.

The same offroad just does not work for me.

[John H.]

My short answer is "not ride one".
I know many folks like them, but I am not in that majority. I hit my limit at about 1 hour where I can't pedal them any longer. This is less true if the ride is more up and down than on the pedals. But on the pedals for an hour and my body shuts down.

That said, there are a few bikes that are not as steep. Epic Evo comes to mind.
You can also get (I have this on all of my mountain bikes) a 9point8 dropper with 25mm of saddle setback.

The other thing I have noticed about these steep seat angle long reach bikes is that they don't work well for folks that are "reach challenged". Take a really long bike with low stack, short reach and an already short stem and you have nowhere to go if you if you need to shorten up reach.

[Alistair]

Originally Posted by John H.

The other thing I have noticed about these steep seat angle long reach bikes is that they don't work well for folks that are "reach challenged". Take a really long bike with low stack, short reach and an already short stem and you have nowhere to go if you if you need to shorten up reach.

Welcome to my hell. 5'7", >32" inseam, and arms like a t-rex. I'm lucky to get a road bike that fits, let alone a progressive mountain bike.

[HowardCosellsPR]

Bringing this back as... it is becoming an issue again...

So... yeah... Im specifically interested in how people are managing fore-aft setback on their setups.

To be 100% specific:
- My road-gravel set ups are all in the 72.5-74d area.. which require either straight or 15mm set back posts to maintain similar for-aft.

I have two mtbs: a fs with 75d seat angle, which when completely maxed out on rails, my seat fore-aft is mostly acceptable (though I start to feel it in my knees after 4hrs). My other mtb, a rigid, which get's double duty as a dirt-tourer and general training bike, is the issue. It has a 76d seat tube angle and I'm a good 20-30mm from where I should be for fore-aft. I know I can ditch the dropper, but I don't want to. And... I'd prefer not to find a new frame.

Adding to the complication, the three fitters I've reached out to have all basically said, 'we don't really do mtb fits, they're just too variable'. Two of these folks I really trust so...

Any other folks dealing with this? Are folks training themselves into more forward-centric fits on their road bikes? I can't be the only one. Thanks

[rothwem]

Originally Posted by darkmother

Also, don't set your MTB up like your road bike. Took me a while to figure this one out.

Lots of stem length and decent drop is a good recipe for me on tarmac.

The same offroad just does not work for me.

So, from a seat position perspective I think your road position a decent starting point. I've found that the steeper the terrain, the steeper I want my seat tube angle, otherwise the front wheel comes up while climbing. So basically the way did mine was to initially set my saddle position in the same spot as my road bike, and bump the seat forward until climbing didn't suck anymore.

Unfortunately, that made me realize I was on a frame that was too small, so I ditched the frame and got one that was the correct size and my saddle is a good ~3cm farther forward on the mtb than my road bike.

Annnd, because I can't leave anything alone, I realized that I made more power with the seat forward a bit, so I started moving my road bike seat forward some until I started to get tingly hands while riding, then I moved it back a bit. My saddle is still father back on the road bike than the mtb, but overall I like the more forward seat position.

[HowardCosellsPR]

Thanks for the responses folks.

Perhaps there's a rigid forum where this is a more understood issue.

Or. maybe I just acknowledge that i'm too old to ride the same rigid mtb for trail and extended gnar-gravel rides. Or that this frame, though it's pure magic on the trail, is too steep for me to use as a gravel-spin for 100s of miles bike when I have to actually sit and spin.

[HowardCosellsPR]

Rothwem, quick question... how much higher is your saddle on the your mountain bike set up, given the 3cm further forward position?

[whatshubdoc]

Originally Posted by HowardCosellsPR

Bringing this back as... it is becoming an issue again...

So... yeah... Im specifically interested in how people are managing fore-aft setback on their setups.

To be 100% specific:
- My road-gravel set ups are all in the 72.5-74d area.. which require either straight or 15mm set back posts to maintain similar for-aft.

I have two mtbs: a fs with 75d seat angle, which when completely maxed out on rails, my seat fore-aft is mostly acceptable (though I start to feel it in my knees after 4hrs). My other mtb, a rigid, which get's double duty as a dirt-tourer and general training bike, is the issue. It has a 76d seat tube angle and I'm a good 20-30mm from where I should be for fore-aft. I know I can ditch the dropper, but I don't want to. And... I'd prefer not to find a new frame.

Adding to the complication, the three fitters I've reached out to have all basically said, 'we don't really do mtb fits, they're just too variable'. Two of these folks I really trust so...

Any other folks dealing with this? Are folks training themselves into more forward-centric fits on their road bikes? I can't be the only one. Thanks

What do you mean by:

1) maxed out on rails? your saddle is slammed back?
2) you are currently 20-30mm too far forward on the rigid?

I think a couple of other questions come to mind:

- what kind of terrain are you riding? XC, flowy, rolling? Enduro, climb and plunge?
- what kind of bikes are these? again, XC <--> enduro/DH, which end of the spectrum
- what's the stem length and bar rise on these bikes?

My FS MTB has a 75.8/76 STA, with a 65.8HTA. I have it set up with a +6mm rise stem and 35mm rise bars, so that the bars are essentially level with the saddle. The grips are probably 5-10mm above the saddle. The post I use is a BikeYoke Revive, and the rails are centered. If you need heaps of rise from the stem, check out the DMR Defy (comes in both bar bores).

My road bike has 73.3 STA, 73.5 HTA. It's set up with ~32mm saddle to bar drop. Post has 20mm setback and rails are centered (maybe -3mm back from center).

What I've found is that the taller stem/bar rise on the MTB helps to load my weight back onto the saddle, much like how the road bike weight distribution "feels" (subjective, I know). If you're going to use the bike for long spins, I'd suggest having the bars higher - yea, not aero, but... comfort > aero. Shoot for that weight distribution and you should get closer to being sorted.

Lastly, are you on a rigid? I had a Surly KM v1 that I rode rigid. Loved it dearly. (read: deeply regret selling) It had a 71 HTA, 73 STA, and found that it fit very well and could handle hours in the saddle. I just picked up a new steel HT that has a 76 STA, and 66 HTA, not unlike the FS. Set it up the same with high rise bars (40mm) and it feels pretty good.


* I wrote this a few days back but then got sidetracked, so some questions might be mentioned already.

[rothwem]

Originally Posted by HowardCosellsPR

Rothwem, quick question... how much higher is your saddle on the your mountain bike set up, given the 3cm further forward position?

Its the same saddle to BB measurement as my road bike.

[EB]

Good article (from Travis Engel, formerly of Beta and BikeMag): https://theradavist.com/measuring-mtb-seat-tube-angles/

[HowardCosellsPR]

Rothwen- oof... my knees would explode if I tried to run like more forward without adjusting upward.

EB- Thanks! I love Travis! The entire rigid/non-variable aspect of my situation seems to be the issue. The more I work through this, the more im a bit convinced that 76d on a rigid is just dumb (for me)... or that I should try a setback dropper.

whatshubdoc- 1. Yes, slammed on rails, 2. Yes... while slammed, my set back is still -30mm (30mm forward) of my usual set ups. My gut is that I just haven't worked out how much to adjust height upwards to account for such a forward position... but... who knows. I respect that you, like many of the responses, are concerned with whole bike set up/handling... but... im not (at least within reason). Im really only concerned with the biomechanics/fit for seating pedaling. As someone who spends a 6-10hrs on road and 4-8hrs/wk on mtbs, pedaling happiness is my focus. The rigid bike fills a weird spot for me... basically it is used as a training device to rework/reform technique on tech/single track AND also as a distance bike when I want flat bars instead of drops. So... again... seated pedaling, spinning is the goal. Once that's good... the rest will all sort itself (it's a rigid mtb... it's not hard once my knees are happy... and actual mtb handling, for me on a rigid, is 'handled' while standing).

[whatshubdoc]

Forgive me if I missed this in the thread, but what problems are you experiencing with the current setup?