Basics of Mountain Bike Fitting

You’ll enjoy riding a bike that is comfortable and appropriate for your height, flexibility, and riding style. A correctly fitted bike may increase your trail confidence and control so you can take on more difficult and complicated rides. Mountain Bike Fitting Basics

If you’re a committed rider searching for certain performance features, bike sizing may get pretty complicated. The entry-level fit issues are the main topic of this essay. First, some basic advice when buying a bike:

Your bike should accommodate the way you ride now. You may subsequently modify your fit as you develop your talents.

Choose the proper frame size. No matter what modifications you make later, you won’t be able to get it comfortable if you don’t start with the appropriate frame.

After determining your proper size, you may fine-tune the fit by making minor changes to the bike’s current components, such the seat height and seat angle. You may also change out the parts.

Hands-on assistance: A knowledgeable bike mechanic or salesperson may assist you in selecting the appropriate size bike and/or customizing the fit. We advise you to visit your neighborhood REI or bike shop to test-ride many bikes so you can learn right away which one suits you best.

Sizes of Mountain Bike Fitting Basics

Mountain bikes are available in regular sizes (S, M, and L) that often match your height. A height range is included for each bike size in many sizing charts that are provided by bike manufacturers. (If you’re unsure of your size, it’s recommended to err on the smaller side since a smaller frame can accommodate more sizes than one that is too big.)

When comparing bikes or solving a particular fit problem, having a rudimentary grasp of bike geometry might be useful. Several of the important signs include:

top tube’s actual length

Reach

Instance height

Seat depth

Effective Top Tube and Reach for a Mountain Bike Fitting Basics

The horizontal gap between the head tube and the seat tube is referred to as the effective top tube (ETT), regardless of whether your top tube is straight or dips downward. While sizing a bike, the ETT is a standard parameter to consider. It is a good indication of how long a bike will seem to you when you are sitting.

Reach is the horizontal distance between the centers of the bottom bracket and the head tube. Because it indicates how long a bike will feel while you’re out of the saddle, which is a frequent position to be in when descending or ascending steep singletrack, reach has grown in popularity as a means to assess length on mountain bikes.

Height of Mountain Bike Fitting Basics Standover

Standover height is still a useful predictor of a bike’s fit, even if it isn’t as routinely used as it once was to size bikes.

Make sure you can straddle the bike with your feet level on the ground before continuing. You need a minimum of 2″ of space between the tires and the ground while lifting a mountain bike. This enables you to quickly dismount on the route without discomfort when necessary. Aggressive riders often want for 3″ to 5″ of clearance. When measuring standover height, be careful to wear your cycling shoes since they might change how long your legs are overall.

Remember that the slope of the top tube down toward the rear wheel has a significant impact on the amount of clearance. For instance, regardless of the size of the frame, you’ll probably have enough clearance if the slope is steep. Because of this, you can’t just judge if a bike fits by looking at the standover clearance.

Online shopping advice: Sizing guides for the bikes offered on REI and the majority of bike manufacturer websites are available. Find the standover heights that are provided and compare them to the length of your inseam. Your inseam’s height and the standover height difference should be within the desired limits. (For instance, if your inseam is 30″, you should look for a mountain bike with a standover height of roughly 28.”)

How to find your inseam: Take a tape measure, pencil, and a thick hardback book or notepad with you. Then:

• Put your back to a wall (with bike shoes on).
• Sit on the spine of the book and straddle it like a saddle.
• Mark the spot with the pencil where the book’s spine touches the wall.
• From the mark to the floor, measure. Your inseam is as follows.
• To ensure accuracy, repeat the measurement one or two more times.

Height of a Mountain Bike Seat

When determining if a bike fits you, it’s essential to have the seat height properly adjusted so that you can get a solid feeling of how it feels. Ask a salesperson or a friend to keep the bike upright while you climb on the saddle so you can evaluate your seat position:

Your leg should be around 80–90% extended and your foot should be close to the bottom of the pedal stroke for the best riding position on flat terrain and while climbing hills. Using your main leg muscles, you may pedal more effectively and forcefully as a result.

The ideal posture for descents is to lower your seat, which reduces your center of gravity and improves your control and confidence on steep descents. To start, lower your seat by around 3 inches from the height you put it at for riding on flat ground and climbing hills. You’ll need to experiment with several seat heights to find the one that feels the most comfortable.

When adjusting the seat height, loosen the seatpost’s quick-release lever (or, if there is a binder bolt, use a wrench) and raise or lower the post as necessary. Don’t lift the post higher than the “minimum insertion mark” engraved on its side. (If you need to significantly change the seat height, you may require a different frame size.)

Before riding, tighten the binder bolt or quick-release lever again. (Take care not to tighten the binder bolt too much. To tighten the bolt to the manufacturer’s specifications, use a torque wrench, or have a technician do it for you. With a carbon fiber frame and/or seatpost, use extra caution.)

If you want to go forward on your mountain bike rapidly, you may want to search at bikes with dropper seatposts or think about getting one for your current bike. By just pressing a button, the seat may be raised or lowered on these seatposts, allowing you to quickly adapt to shifting terrain.

Women’s Mountain Bike Fitting

Women-specific bikes are made to fit their demands since women often have proportionally smaller shoulders and longer legs than males. Women’s bikes often feature handlebars that are smaller and shorter or more compact frame sizes. Men’s bikes can fit and feel comfortable for some women, but for others, women-specific bikes could provide a better fit.

Mountain bikes for children fitted

Young riders naturally want a bike they can “grow into,” but it’s essential to get a bike that fits them correctly so they can learn to ride safely and pleasantly.

Check the standover height, just as with adult bicycles. Whatever the top-tube design, aim for a clearance of 2–4 inches.

Seat height: Most children’s bikes are designed to ride more uprightly. They need should be able to grasp the handlebars with a modest bend in their elbows, sit securely, and look around them with ease. The bottom of the pedal stroke should see a modest bending of their legs.