Rocky's New Bike Day!

Hi kaz, as it sits, my feet wouldn't touch the ground while on the saddle.

 

On my bike from the center of the crank bolt to the top of the saddle is 30 inches.

 

They shouldn’t when you are on the saddle. Common misconception, unless you are on a Townie.

 

I'm already practicing my foot placement, I didn't know to peddle with the ball of my foot till Herz mentioned it also. Thanks man.

 

If you look above, I told him to do the measurement with his heel on the pedal. If your leg is locked with your heel on the pedal (and your hips are level), your leg will have the proper amount of flex when you are actually pedaling on the ball of your foot.

 

Once your saddle is correct, we need to pull those spacers out from under your stem. You have about 30mm worth of spacers under there (two 10mm and two 5mm if I am seeing them correctly). Looks like you just need about 5mm. It's easy to do, but you have to tighten the bolts in the correct order when you put it back together.

Loosen the stem bolts first, then remove the top-cap bolt. Pull the stem off. Pull the spacers off (all but the one 5mm). Put the stem on and put the 25mm worth of spacers on top of the stem. Insert and tighten the top-cap bolt (with the top cap, of course). It needs to be snug, but not super tight. That bolt is meant to tension your steering. Then check to make sure your bars are straight, and tighten your stem bolts. They need to be tight, but don't go he-man on them. Some will tell you to use a torque wrench to get it right.

Please note, you do not need to undo anything on your handlebar to do this. Do not loosen the h-bar bolts (the stem's face-plate). In fact, check to make sure they are snug.

In the long run, if this is the right height, you could have the fork's steer tube cut another 10 or 15mm to clean up the fit and look. Not important. Just cosmetic.

Also, your stem is pretty short. If you get all the other stuff correct and the cockpit still feels too tight for your long torso, it's easy to get a longer stem. One thing at a time. Saddle height first. Then stem height (handlebar height).

 

Oh yeah, far as I could tell hips and hands pretty even.

 

@-ROCKY- I'll either be doing the Thursday evening FLoop or maybe Sunday morning FLoop. Keep an eye out on the site. Meet at the Fullerton courthouse parking lot and we'll get you squared away.

 

Ahh gotcha! Will do, I think I need to move my shifter further in also.

 

Sweet, thanks RwS!

 

Lol, Rock Spring Rocky!!!

 

Congrats on the new ride! Looks like a good choice. Wish my first mountain bike had hydraulic disc instead of cantilever brakes.

Lots of good advice on fit from everybody so far. Since this is your first mountain bike I wouldn’t worry too much about setting your saddle height perfect until you’ve had a chance to ride a short distance on some dirt. You might want to be able to put a foot down pretty quick and that might be tricky with your saddle set to maximize efficiency.

Once you get more comfortable on the trail, then work on getting that saddle height dialed in by raising it a little at a time. 1/4 inch or less increments. Compared to your beach cruiser your saddle will seem sky-high, but you will be able to ride much further and tackle more obstacles with less effort.
A great resource for all things bicycle, including fit issues https://www.sheldonbrown.com/
The website is a little dated and there’s quite a few ads, but Sheldon was awesome, RIP

Now go ride.

 

Just meet with J or Herz they will adjust it for ya. Nice bike.

 

But then he’s gonna have to go one of my death marches.

 

Just meeting you at the bottom of Black Star might be more than most of us could handle!

 

And you wonder why some of us often have a wedding to go to precariously coinciding with a Death-march.

 

You think he'd arrange to meet a newb at the bottom?

 

He may the 1st to legitamize the Death part of your march.

 

Kudos to Rocky!!!!
#1: Getting a reputable bike (not from Walmart)
#2. Welcoming ALL the advice on the previous pages - these guys can't accept baby steps!
#3. Still reading after 3 pages ...

Rocky if we didn't like you this thread would have been dead after your initial post. We will be looking for you on the local trails!

 

Zero Dark Bike fit

 

Congrats @-ROCKY- on the new bike, good choice to get something capable of real trail riding. Another good way to learn and hone skills is to take a mountain bike clinic, you’ll also meet other riders. I know there used to be some offered by the county here in OC but not sure if they still have those, otherwise there are clinics that are more private but worth the money in my opinion.

Most sports have some sort of coaching or clinic aspect to not only learn basics but to keep progression going, no reason why taking a few classes/clinics should be overlooked for mountain biking. If you find you really like riding then give it a thought.

Andy Somerville is a great coach I’ve taken a clinic from here in OC. Here’s a link for his info:

http://www.ridelogic.bike/andy-somerville/

 

Good suggestion! There's also a class @ REI coming up:
https://www.rei.com/event/introduction-to-mountain-biking-class-level-1/orange/217174
But getting on the Floop will be the best class!

 

Thanks BD! Yes, I'm taking all this great advice and soaking it up! Getting comfy in my bike is exactly what I want to accomplish first. I got home, and took the bike out for a few laps around the neighborhood tonight, now it's kind of hard thinking about anything but my sore butt and burning legs. I think I will soon be able to make adjustments, but honestly I feel like I'm learning how to ride a bike all over again. Thanks for the resource, I'll check it out?

 

Just tell your butt to shut up (there's a ride report somewhere about that), and realize that there will be pain involved in getting up to speed. Recognize it. Embrace it. Soon it will be but a distant memory.

 

Thank you H2o! Yes, I'm glad I didn't go Walmart lol! After watching a few videos and talking with the awesome group here I realized to get myself down a mountain, requires a precision machine, precise is never cheap lol! I do feel liked and do appreciate it immensely!!! I already see many turns I would have taken, that ultimately would have led to frustration. I do have to go step by step so I appreciate the patience too.

 

Now time to ride.. and suffer... but the rewards r always worth it...

 

Ahh, the great Cornholio!!! I suuure could use some TP, the whole roll to sit on! I love the idea of taking a MTB clinic! I could only benefit, I'll have a look, thanks!

 

*sigh* Never thought I'd have to break my butt in, did I just say that??

 

So much good advice in setting up ride position. Here is how to survive in the OC. First, take that reflector off your seat. Rule #420: If you aren't fast, look good. Get you a matchy matchy TLD (Troy Lee Designs) kit, half shell helmet, goggles, and a fanny pack and no one will care if you have 0 skills; the Endurbros will love you anyway.

 

That only applies at Aliso.