i was wondering if anyone out there cound dispense some advice on how to achieve a good seat height and postion ( up, down, forward, back) for a Mountain bike ( XC). im having trouble finding a good balance in height and position that will allow me to hammer some single trail but also climb effectivley.
for interests sake the bike is a 2001 Kona Cindercone, Race Face XY seat post and SDG comp seat
i was wondering if anyone out there cound dispense some advice on how to achieve a good seat height and postion ( up, down, forward, back) for a Mountain bike ( XC). im having trouble finding a good balance in height and position that will allow me to hammer some single trail but also climb effectivley.
for interests sake the bike is a 2001 Kona Cindercone, Race Face XY seat post and SDG comp seat
cheers,
thanks in advance
G
What I do is I loosen the saddle on the post. Not too loose, loose enough that you can move it and not move on slight touches. Then, pull up the posthigh enough you want it. Then sit on it and ove your butt around untill you found a comfortable position. Then slowly get off it and tighten it up.
To climb efficiently generally requires a high seat position while ripping sigle trail you want a lower position.
If you are doing a long climb it is often worth the time to stop and move your seatpost up, otherwise for general riding I normally drop my seatpost about 1-2" from the highest position I can comfortably ride in.
For technical descents again it can be worth dropping your seat just for the descent
While sitting on the saddle, let one of your legs hang down. While wearing you cycling shows make so your heel, of the hanging leg, touches the pedal at the bottom of the crank stroke. This will give you a good starting point.
Now for the seat position, forward and back. You will need to balance your bike in with you on it. Bring the crank so it is parallel to the floor. Drop a string with a weight on it off the front of your knee. You wan to make it so the front of you knee is over the center of the pedal. Once again, this is just to get a starting point. Now you will just have to play a bit to perfect.
As for nose angle. You want your seat to be level or nose slight down.
The above is how my LBS (trainer) did my initial set-up, then we tweaked from there.
Just remember, the positions above are starting points. Have fun and ride fast.