How to: Set Up Your MTB for Maximum Control 

It's amazing how little adjustments make big changes in how a bike handles. I always tells friends who ask me about making adjustments and I tell them to do it in small amounts, ride the bike at least three or four times minimum on the same route/trail and see if the results are what they are looking for. I went as far as using graph paper and mapping out the dimensions of the distance from my saddle to the grips when I was planning on swapping the bar and stem.

You truly are the boss, been searching for explanations like these for years, for example, what sweep actually does, the stem length and the note about factory neutral points being affected by the head tube angle was the icing in the cake.

I'll review this video again (& again) until I'm able to digest it properly. As a beginner in MTB, I try to take things slowly so I can absorb them into my mind. Lots'a love, cheers, & Mabuhay, from tropical Philippines! #KeepBiking

4:45 "you can't add on to it , so make sure you don't trim too much of your handlebar off " business opportunity spotted , handlebar lengthening inserts!

Im glad to setup my hardtail’s fork similar to you; adding token to get more progressive with faster rebound. My stem is now 50mm, I wanted to try the shorter one. I changed my mind after watching this. Keep me happy on the trail is the key

Great video, thanks! I especially liked your explanation on the stem length - that's a really overlooked part and not much info on what EXACTLY changes with it's length. It's mostly short - GOOD, long - BAD

Appreciate this tutorial, JL. I'm 6'2 and up there in terms of weight, so, it's helpful to hear from another tall rider how they set up their hardtail/full sus. Been watching your videos for a bit now, love seeing you show different ways to handle tech on both bikes. Shred on, Sir, Shred on.

This is an awesome, straightforward explanation. I love it

A hack for a handlebar width fitting - hack your old lock-on grips by cutting their ends so you may slide them narrower over the handlebar without actual cutting the bars yet.

Have you ever thought of coming to the province of Quebec to do some lessons? Quebecers are crazy about mountain biking. I live just outside of Ottawa in the Gatineau hills , there’s some sweet mountain biking out here and you’ve definitely got some fans. I can think of at least five buddy’s that would be stoked to take a lesson with you and the maple syrup is delicious. Really great video. Dialing in the feel of a bike is so important. It blows my mind what 10mm of stem length can do to the handling of a bike. Same goes for finding the sweet spot with the handle bars. Another thing that really helped me enjoy my ride this season was switching to shorter cranks. Went from 175 to 175 and I much prefer the one 170s.

This video is one of the top 5-6 setup videos on YT - well done! I understand cockpit setup much better now. I figured it out by trial and error, but now I know why it works the way you described. [Other recommended setup videos are by Sid and Mackey, April and Kyle Warner, and GMBN Tech.] One detail none of these setup videos mentions is crank length. I was having pedal strikes on my Santa Cruz Tallboy until I decreased my 175 mm SRAM Eagle cranks down to 165 mm. That produced a surprising boost to my confidence on narrow, off camber trails where a pedal strike against the hill could send me head-over-heels down long 75 degree rockslides. A lot of my local trails are like that with abrupt hairpin turns over cliffs. I haven’t struck a pedal once since the crank change, and now I can make most of the scary hairpins without dabbing. An added benefit to crank length reduction is being able to use a chainring two sizes smaller while maintaining equal mechanical advantage: ie, 32 tooth ring now feels like a 36 tooth ring did on the 175 mm cranks. A smaller chainring improves my mid-bike ground clearance, and shifting feels smoother. The slight downside was needing to raise my saddle 1 cm to compensate for shorter leg extension. My saddled center of gravity is now higher than before. It took me a few rides to get used to the higher saddle, but it’s a nonissue in trail stance. Thanks Jeff for your exceptionally clear and definitive video.

Cockpit setup/ergonomics are often overlooked, especially for newer/beginner riders. I had swapped out my 35mm stock stem for a 60mm on my hardtail. I tend to ride more tech and trials type obstacles than pure trail riding. This gives me more control over the front end while reducing the 'twitchiness' from the short stem. Also at 5'8", with short arms I run approximately 725mm bars. Less shoulder fatigue, more direct input/control as I use both countersteering and body steering to manuver the bike.

If you cut your bars to short you can always add w. Control Tech extensions. They add 20mm to each side. They may not work on some bars so check your inner diameter at ends. They make them for road and mtn.

FIRSTYnessssssa!! Oooooooo this is gonna FUN! So many peeps are gonna benefit from these tips. I see A LOT of bad setups and I do what I can to help other riders out ;-)

Ole jankmaster Jeffrey keep em coming, look forward to your content.

Nice to see this video as it is easy to understand, well presented and actually makes sense! Thanks!

So helpful as usual. Thanks TrailBoss!

Great information, suspension is the most confusing thing for me as a newer rider. This is a great start to understanding what to try, and why!

You’re the man, Jeff!

How about a video on your trials bike: Why the dropper? Can the fork survive front hooks? Is the suspension worth the weight? Whats the geometry? Is that based on the Destroyer dirt jumper frame? Why the gears? Have you ever tried a comp trials bike (wheeled pogo stick)?

Came for the tips. Stayed for the cat.

Really good information here. Thanks

Great comments, very useful!

Let me know when you get back to PHX as I would enjoy taking one of your classes!!!!

Nice vid Jeff totally aggree with everthing you said. Couple of tips hbar are meant to be run flat were the grip is ie with rider and sag set how you want it i use a spirit level to get it spot on no arm pump the other thing relating to lever angle is the size of your hands riders with small hands find flatter easier to reach i have xxl hands and run my levers angled a fare way down so i dont have to lift my finger over to reach it like you said finger resting on lever all the time .😁

Great information! I have my cockpit very comfortably dialed in, but this helped me understand the suspension details a little better than I thought I knew!

Can you possibly do a in depth video on tires? Is it better to run different front/rear? Starting to see more and more bikes specd that way

Great video ,like always,thanks Jeff

Great information!

any thoughts about the amount of suspension travel and navigating slow east coast tech? do you prefer longer or short travel FS bikes? I'm talking your black diamond NJ chunky rock strewn stuff... You'll probably say hardtail is best...lol

Nice one coach..

FS MTBs are insanely complicated machines. Play with your settings. Too many people set it up and never try to really dial it in. Just a little of adjustment can make the difference. A couple of clicks of rebound or lbs of air pressure can make or break your ride. I ride a SC Tallboy and I can tell you the "sweet spot" is a very narrow and specific combo of settings that took me months to dial in.

my cockpit had , grips, brake , shifter, and i feel it more easy to shift after i reversed ,brake and shifter.

I need this ….!!!

Great info Jeff spot on!

Jeff talking about hardtail suspension setup most say put the rebound as fast whit out losing control, but i prefer slow rebound because in hardtail you need to keep the bike calm because the rear suspension is your legs i feel that a little fast rebound the front tire loose traction whit small rocks i like the feel of the bike very stable what do you think?

Thanks for the tips.

I have a primarily cross country Marin rift zone and upgraded the front shock w/ 2.1 debonair and extended the range to 130mm . Now setting sag is a little trickier. I went for 20% being 5’11” and 160lb. The question is should I go less on sag? The bike rides completely better w/ nice pop but a little stiff in pedal mode. Thanks for good content

27.5" or 29" for riding tech? And thank you for doing these videos! Great tips and explanations!

I see the clinic scheduled for 1/22 - 1/23 in Florida. Where else are you guys planning on putting on some classes?

Great video, Jeff! Thank you.

Thanks for the fitting tips. For technical riding on a HT, is it better to keep a longer stem that’s lower or a short stem spacer up higher? I’m in the process of ordering new bars and a stem. I’m going for more sweep to match my natural position and getting my hands closer. I may have room to increase stack with a shorter stem. Or leave it at 45mm and all of the way down. Both would keep my rider spread distance about the same.

Good morning Sir. I have a full suspension bike 19kg alloy, can I do bunny hop in this? I just want to jump on the curb & gutter beside the road ‘coz I bike to work everyday. Thank you very much your videos are really educational

I'm using a 65mm stem on my fs bike for more tire pressure on the pedaly trails around here. I think the big mountain riders like the shorter stems. Mtn bikes are amazing these days, you kids watching this just have no idea.

Well explained and greatly appreciated. If you feel your rear suspension feels springy; what is your recommendation.

I try to keep everything the same from one bike to the next.😎👍

What psi do you run in the front shock on your suspension bike? We are a similar size and weight and I spent the the first 2 years funning too high of a PSI based on what I saw with suspension setup videos, turns out an air token and lower psi has completely changed my front end for the better. Just wondering what psi gets you your 25% sag. Thanks for the great video.

Your riding is incredible, so much control and power. That was really interesting about the stem length for hardtails, mine came specd for 35mm, tempting to try 50mm now, i wonder how it will affect my riding position though. Out of interest what length have you got on HT?

🤘🏽

How to best balance suppleness off the top w mid stroke support on the hartail? Want to minimize diving which wreaks havoc w hartail geometry but I'd like full travel available for the occasional wallop

This video brought to u by COVID lol But Fr great viddie :)

So steeper head tube angle, roll bars slightly back? Slacker head tube, roll bars slightly forward?

@Jeff Lenosky Just like to ask how you size your bike, do you measure what they call "spread" (distance from the bottom bracket to the centerline of where the handlebar is)? Thanks!

i got 1 question for ya, when you talking about adding oil into the fork, do u mean where the air goes? a mix of air and oil? I ride rough terrain with hard drops so i need tips how to prevent my fork hit the bottom.. riding a hardtale as well ^^

Love your channel Jeff. What about tires type and tires pressure?

Jeff, I think you've been using the high-level stuff for too long and forgot that most mid-level (and below) forks do not necessarily have separate high and low-speed compression knobs. You typically get just one to control compression. And, if you're lucky, you'll have a rebound adjustment control, but that's not always a given.

Love your channel Jeff! I see you've gone back to air on your rear suspension- curious as to why. I'm about to try a progressive spring w/Jade X on my Hightower LT (which is quite linear) so a tad nervous that it might be a gamble in my quest for the one bike quiver. thoughts?

So really, the rule is not too much but not too little of any adjustment either

Which one of your bikes HT FS climbs better? and why. thanks

What tires do you use? I’m 6’4” and 245. I feel like I need a little more grip being my size, but I’d like to keep a good rolling speed. Thanks!

What do you think about the neg canister on performance for sport riding?

Why is it kickstand is not popular on most high end bikes wether it’s a mountain bike or road bike? No one utilized a kickstand 🤔

Hey Jeff just Subscribed to your channel you look like a hard core MTB rider No E Bike to be seen I have a Merida E bike it’s 23 kilos in weight. I love it but I do find the bike is hard work to get it to manual and to get it to bunny hope cause of the weight great help though if you are tired from a 3 hr ride in the trails on the way back home What would like to know is what do I have to do to get this bike to compress like the way you do it on a normal bike. Do I adjust the suspension? I am under 70 kilos .2 things I have hard time with it while I can get the front wheel to compress and come up the back wheel just doesn’t want to come up as much what can do here. Have upgraded the suspension so I should be able to dial it in . Yeah I’m a old rider I love my E Bike but she is a workout and a half to compress and Marshall and bunny hop. Any advice would be great to get my bike behaving as it should when I compress the suspension

Do you adjust anything to get close to RAD from Lee Likes Bikes? Like shorten stem, rise bars, etc?

For some reason I’m getting auto generated captions in Italian. Not sure why.

6'3 here, i love 770mm but wider feels too wide. can't understand those small guys who "need" 820mm++ :D

Hi from Greece Jeff

hehe, Reeb spelled backwards is Beer.

Cool vid....and dialing suspension is such a pain, no doubt. On one trail it feels great and then another it is questionable in many cases. Here is my situation..your input would be appreciated. My front suspension feels great on most trails( after messing with it for forever and a day), but I only use about 50-60% travel with the correct sag. Then, when I release air to reach 70-75% of travel for the same ride, the bike feels shitty. lol So..what is the point of having 160mm of travel if you aren't actually using it?

Wow like👍👍👍

When will you be in Vegas?

I use 26" and probably won't switch to a bigger size. I rode a 29" and it felt like a tank, not fun at all. A major con to a short stem is less stable riding at speed, something nobody talks about. My 26" bike with a 90mm stem is actually more stable than a 29" on downhills with a zero stem. And putting short people on big bikes and wide handlebars is another major fit mistake I see all the time in the wild. I don't feel comfortable with one finger braking. And I saw from the closeup that the lever hit your third finger. That's too cramped.

So basically, for everything riding, everything neutral..🤔

First