GMBN Tech Hi team, I find I often get lower back pain when descending out of the saddle for long periods. I have tried different bar heights and widths and played with the stem spacers with no positive result. I can't help thinking that the bike may be too short but it's an expensive fix to size up. Already running a 50mm stem so I don't want to go longer. I do ride with a back pack so I'm trying to go without a pack to try next.
#askgmbntech does mountain bike are designed to perform better in certain distances? or in other way to ask it, are constant non bikepack rides of 100 km or 62 milles, convinient for your bike and for you as a casual weekend rider? because you see race stages and also one day sportives that are e half that even less distances. does it make any sense to asume that MTB bikes are not made for a fondo or gran fondo distances? regards GMBN.
Hey GMBN Tech, I have lower back pain when both riding in the saddle and descending out of the saddle. Is is just my bike being to big for me? Or is it to do with my stem and handle bars?
@@wakad00 Hi Troy, I had the same problem. My bike was a bit too short. You can try to compensate that with more bar height, obviously your body position will be more upright then. Try a bar with 40-50mm rise and 20mm spacers under the bar, no matter what it looks and see if that helps. Good luck, Coronado
I'm 74 year old rider (and not much of a techie), but I really enjoy the lengths you guys go, to make biking more understandable (and enjoyable). I HUGELY enjoy GMBN TECH. Please give a shout out--with the host's name. He's great.
How else can I support GMBN from the United States besides sharing and subscribing? I appreciate all of your videos so much. Almost endless videos full of info and entertainment. Thanks guys!
I felt cramped on my frame. So, I added a riser neck and a riser handle bar like the one on this video. I rotated the handle bars slightly towards me to decrease my reach for the bars. I moved my seat forward and sit with in 10-20 degrees vertical. My saddle is nearly flat to a couple degrees pointed down. I have a well fitting stiff shoe with pedal clips. Thanks for the tips. Now, i have a more comfortable riding position.
Fantastic info! After many years of ridding, a dozen new bikes working with several bike shops, no one has ever provided this much concise info. Where were you 25 years ago? (don't answer)
I bought the SPANK SPIKE 800 Vibrocore bars, and after a few rides I noticed my hands kept creeping inward. this was making it harder to shift and brake, plus my shoulders were bothering me. once I cut them down to match where my hands kept creeping to. I instantly felt more stable on the bike, plus no more hand/shoulder pain, and my hands do not creep inward anymore. side note: I did take the grips off and kept the levers really lose (I know not ideal but worked for me) for a few semi-easy rides to really see where so I could continuously move the levers until I found that sweet spot where my hands stopped moving around.
I have had hand problems for years and have tried every lock on grip but still pain or not liking so after 5 years went back to my motocross roots and renthal glue on grips and great not one hand pain in two years and I ride a lot so much more feed back and feel through the bars.
If you have hands going numb try this. Sit up, reach for the bars with elbows straight. Slowly lean forward till your wrists touch the bars, then put your full weight on your bars. As you do this watch your elbows. If your elbows bend outwards as you put your hands flat on the bars, then you need more back/upsweep on your bars. Bent elbows are great for lowering your weight while cornering, or while absorbing big drops. But if you mainly commute or downhill and your hands go numb, perform this sweep test
This was super helpful and the most comprehensive bike fit and touch point video that I've ever seen. Your point about fit being mostly about "fitting" inside and a part of the triangle was extremely helpful.
I found that the height of the saddle is a the larger factor in determining saddle comfort. My knees bend more as the saddle goes down, unweighting my pedals and putting more of my weight on the saddle instead. This over time causes extreme discomfort since the saddle is not designed for holding up a majority of my weight(unlike the pedals). Going downhill a lower saddle works perfect though since my knees straighten out as the hill gets steeper, making me feel quite safe.
But it's 25,000 dollars Forrest. When I was in China on the All-American Ping Pong Team, I just loved playing Ping Pong with my Flexolite Ping Pong Paddle, which everyone knows ain't true but momma says it's alright to tell a little white lie every now and then.
it makes sense. i was having difficulty doing manuals on a flat section but also noticed that it was very easy to lift the front wheel during climbs. my bike is a small frame with the seat all the way back and up for climbing. its a heavier bike for its size, a Norco Shore 3 with marzocchi rear spring shock. i would like to get a more modern bike, but it was the only bike with the features i wanted for cross country / all mountain for my budget ;(. not everyone can add an extra 0 to the end of their budget
What a video!! Been watching GMBN for a couple of years now and this was just about the most informative video I've come across so far about MTB setup as it correlates to being uncomfortable. Fantastic content as usual, Doddy. Keep it up! Would love to see a video about dealing with wrist sprain and handlebar setup as I am having a terrible time with my 2018 Nukeproof Scout 275 and Renthall 40mm rise bars with both 50mm and 35mm stem. Just can't seem to get rid of the wrist pain.
Wow what a lot to take in ,I will be showing my husband this video later, thanks for making it ,ATM im having problems with my legs ,my right leg feels like it wants to cramp all the time and when I'm going up hill my bike which is a hard tail is lifting up alot some times really high ,I'm a female and only been riding 5 weeks on this bike and have never done a wheely ( may of spelled that wrong soz) before also on the downs my hands between my finger and thumb are really pressed against the grips even with the seat down I think I need to reset all of my bike thanks again 👍😊
I tried various bars and finally settled on a Jones Bend as the only ones that didn't give me really bad wrist pain, this is due entirely to the bad wrist angle you mentioned when riding straighter bars (confirmed by a physiotherapist). I wish there were more sweep options as from what I've seen they tend to make a big jump from a few degrees to 25 then 45 with nothing in between.
i rode a hardtail with a flatbar 95cm from floor to top of the grips. i put way to much weight on the arms and hands. riding longer than 20 minutes was a pain. put more spacers in, shorter stem an a riserbar. over all top of the grips is 10cm higher and i can ride for hours now
I've found I just couldn't get back enough on the saddle. So I've taken the 32mm setback post from my road bike and put it on my mtb. Will be testing this weekend.
Eh, on forks with HSC/LSC, it's usually HSC that impacts stutter/brake bumps because they are a high shaft speed event and fork dampers are almost all speed sensitive not position sensitive... on stuff like Charger 1 with just external LSC, I agree it impacts stutter bumps... but on a Fox 40 with the RC2 or GRIP2, winding out HSC makes it way more comfortable on brake bumps.
Doddy I’m always so impressed and amazed with how thorough and articulate you are. Excellent work my man! I’m currently riding a 09 Nomad size medium and hoping to upgrade soon. I’ve struggled finding a stable body position, especially downhill, due to small reach (high on the triangle). I have my eye on a new Nomad size large. I’m 5’10’’ and like a short stem. Any thoughts bike size and or ways to find my traingle ratio? Thanks!
Dialled LoveHate with a Salsa Mukluk front end, Alfine 8 hub Clarke discs ( :/) high roller 2, 26x2. 4 rear. Surly Knard. 3.8 in the front and a ragley Carnegies bar. Generic 50mm stem.
Good video. Maybe the one point missed was handlebar width, especially how that interplays with the stem height and length as well as handlebar rise. It’s easy to chase that part of the cockpit setup around, so maybe you have some pointers? I was running 760 mm a Renthal Fatbar Lite, but I abused them too much and needed to replace them. I’ve gone with the Enve M7, which come at 800 mm. I loved the stability, but my upper back was getting a little sore and they’re just too wide for my local trails. Also, the front end was much harder to lift. I’ve cut them to 780 mm, but my back and shoulders are worse! I’m about to go down to 760 mm because I had no problems there on my previous bars. It’s weird that wider or narrower seem to be better, but in between is the worst! By the way, I’m 6’ 1”. Not quite Doddy size, but on the taller end for sure!
Please do a tech clinic like this, but for suspension. Would love a full walkthrough of suspension settings as well as some in depth information on the anatomy of forks and shocks.
Awesome video!!! I'm new to this site but have been MTB in the USA for long time. Loved the part about setting up your bike for manuals. That is the next skill I'm working on...
Could you do a video on lower back pain? I suffer from this issue during daily life regardless of biking. However i do notice it'll intensify more if im riding more often. Id love any advice on how to minimize this. Whether it be bike setup, stretches, exercises. Thanks so much love your video!
stretching the hip flexors can take some of the tension from the lower back caused by the rotated hips... if you sit down during the day, drive a lot, or similar positions, then definitely stretch those hips flexors and find some balance with the glutes
I’m having a bit of a bike fit dilemma, on a bike that is a little on the short side . Trek remedy , For general riding the bar height that feels most comfortable, hurts my lower back when descending, drop the bars can get my hips down lower and feels good descending. But not so good for seated peddling , hands feel too low .
1:58 I get pain there often, my problem is the elbow, shoulder, wrist joint slip & misalign, this also is causing crashes, SO I need to use alot of protection even on a xc ride, but wide handle bar helped a lot, with narrower bars this would happen very often, but now it only happens if I do rougher mtb. but when it happens a lot I cant use the rear brake/Left brake & shifter, I can still down shift with my hand awkwardly, but have to use my left hand to downshift if this happens, but it doesn't ot happen on every ride, but happens from time to time, I haven't tried braces yet, maybe I should. I use RevGrips 34mm I got medium sized hand, pretty average size, I use medium in gloves got 21cm knuckle size. 6:07 having it too far off the centre will bend the saddle rails, I got the saddle slightly leaning forwards nothing crazy jsut few degrees, but it makes a difference for sure, with correct sag its flat. Installing Cush Core on both wheels improved my comfort, grip, and traction, I lowered the tyre pressures by 4psi, I could also drop suspension suspension by 20psi, but my fork never felt right I always had to have it harder to avoid bottom out or have it too plush, but after installing Cushcore it improved it greatly, I am not sure what options I got for tuning my fork, I got a huge grey spacer installed from factory, so before installing cush core I would have needed volume reduction in fork and shock, but now the setup it's acceptable. for me new bike with modern geometry will be the only solution, my current bike is holding me back, I have to be very precise with my upper body placement and movement on climbs, I definitely need a better bike for that reason alone, apart from the bike making other trouble. I definitely have the problem you mentioned, but most bikes won't fit, but a nuke proof would fit better for sure, NIcolai & Pole will also be better. I haven't made any decisions yet, but I am leaning towards Nicolai g15.
Thank you for this video!! I think I am going to head to REI or one of the local shops here in Fairbanks, Alaska and see what I can find for a shorter stem. I've been thinking about it for a while, and this video gave me all of the info that I needed! Thanks again for another awesome video!! Can't wait for the next one!!! Cheers!!
Very nice and instructive. I would split this video en two or thee pieces. Pain in the hands also come from bad riding habits, when riders sit all the time and lean a lot on the handle bars. (Gravity like) Greetings from the Galilee.
What can we do to get more vertical so the weight is not pushing on the hands? This I feel gets my shoulders and hands in pain on a 2 or 4 hour ride. My bar is rather straight, so I will get a bent bar that bends towards the rider. I wish I could raise my neck headset, but it looks unique and a 1 pieces neck-headset, so the bar is easier to deal with.
Bittersweet advice about tall guys on small-ish bikes... Saved up for months for a 2017 SC 5010 in XL, but at 6'6" it's just too small and I have so much trouble climbing anything steep or techy with it... Guess I'll save up for a Smuggler :-)
I have a $6K bike and then spent another $250 on a professional bike fit by an independent coach. It was done with the aid of a computer. Most of your discomfort is not gear it’s fit.
Holy... Where did you get such a fit? All the MTB shops I go to give different advice and attempt to sell me other gear. So tired of them trying to sell us unnecessary and overpriced junk.
