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Hi Guys
So I’ve always thought my cove stiffee feels abit of a stretch and it sometimes hurts my lower back. I’m 5ft 6 the bike is 17.5 so I kinda think it’s abit to big but if I was to put a shorter stem on maybe some riser bars would this help? It currently has a 70mm stem I was thinking maybe 50mm ? Any advice would be great I’d rather have ago than buy a new bike but if needs must then so be it.
Thanks
Tom
While 70mm is pretty long, Stiffees are really short - esp by modern standards.
The seat tube angle is very slack, so I’d slam the saddle forward on the rails first, and try a shorter stem afterwards.
Yeah I was looking bike geometry and I’m amazed how long modern bikes are. The stiffee is short compared. I’ll put the seat forward something I haven’t tried yet. What kinda length stem would be acceptable on a mtb?
50 used to be short, but is now middle of the road. Your head angle is steep though, so too short a stem may speed up the steering too much - you might like it, might not!
High rise bars definitely help in this situation in my experience. Taller bars are slowly coming into fashion so there's a few options available.
I've had a Renthal Fatbar with 40mm rise but I had to hunt for it. I've got a really cheap Spank bar from CRC which I think is 50mm.
I’m amazed how long modern bikes are
Though when compared to older bikes they tend to have steeper ST and slacker HA, so even though they're longer your hands and arse are comparatively closer together.
I'd defo try putting seat forward and a 50mm stem, but the bike then might feel too short and twitchy.
A more modern geo bike (nothing outrageous) with something like 66 HA and 75 SA will feel a lot nicer.
Narrower bars will also have the effect of shortening reach as well. Can also move the saddle forward a touch too, but that will put more weight over the front.
Yeah I think the bars are far to wide to be totally honest. I’m not sure what width to try really
Move your grips, brakes and shifters in a bit until you find a happy spot. Then take a hacksaw to the ends.