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My Mega needed a new headset, so a few weeks ago I bought a Works Component +5mm reach adjust headset to see if I’d notice any difference.
It’s a fair bit bigger than the zero stack headset it replaced, so the front end is now raised by about 10mm and the head angle sits at about 62.5 (most Megas are slacker than listed, plus I’m runnng a 180mm Lyrik rather than the stock 170mm one). Weirdly I needed to remove 20mms of spacers and run the stem upside down (10mm lower) to get it back to the same sort of feel bar height wise as before.
The extra length is noticeable because the wheelbase is about 10mm longer, so running the bars lower than they were before gives the same weight distribution but with the bars further away from the seat/bb. I definitely felt the need to weight the front more.
Handling wise it feels a bit more stable, especially on really steep stuff.
I’m sure someone will be along in a minute to claim confirmation bias, but I will say that until I lowered the front end I was ready to go back to my old setup as it felt so bad.
In conclusion, then, a decent upgrade and one that’s made the bike feel just a little bit better.
JP
You’ve gone from about 10mm of stack height to 29.5mm stack height (14.5mm below) - assuming ZS44/56 to EC44/56, so that’s all to be expected really.
Interesting that you prefer the bars lower as the reach gets longer, I seem to like the reverse!
Yeah - front end felt way too light with the higher stack. It felt weirdest on jumps. Strangely, the front suspension felt amazing with the higher stack.
JP
I always think it's too small an amount to be worth it. Then I remember that when I got my first angleset, this forum was all about people telling me I was an idiot and it was too small a difference to be worth it, so. Hurrah for stuff that works.
PS, there can't be that many people running 180mm lyriks in a Mega- did we meet at Flyup one time? Me on a 224, moaning about being on a 224.
Surely if the stack increases, that will reduce your reach ever so slightly. So does this headset actually give +5mm extra reach over where you were or does it equate to nearer 4mm with the stack increase.
Me on a 224, moaning about being on a 224.
Are you sure it wasn't user error....
Not been to Flyup, so not me, I’m afraid.
Actual reach is less than 5mm, but when you factor in the lower stack height with the spacers removed, you end up with a greater distance between bb and bars without being any further over the front wheel.
JP
Thank you for your post, I'd never seen one of these before you posted it. Would love to hear your comments about my reach issues vs buying a new longer frame?
Link below.
https://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/reach-for-the-bars/#post-11195903
I don’t think it would be enough to make a difference for you. My mates who are around your height tend to ride bikes with 500mm reaches. That said, my oldest friend rides a 460mm reach bike, is 6’4 and seems happy enough.
JP
I've always thought these would only really be useful for taking a frame from "too small" to "just about OK", with such small gains on offer - but it's good to hear it's worked for you.
I'd suggest persevering with the bars a bit higher for a couple of rides. I went to high-rise a while ago as an experiment and it felt very odd at first, then much better as I got used to it.
Might not work so well if your frame was on the shorter side anyway though.
I'm 6'5" and ride a bike with 440mm reach, recently replaced my hardtail that had 419mm reach with one that has 510mm. It now feels quite strange to switch between bikes.