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Seat height vs Handle Bar Height for AM

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chcmuzza

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Hi, general question about the relationship of seat height versus handle bar height for AM.

Assuming your seat height is correctly adjusted, is there a rule of thumb relationship to the handle bar height for All Mountain?

Same height, lower, higher and to what degree??

The reason I ask is my seat is a couple of inches higher than my handlebar when the suspension is properly set up and I am on the bike, and whilst this seems OK for uphill / single track, downhill can feel pretty precarious.

Cheers
 
#2 ·
Proper seat height has had new meaning to me. I used to run full out road bike efficient, but that does make for a good off road biking experience.

Since I am too cheap to get an on the fly adjustable and too lazy to stop and move it I keep it at a happy medium for pedaling and bike manuverability. My current Reign 1 I have the saddle just below the grips static and well below with sag. On my Yeti 575 it is just below my saddle static and about even with sag. You can play around with the spacers above and below the stem to move the bars up or down and see what feels best to you. As important to this "feeling" is stem length. I like to feel like the bar is behind the front axle.

Too short and it gets tippy going up and too long and you will feel like flipping (endo) when going down.

Good Luck-

Rob
 
#3 ·
chcmuzza said:
Hi, general question about the relationship of seat height versus handle bar height for AM.

Assuming your seat height is correctly adjusted, is there a rule of thumb relationship to the handle bar height for All Mountain?

Same height, lower, higher and to what degree??

The reason I ask is my seat is a couple of inches higher than my handlebar when the suspension is properly set up and I am on the bike, and whilst this seems OK for uphill / single track, downhill can feel pretty precarious.

Cheers
Click to expand...
No hard rules but I think around even is a good starting place. However, you will see everything from several inches lower than the saddle to several inches higher. My bars are just a tad higher than my seat.

If the DH feels precarious, I would experiment with the bars higher and with a shorter reach.
 
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#4 ·
It's all about what feels comfortable to you, in my opion... No one is exactly the same (arm lengths vs torso length vs leg length)... My bars (685mm/27" wide, 2" rise, using 70mm/0deg stem) are about 2" higher than my saddle. Climbs well, descends well, rides the rough stuff well.


cheers
 
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#5 ·
Realistically it is impossible to comment on the height of the seat and bars for another person without seeing the bike and looking at a person sitting on a bike.

The reason is that a bike with say a 5" fork will have a certain bar height but a bike with a 6" fork will have a height a good inch higher. And then there is riser bar and flat bars and BB height and TT length, leg extension, clipped, flats etc..

The general rule is to find a position that is comfortable for YOU to ride in. Get a base line to start with, ride for a while then get input from other more experience riders or a reputable shop.

Asking online about seat height without all the 'important' variables being given likely won't help much.
 
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#6 ·
kapusta said:
........If the DH feels precarious, I would experiment with the bars higher and with a shorter reach.
Click to expand...
If his seat is high and he feels uncomfortable, raising the bars likely will not help too much.

Lowering the seat to a point there you can comfortably get behind the seat and and ride will help a lot more than raising the bars. It is about controlling your body's center of gravity.

BUT as you mention, a shorter stem can help to enable you to get behind the bars much easier.

Higher bars are good for 'free-riding', doing drops and hucks because it enables you to get your front end up easily. But higher bars make climbing difficult and tight fast turns are more difficult because the front wheel is unweighted. A lower front end keeps weight on the front end and gives more control in the corners. Its a trade-off....easy hucks or easy turns.

All in all without seeing his bike, a shorter stem is likely going to help on the descents.
 
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#7 ·
for xc/enduro i have my seat up to get the most power out of my legs etc, but when im hucking, doing stairs and jumps, i like to drop me seat as low as it will go.

it feels a hell of a lot better, and i find my self doing bigger drop offs etc

steve
 
#8 ·
Im also having somewhat of an issue with this, i just got my vagrant set up and i have a 60mm hussefelt stem up nearly maxed on the headtube, strip bars with bout 1.5" rise- now im not getting close to full leg extension w/o my seat way higher than my bars, which i do for climbs, then drop it on descents but for all purpose use... should i just get higher rise bars or stem or suggestions....
 
#9 ·
Don't slap a bunch of spacers on it, or change bars or stem just to even out the heights, unless your getting back problems, or feel uncomfortable. I also have really long legs, and I feel perfecly comfortable with about a 3.5" rise of saddle hieght vs bar height, granted I always drop my saddle for technical desents. If your not sure, you could always have a bike fit done.
 
#10 ·
BTW you should measure your height difference, mine turned out to be way less than I thought, those sloping top tubes can make the situation look worse than it is. Measure from the ground for best results, turns out my hieght difference is less than 2" with my fork at full travel, and full seatpost extention
 
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