Depends how you ride. I ride cross country and am also 6'1". I prefer the bars slightly lower than my saddle to keep the front down on climbs. Of course an AM rider is going to want higher bars.
Poll: Preferred Bar Height on a 29er?
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You won't glean much from your question other than saddle to bar drop on mountain bikes is just like road bikes among racers and recreational riders alike, i.e. all over the map.
Look no further than contrasting Lance Armstrong with Dave Weins at the Leadville race which is really a road race on dirt. Weins who is no pup at 45 years old and looks 30 who is very tall runs a very BIG drop...the stuff of road racers on road bikes. Lance by contrast has what looks like a pedestrian set up. He rides a 19.5" Trek with 120mm stem with bars even with the saddle. I have to say, this is almost hard to believe but true. Yes he is stretched out with this set up because that is still substantial reach for a guy his size on a size Large Trek mountain bike with 625mm top tube but no drop from a guy who is a champion road racer? Incredible. Contrast the bikes below. The take away is...each rider has preference which trumps what conventional wisdom would suggest. No doubt Lance likes descending on that bike but how about flats and climbing?
Tall guys many times have long arms which match their long legs and another reason why Weins runs what he does but still the contrast is striking.
For what its worth, I am 6'1" with 35" cycling inseam and run a 1 inch drop on my mountain bike and 2" drop on my road bike. This is very average stuff.
Last word is...and this is key really. There are two components that comprise overall reach which begets torso angle in profile when riding. Horizontal and vertical (drop). On road bikes, there is generally less horizontal reach (shorter top tube) and greater drop. If your arms emanate from your body perpendicular to your torso which is 45 deg or standard riding position for many, than horizontal and vertical components of reach have equal weighting. This is why saddle to bar drop should only be considered with companion horizontal reach which is a function of top tube and stem length and even seat tube angle.
Look no further than contrasting Lance Armstrong with Dave Weins at the Leadville race which is really a road race on dirt. Weins who is no pup at 45 years old and looks 30 who is very tall runs a very BIG drop...the stuff of road racers on road bikes. Lance by contrast has what looks like a pedestrian set up. He rides a 19.5" Trek with 120mm stem with bars even with the saddle. I have to say, this is almost hard to believe but true. Yes he is stretched out with this set up because that is still substantial reach for a guy his size on a size Large Trek mountain bike with 625mm top tube but no drop from a guy who is a champion road racer? Incredible. Contrast the bikes below. The take away is...each rider has preference which trumps what conventional wisdom would suggest. No doubt Lance likes descending on that bike but how about flats and climbing?
Tall guys many times have long arms which match their long legs and another reason why Weins runs what he does but still the contrast is striking.
For what its worth, I am 6'1" with 35" cycling inseam and run a 1 inch drop on my mountain bike and 2" drop on my road bike. This is very average stuff.
Last word is...and this is key really. There are two components that comprise overall reach which begets torso angle in profile when riding. Horizontal and vertical (drop). On road bikes, there is generally less horizontal reach (shorter top tube) and greater drop. If your arms emanate from your body perpendicular to your torso which is 45 deg or standard riding position for many, than horizontal and vertical components of reach have equal weighting. This is why saddle to bar drop should only be considered with companion horizontal reach which is a function of top tube and stem length and even seat tube angle.
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I'm built like an ape, specifically, an orangutan, all arms and legs, short torso
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(I don't spear fish however
)
My bars are always about 3-4 inches lower than my saddle, and I buy smaller frames for the VTT that fits my upper body, saddle high, bars low. Yet, my riding position looks normal.
(I don't spear fish however
)My bars are always about 3-4 inches lower than my saddle, and I buy smaller frames for the VTT that fits my upper body, saddle high, bars low. Yet, my riding position looks normal.
To me the 29er allows higher bars
#2 I never found a 26er that allowed the bars anywhere near the seat height. The "large" sizes were too short and the "XL" gave me no standover. They may be out there but I never found the in-between size I needed.
#1 That would be true if I asked for "preferred shoe size."kapusta said:
#2 I never found a 26er that allowed the bars anywhere near the seat height. The "large" sizes were too short and the "XL" gave me no standover. They may be out there but I never found the in-between size I needed.
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