[Sverre]

I'm a happy owner of the 08 DHR, and so is my GF, but we don't find it perfect. (No such ting as a perfect bike I guess...)
The frame construction requires the user to run a pretty high seat, if you wanna avoid your tire to hit the seat. This I find a bit annoying and my gf hates it, and it actually slowes her down as it takes away her freedom of movment while riding. I'm 5'10" on a medium and she's 5'2" on a small.
I'd like to lower mine a tad, but I can live with it. My gf however needs to get something done, so hence this post.
We've allready swapped the seat to a turner xc, which has a low profile and "tire-hole" in the back. We've moved it forward a bit, and adjusted it higher and higher as it still keeps skrubbing her tire while landing hard on jumps and drops. This suckes for her, cause now it's to high, and the tire still hits it. (We're both running Maxxis 2,5" for the record).

I've thought about getting a shock with a shorter stroke, like a 9,5x2,75" or something, but that's not an easy find. An option migth be to add a nylon spacer on the backside of the tiny bottom out bumper on the stock fox shox.

Any sugestions ppl?

Happy to hear from you

 

[Rb]

Chop your seatpost?

 

[Sverre]

Oh, I guess I was a bit unclear in my op, so I edited it a bit.
The problem is the tire hits the seat while bottoming the rear shock.

 

[jabberwocky]

For what its worth this happens on my small Highline too, although I'm fine with the height I end up needing. Its probably much more of an issue on small frames, because the linkage is the same but the frame is much more compact and the rider is shorter (and therefore wants and needs a lower seat). I've definitely had a few times where I had the seat a bit too low and got that loud buzzing/thunk on the first drop. I need to expose about 4-5" of post to avoid that.

You could try sliding the seat all the forward on the rails. What kind of post are you using? Most posts have a certain amount of layback built in. You could try a post like a Thomson, which has less and will push the seat forward a bit.

 

[Buzz]

Wow! I didnt realize this was an issue. That might be a deal breaker for my gf looking at a Highline. If she cant slam the seat down, then it isnt much use to her! Almost ALL of the riding this bike would see would be on the Shore, and for that the seat needs to be slammed.
Dont know where to turn to now.......

Cheers

Buzz

 

[1soulrider]

My wife is 5'4" and has a DHR as well as a HL. The seat/tire interference is an issue on the DHR but not the HL, at least for her. She runs a Thompson w/o any layback on the HL and has slammed her seat nearly all the way down for dh runs without any seat buzzing. The DHR is another story though. It is tough to get all that travel on a small frame without the seat getting in the way. This has only been an issue in very steep nasty terrain where she has wished for a bit lower saddle height.
I have heard a rumor that the small DHR will be receiving a shorter seat tower tube to move the saddle forward and help correct this situation.

 

[jabberwocky]

I should add that I'm using a WTB Power V saddle, which is pretty big. And I'm fine with the saddle where it is, even in very steep terrain. I just have to remember not to put it down all the way.

Here is a pic of my bike with the saddle at (or very near) its minimum height.

 

[Buzz]

Thanks for the pic Jabber......that would not be low enough for the type of riding we do! Yes, a Power V is a big saddle ( I have one on my RFX). Perhaps with the right seat, it would be doable as 1SR says. She occasionally bottoms her XCE on the Shore, but I dont see her doing it all that often with something with 3+ extra inches of travel

Cheers

Buzz

 

[Kevin G]

Y'all shouldn't be sitting while riding!

 

[jabberwocky]

I dunno, we have some rollers around here that are damn near vertical and I've never felt like the seat was in the way. For me, its more that I'm so used to just slamming the seat all the way on my dirt jumper that I tend to do that on the Highline too, which then causes the tire to hit the seat on hard hits.

 

[Buzz]

We definitely ARENT sitting while riding! The seat needs to be slammed so you can get back far enough over the rear tire to stop yourself from going over the bars and taking a big dirt snack. The stuff up here on the Shore just isnt very forgiving if you get it wrong.....

 

[1soulrider]

Keep in mind the Highline is a compact frame w/ great standover. This means that the amount of seatpost exposed can be misleading as to actual saddle height.

 

[airwreck]

what small bike with 7-8 inches travel doesn't have this issue?

 

[inkpad]

Just about every race inspired DH bike will have this issue if the seat is slammed too low, as most, if not all of them have an angled back seat tube. The Intense's, especially the new M6, Cove (Shocker) V10, etc...all have ultra slack seattubes. A good rule when building any race bike is to remove the spring & cycle the shock all the way down to find the bottom out limit, then set / mark your post for max insertion. And as mentioned already, this is especially the case on the small frames. I just finished my DHR last night & have plenty of seat post adjustment, but then again, mine is a large & I never slam my seat, even riding the shore ; )

 

[Digger90]

I buzzed the seat regularly on my size Large Orange 223, and that had 9" of rear travel. I ripped the plastic shroud clean off the seat on one occasion.

 

[kidwoo]

We definitely ARENT sitting while riding!

Heh. I do. All the time actually.

The seat needs to be slammed so you can get back far enough over the rear tire to stop yourself from going over the bars and taking a big dirt snack. The stuff up here on the Shore just isnt very forgiving if you get it wrong.....

Yeah the brake dragging, fall line skid rut, 2mph survival riding of the shore isn't really too conducive to high seats. I'll give you that.

I'll also give you that I rode my bikes with non slammed seats on cypress and fromme and had a blast. Even on those goofy granite rollovers like the widowmaker 13 stairs etc. You don't need your seat slammed to ride that stuff. And the dhr seat towers are pretty low actually. What you think may be a lot of seatpost exposed isn't necessarily.

If the tire hits the seat, move the seat as far foreward as you can. If the tire hits a straight seatpost, then the frame designer didn't do his homework.

what small bike with 7-8 inches travel doesn't have this issue?

Specialized demos.

 

[turnerbikes]

Slammin

Since slammed seats are for decoration, use the smallest one possible. they are for sitting on in lift lines etc. At speed it is universally understood that if you are sitting you are slacking. Use an in-line headed straight up seat post and put that seat as far forward as possible. Any check of shorter riders bikes will show that the backs of the seats are regularly chopped into an arc either from the mechanic or the tire. going to a 2.35 will not save much seat foam from getting chopped, but it will make the bike lighter and easier to whip around for a smaller rider.

DT

 

[kidwoo]

At speed it is universally understood that if you are sitting you are slacking.

You haven't seen my seat clamping scroat speed tuck.

 

[Rover Nick]

A lay-back post switched around so the bend is forward, maybe?

 

[airwreck]

Specialized demos.

17 inch seat tube versus DHR's 15" and Highlines 14" seat tube.