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Bike fitting a trail mtb, seat height?

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Bike fitting a trail mtb, seat height?

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Old 01-23-17, 08:23 AM
  #1  
Panza
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Bike fitting a trail mtb, seat height?

My bike fit on the road bike is pretty set in stone, my LBS used laser guided software when I bought the bike and I'm happy with the fit. The distance between the pivot of the pedal and the seat top is 86cm. I used the same fit for my CX bike but I reduced the saddle height by 1cm.

How tall should my MTB seat be vs my road bike? (Trail/Cross Country)


(I'm using the same Shimano clipless for all three bikes).
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Old 01-23-17, 10:10 AM
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I can't think of a good reason why you should have a different fit on your MTB than on your road bike except that the cranks might be a different length. Might be. Are they? Personally I don't sweat things like a 5mm difference in crank length, but other riders get very concerned about a 2.5mm difference in crank length. YMMV.
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Old 01-23-17, 12:46 PM
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fietsbob
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seat top to pedal should be a constant,

Longer crank arm you lower the saddle to still have the same
saddle top to pedal distance.

BITD, there was the hite rite

using the frame QR the seat post could go down, for steep descents, then opening the QR again ,
the spring popped it back up to the pedaling height


...
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Old 02-12-17, 04:46 PM
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Saddle position, like many other aspects of mtb fitting, often comes down to a compromise between optimum pedaling position and bike handling.

Before using a dropper post (more on that later), I found it awkward to run the saddle on my mtb in the same position as on my road bike. While it was good for pedaling, it was not great for technical riding.

What I generally do in this case is slide the saddle back a little. When you slide it back, you also end up needing to lower it as well in order to keep the same saddle-BB distance. Having the saddle a little farther back and lower makes it less in the way during technical situations.

Using a dropper post changes this. I can run a saddle position very similar to my road bike, because I can easily drop the saddle out of the way whenever I need to.
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Old 02-12-17, 04:50 PM
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Originally Posted by fietsbob
BITD, there was the hite rite

using the frame QR the seat post could go down, for steep descents, then opening the QR again ,
the spring popped it back up to the pedaling height
...
Now there are at least a dozen dropper posts that do the same thing, but with remote levers on the handlebars.
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Old 02-12-17, 05:01 PM
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I keep my mtb seat about 7.5mm lower than my road position - any higher and my lower back can't handle the bumpier off road ride.
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