Newbie MTB questions.
Discussion
Morning all, after getting my first mountain bike (canyon stoic) after not having one for around 15 years, I have a couple of questions!
I have an annoying rattle that I think is the internally routed cables rattling around. Is this standard / “they all do that”? I don’t get it on my gravel bike, but the cabling is neater without so much slack.
The “dropper” section of the dropper post has a few mm of rotational play in it, again is that “normal”
My short legs and relatively long body make bike sizing tricks. This means with the seat post slammed with the dropper up, I’m at the edge of what’s comfortable reach wise for my legs. Are dropper posts designed to be used mid way between fully dropped and fully extended?
Finally is there an “ideal” bar width for a given height / reach? The bars on this (size small) bike are 760 which feels rather wide! But may be just a case of getting used to it.
I have an annoying rattle that I think is the internally routed cables rattling around. Is this standard / “they all do that”? I don’t get it on my gravel bike, but the cabling is neater without so much slack.
The “dropper” section of the dropper post has a few mm of rotational play in it, again is that “normal”
My short legs and relatively long body make bike sizing tricks. This means with the seat post slammed with the dropper up, I’m at the edge of what’s comfortable reach wise for my legs. Are dropper posts designed to be used mid way between fully dropped and fully extended?
Finally is there an “ideal” bar width for a given height / reach? The bars on this (size small) bike are 760 which feels rather wide! But may be just a case of getting used to it.
The cable rattle is normal but fixable. My SC has foam around the internal cables as standard to stop rattling. My Whyte I just fiddled with them (removed slack) until they stopped!
Play in dropper is normal, don’t hold onto it when testing for playin your bike!
Droppers come in different lengths based on user. I run both mine at full extension for normal riding and yes use all when appropriate.
Widths, I cut mine down from 820 to 760. Bars are wider these days but stems are much shorter!
Play in dropper is normal, don’t hold onto it when testing for playin your bike!
Droppers come in different lengths based on user. I run both mine at full extension for normal riding and yes use all when appropriate.
Widths, I cut mine down from 820 to 760. Bars are wider these days but stems are much shorter!
Edited by Simes205 on Sunday 30th July 11:37
Ref the dropper I am the same as between sizes.
It’s annoying trying to get it half way etc all the time so I actually just take the dropper off and sell it and put a new one on that has a shorter length.
If you are running a 150mm and it’s full stretch then run a 120mm and it will be much better.
Brand X have some excellent posts for under £100 at chain reaction.
https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/p/brand-x-asce...
It’s annoying trying to get it half way etc all the time so I actually just take the dropper off and sell it and put a new one on that has a shorter length.
If you are running a 150mm and it’s full stretch then run a 120mm and it will be much better.
Brand X have some excellent posts for under £100 at chain reaction.
https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/p/brand-x-asce...
Edited by interstellar on Sunday 30th July 11:44
A lot of droppers now can have spacers fitted underneath the collar to reduce travel if they are slightly too long. It's fine to ride with it partway (I often have mine partway down on technical climbs) but the spacers can set the maximum height to suit you better.
Bar width depends on preference as well as your size and shoulder width etc, give it a few rides to get used to it before you think about cutting it down. For a rough guideline I'm 5'10" with broad shoulders and prefer 780mm bars, I remember when 720mm seemed wide but I can't see myself ever going below 760mm on a MTB now.
Bar width depends on preference as well as your size and shoulder width etc, give it a few rides to get used to it before you think about cutting it down. For a rough guideline I'm 5'10" with broad shoulders and prefer 780mm bars, I remember when 720mm seemed wide but I can't see myself ever going below 760mm on a MTB now.
Edited by GravelBen on Sunday 30th July 12:53
Thanks all!
Wow, 820mm wide bars! That's huge. As suggested I will ride with them as is for a while before committing to cutting them down.
I suspect its the cable for the dropper post that is rattling, but now amount of holding it, or pulling/pushing whilst riding seems to fix it... I wonder if I have mis-aligned it from its routing somehow when I fitted the post (they come pre-routed but with the end of the cable clipped to the seat tube on delivery.) It could of course be something else rattling, but I have no idea what would rattle on a brand new bike trundling along at low speed!
I will see how I get on with dropper (I think it is 150mm) for a while, if riding "mid way" for more technical sections works well, then I think It rides low enough for smooth climbs as is.
Thanks again all!
Wow, 820mm wide bars! That's huge. As suggested I will ride with them as is for a while before committing to cutting them down.
I suspect its the cable for the dropper post that is rattling, but now amount of holding it, or pulling/pushing whilst riding seems to fix it... I wonder if I have mis-aligned it from its routing somehow when I fitted the post (they come pre-routed but with the end of the cable clipped to the seat tube on delivery.) It could of course be something else rattling, but I have no idea what would rattle on a brand new bike trundling along at low speed!
I will see how I get on with dropper (I think it is 150mm) for a while, if riding "mid way" for more technical sections works well, then I think It rides low enough for smooth climbs as is.
Thanks again all!
jimmy156 said:
Morning all, after getting my first mountain bike (canyon stoic) after not having one for around 15 years, I have a couple of questions!
I have an annoying rattle that I think is the internally routed cables rattling around. Is this standard / “they all do that”? I don’t get it on my gravel bike, but the cabling is neater without so much slack.
The “dropper” section of the dropper post has a few mm of rotational play in it, again is that “normal”
My short legs and relatively long body make bike sizing tricks. This means with the seat post slammed with the dropper up, I’m at the edge of what’s comfortable reach wise for my legs. Are dropper posts designed to be used mid way between fully dropped and fully extended?
Finally is there an “ideal” bar width for a given height / reach? The bars on this (size small) bike are 760 which feels rather wide! But may be just a case of getting used to it.
Cable rattle - sometimes, you could try and tension up the ends and also check whether the cable have rubber "holders".I have an annoying rattle that I think is the internally routed cables rattling around. Is this standard / “they all do that”? I don’t get it on my gravel bike, but the cabling is neater without so much slack.
The “dropper” section of the dropper post has a few mm of rotational play in it, again is that “normal”
My short legs and relatively long body make bike sizing tricks. This means with the seat post slammed with the dropper up, I’m at the edge of what’s comfortable reach wise for my legs. Are dropper posts designed to be used mid way between fully dropped and fully extended?
Finally is there an “ideal” bar width for a given height / reach? The bars on this (size small) bike are 760 which feels rather wide! But may be just a case of getting used to it.
If it is a Brand-X Ascend type thing, yes. TADTS. A bit of rotational play is fine.
What dropper length do you have? If it's 150mm or above, you could try a shorter dropper. Droppers can be used mid way, but normally it is down or extended for most of the ride.
Bars - what is comfortable really. I'm on 775 and I think I'm going to cut down to 760mm.
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