Hiya all

jondi

Brand newbie, I bought a Saracen Mantra the other day, My intention was to ride to work and get fit riding around local areas where i live, I live in south Wales , so have plenty of country side and forests to ride through.
I have browsed the net for several mountain bike sites, having done that and joind here, I might have a go and try a bit more than first intended, Trails n' stuff.

Can my bike cope with much of a pounding ? don't want to kill it.

supersonic

Hello and welcome!

Yep, is a tough bike if a little heavy. Just keep it well looked after and should be fine.

jondi

yeh is a little heavier than first thought, i will have to drill lots of holes in it to male it lighter ,lol. Still love though

supersonic

You wouldn't be the first to do that ;-)

The weight is because of its relative strength at this price point.

Twisterboy

Welcome to the Forum.

David

Muddy.Bail

Welcome Mate

missmarple

Welcome! 8)

jondi

another thing is, my handle bars are quite high almost level with the seat, i have lowered them to the lowest they will go, moving spacers above the stem insted of below. The stem tilts upwards raising them too, should i buy a new stem that is straight and not tilted upwards , if you catch my drift. Or is there another way to have the handle bars lowered ?

mellex

Buying a stem with a 0° rise angle will certainly help to reduce the height of the bars but why do you want to do it? Is it a purely cosmetic thing or is the current riding position uncomfortable?

jondi

i would prefer the handle bars lower than the seat, so i am leaning forward more.

The Northern Monkey

helloooo

GHill

Could try turning the stem upside down (so it points down rather than up), you may need to move the spacers back underneath though.

Cockpit feel is a very personal thing, hope you can get it right.

stumpyjon

I'd leave it as it is. Mountain bikes are setup differently from road bikes for a reason. Bars lower than your saddle is going tip your weight forward which might result in you going over the bars on a steep downhill. Try and get used to the position first, if you really can't get on with it look to swap the stem (some can be flipped upside down effectively giving you a negative angle).

Also do you have flat bars or riser bars? Bars can be swapped fairly cheaply.