What Stem/Bar Setup for AM/XC?

benabbott

Hi Peeps,

Looking for a recommendation for a new STEM and Handlebar setup for my bike. I do a lot of trails centres/xc but have recently been getting into some more AM terrain.

Whinlatter, Llandegla, Lee/Cragg Quarry and Gisburn forest are my normal trails but have also done some more extreme things like Snowdon etc (which I loved).

I'm about 5"10/5"11 and packing about 14stone without gear and moderately fit. I do sometimes suffer with lower back pain depending on the length of ride.

I would like to find a very nice bar and stem setup that will help give a lil more comfort yet won't hinder my style of riding.

Your help would be greatly appreciated,

Cheers,

supersonic

What are you running at the minute?

kenan

Try making changes to what you have. I was suffering back pain for a few rides after fitting new parts. Next ride out put my multi tool in my pocket and tweaked my saddle pitch and moved it back a little. Also moved the straps on my backpack and rotated my handle bars forward more. All resulting in no back pain on the next ride.

benabbott

Thanks for the current responses.

I've currently got Tioga 30mm low riser handlebar with a Tioga 90mm Ahead Stem. This came on my previous Land Rover Mezzana frame before switching some of the gear across to my current On-One Summer Season.

I'm trying to get the right setup for the style of riding that I am doing but also want my bike to really look the part

I've tried adjusting things already in the past, as my back was an issue on my previous frame aswell, and agree it made it slightly better.

Andy!

I think he means what stem and bars do you have and bike wouldn't go a miss

kenan

Ah a summer session. Just built mine up and working on the set-up myself. Give On-One a call, they were really happy to advise what kit they put on the bikes for customers.

ATM I have a 400mm seatpost with 10mm layback, a 80mm stem with a fair bit of rise and a 710mm bar with 25mm rise.

diy

Its really not easy to make recommendations here. Is your current setup oversized?

regarding the back pain, you could simply look at some stubby bar ends to give you an alternative position or make sure your seat is level and your sit bone is in the right place.

plus having a good stretch and warm up before going out helps. Failing that Valium is really good at relaxing muscles

for XC/Enduro I prefer narrow flat bars with bar ends, but these are not good for AM/DH.
for AM/winter I switch to low rise monkey bars.

my setup is:

EA70 Stem - Summer XC Enduro - EA70 flat bars with EC90 ends
for AM/DH and winter EC90 monkey lites without the bar ends.

although I have not had either long enough to be able to recommend.

shm_uk

I would advise changing your 90mm stem for something shorter ...

The On-One website recommends 60-80mm for the Summer Season frame for a rider of your height.


The shorter reach will go some way to helping address your lower back pain problem.

It may also be worth moving your saddle slightly further forward (if possible), and/or check the angle of the saddle

I used to get back pain, so tilted the nose of my saddle down by a degree or two & fitted a 15mm shorter stem... no more back pain

Of course, what worked for me may not work for you, but it's worth at least trying out these adjustments before splashing loads of cash on new parts ...

Shaggy_Dog

If you're getting back pain on longer rides it probably has something to do with your core lower back muscles not being conditioned enough. My rides used to be cut short by back pain rather than my legs getting tired, especially if I'm caning it for a couple of hours. I've found time on my road bike has really improved my core strength and means I can now ride until I run out of energy or daylight.

With regards to bars and stems, it's a very personal choice. I don't like a bar over 28" wide (685mm) no matter what kind of bike it is. I tend to use 26" on XC/Trail bikes, 27 on all-mountain bikes and 27 or 28 on DH bikes. I like the sweep on Easton, Syncros and Bontrager, I always use low rise bar and a zero rise stem and run it low. I never run a stem longer than 90mm (unless it's on a road bike). 50mm on DH and AM bikes, 70mm on trail bikes and 90mm on XC race bikes. I'm 5'10 and weigh 13 stone. I don't like 25.4mm clamps because they look weedy!