Bike setup

secretsam

Hey there, quick noob question: do you "set up" your MTB in the same way as a roadie has a set up on their bike, eg with bike fits and that? And how appropriate would a roadie setup (saddle height, etc) be on a MTB used for some fairly moderate riding?

Chunkers1980

Not similar at all. MTBs need to be setup so you can move to different positions, on the road you're in one boring position.

Setup so you're comfortable in a variety of positions.

The Rookie

Bear in mind that much of your mountain biking is done out the saddle, so where the saddle is becomes redundant at that point.

You don't really need to consider aero issues on an MTB where you may compromise other facets for it on a road bike.

I always run my MTB saddle about 1/2" lower than on my commuter to make it that bit easier to move around above it, otherwise (having short legs) it tends to get in the way.

Gibbo3771

The Rookie wrote:

I always run my MTB saddle about 1/2" lower than on my commuter to make it that bit easier to move around above it, otherwise (having short legs) it tends to get in the way.

Only half an inch? I have to drop my saddle right to the very bottom for descents, I got thunder thighs though.

kajjal

If you use the same principles as road bike setup / fit but make sure you tune it to your needs is the best approach. After learning to setup my road bike properly I found I could fine tune my MTB setup to improve it quite a lot. My MTB is now better balanced and the power I put down is smoother which has improved my speed / handling a fair bit.

The big difference is on a MTB you are not stuck in a very similar riding position all the time so you can get away with more.

arran77

I don't think you can necessarily compare set ups between a road bike and mountain bike because things like geometry and riding style are so different.

Here's both of my two bikes which are perfectly set up for me, the mountain bike has a dropper post now which makes life so much easier