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How do you decide bar height on your trail bike?

kickstand

Turbo Monkey
Sep 18, 2009
3,441
392
Fenton, MI
How do you decide where to put your bars?

I've always gone with the 15mm of spacers above and below and have the freedom to move them later, and then I never do.

What method do you use? What's the "proper" way to determine where your bars should be?
 

OBB

Monkey
Sep 25, 2008
157
3
Standing or seated?

Effective (not true/actual) reach and stack: the horizontal and vertical positions that go from the center of the ends of your handlebar to the center of your BB. With those two numbers you can usually get your position dialed. You might have to do some fine tuning via 5mm increments in the spacers or 5-10mm in the stem length to get the position dialed for the best compromise between standing and seated positions.
 

SDet

Monkey
Nov 19, 2014
150
42
Boulder Co
30mm or 50mm rise bars, a few steer tube spacers. Ride aggressively for a bit, laying into corners, bunny hops and such. Adjust from there.
 

Gary

"S" is for "neo-luddite"
Aug 27, 2002
7,536
5,470
UK
Ignore your saddle height
NEVER set up your bar height/sweep/roll/width for how they feel seated
Ignore numbers.. it's not a roadbike!

What Woo said but don't forget to take into account how neutral they feel while jumping too (which may also involve a change of stem length.. certainly does for me)
 

Nick

My name is Nick
Sep 21, 2001
23,928
14,449
where the trails are
Ignore your saddle height
NEVER set up your bar height/sweep/roll/width for how they feel seated
Ignore numbers.. it's not a roadbike!

What Woo said but don't forget to take into account how neutral they feel while jumping too (which may also involve a change of stem length.. certainly does for me)
Do you do any sustained climbing?
(keeping in mind OP asked this question about trail bikes)
 

slimshady

¡Mira, una ardilla!
I usually take 'Woo's approach. In the Rallón I ended up with the bar tips about 13mm lower than my saddle. It allows me to push the bike into the corners and properly pull it when manualling/bunny hopping. Plus it gives me enough leg throw to keep a good climbing pace.

I might add bar width has a certain effect on how good a given height feels, as wider bars open your chest and bring you forward in relation to narrower ones.
 

wydopen

Turbo Monkey
Jan 16, 2005
1,229
60
805
Do you do any sustained climbing?
(keeping in mind OP asked this question about trail bikes)

If my bars arnt high enough my hands will go numb on a 1.5hr climb....luckily for me that works out descending as well..with a bike you pedal you have to have a compromise between climbing and descending...start where if feels comfortable descending and see if it works for climbing as well...I run 20mm under the stem-10mm rise stem and 20mm bars...still a little lower than my seat though
 
If my bars arnt high enough my hands will go numb on a 1.5hr climb....luckily for me that works out descending as well..with a bike you pedal you have to have a compromise between climbing and descending...start where if feels comfortable descending and see if it works for climbing as well...I run 20mm under the stem-10mm rise stem and 20mm bars...still lower than my seat though
Interesting, 'cause I have some intermittent problems with numb hands...
 

wydopen

Turbo Monkey
Jan 16, 2005
1,229
60
805
Interesting, 'cause I have some intermittent problems with numb hands...
I run a travel adjust fork...I had 10mm rise renthals and was having numb hands...tried putting fork back up on flatter sections and it went away...went to 20mm rise renthals and no numb hands with the fork lowered...think it puts too much pressure on your palms..
 

boostindoubles

Nacho Libre
Mar 16, 2004
7,839
6,145
Yakistan
1) bongshed
2) look at bike for long time.
3) lock in place where it feels/looks good.
4) ride bike on trails, hit jumps and lean in turns. Adjust height whichever way feels correct.
 

MmmBones

Monkey
May 8, 2011
272
84
Porkland, OR
Something as simple as bar height can become convoluted when you start to factor bike geometry, fork A2C, stem length/rise, bar width/tilt/sweep & rise + suspension settings and weight distribution into the equation, not to mention the individual riders strength, fitness and flexibility, which play key roles in the instrumentation of such measures. One basic bar-distance-2-rider-height theory I have found useful is that your center of bottom bracket to bar-end distance should be about half of your height. For reference, here's an article that goes in depth to show ideal bar-2-BB relationships and compares them with contemporary and progressive geometry- http://www.mbr.co.uk/news/size-matters-why-were-all-riding-bikes-that-are-too-small-321374
 

Gary

"S" is for "neo-luddite"
Aug 27, 2002
7,536
5,470
UK
Something as simple as bar height can become convoluted
Nope. simply ride more... anyone I've ever met who's ridden a lot for a long time can set their bar height within 5-10mm of just right in the first ride without any of the overthinking seen here

Mbr and Chris Porter can Fuck off!

Dude's clearly striving for as un-connected a riding experience as is possible without the full shame of a fatbike.
And the mag has always been full of shit
 

slimshady

¡Mira, una ardilla!
Nope. simply ride more... anyone I've ever met who's ridden a lot for a long time can set their bar height within 5-10mm of just right in the first ride without any of the overthinking seen here
This. We're not roadies trying to squeeze every miliwatt out of our thighs, in a fixed position. Your body grows accustomed to a given posture, and after owning a few bikes and riding them properly, you are generally able to spot the right position for every component just by naked eye. Last year, when shopping for a new bike, I incidentally measured the bb-to-saddle-top for the first time in all the three bikes I owned. I came out pretty surprised when I saw they were all set to 76cm (within a few mm of error).
 

Gary

"S" is for "neo-luddite"
Aug 27, 2002
7,536
5,470
UK
Thing is... it's also true for roadies... proper ones. not bike-fitted sportive wankers.
 

MmmBones

Monkey
May 8, 2011
272
84
Porkland, OR
This. We're not roadies trying to squeeze every miliwatt out of our thighs, in a fixed position. Your body grows accustomed to a given posture, and after owning a few bikes and riding them properly, you are generally able to spot the right position for every component just by naked eye. Last year, when shopping for a new bike, I incidentally measured the bb-to-saddle-top for the first time in all the three bikes I owned. I came out pretty surprised when I saw they were all set to 76cm (within a few mm of error).
I did the same to my three bikes last year and they were all within a few millimeters for seat height and center of BB to bar-end measurements, so I think I know how to set up my bikes by feel. I'm just sayin' there can be some basic guidelines and it's not rocket scientology to find the right position for each bike and its intended purpose.
 
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saruti

Turbo Monkey
Oct 29, 2006
1,167
73
Israel
I think its also dependent on the height of the rider.
and the riding territory
the taller the rider, the higher the bar.
I personally keep my bar height as low as I can. I'm not tall 5,7... and I use the bike for riding up to the trails. the lower the bar, the better it rides up hill.
on my DH bike, it depends on the steep of the trails I ride.
all year round its lower than what I use when I'm in Morzine for a week...
 

MmmBones

Monkey
May 8, 2011
272
84
Porkland, OR
I think its also dependent on the height of the rider.
and the riding territory
the taller the rider, the higher the bar.
I personally keep my bar height as low as I can. I'm not tall 5,7... and I use the bike for riding up to the trails. the lower the bar, the better it rides up hill.
on my DH bike, it depends on the steep of the trails I ride.
all year round its lower than what I use when I'm in Morzine for a week...
I agree to a certain extent, but If you are trying to keep your front end as low as possible for climbs on your trail bike, how does that relate to this forum?
 
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Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
54,232
20,016
Sleazattle
Bar height moves your center of gravity fore/aft and up/down. It really takes mucking with both height and reach to find the sweet spot of comfort and balance. That being said I like my bar at the lower end of said spectrum for the lower COG.
 

amishmatt

Turbo Monkey
Sep 21, 2005
1,263
396
Lancaster, PA
Definitely be feel, which ends up slightly below seat height. My bikes end up setup within mms of each other without measuring anything. The only reason I measure is so I can quickly replicate the position again after a tear down.