Struggling to get my bike to fit me

[dobbyhasfriends]

I'm struggling with the fit of my Levo, ive had it 3 weeks and never had a comfortable ride on it.
im 6'2" and ride an XL but im finding the stretch to the bard too much and its giving me a terrible neck ache. I have put as many shims under the handlebar clamp as possible, fitted 41mm rise renthal bars, have the seat as far forward as it can possibly go and its still a poor fit..

another problem is I replaced the seat with an Ergon e-bike seat because the original was horrible but even though its the largest size im getting some intense pressure on the undercarriage, ive tried every height and angle but I cant find the sweet spot, I think its just the overall fit of the bike making it a problem..

any suggestions welcome.

 

[Doomanic]

Shorter stem?

 

[Gary]

The neck pain and fitting eleventymillion headset spacers sounds to me like you're just not very flexible. are you quite new to mtb? or possibly not so used to riding as much as you have since getting the levo? or have you come off a much shorter reach old skool mtb (like over 3 years old :lol

Try riding stood up a lot more. and moving around the bike more dynamically when you do. I sometimes do entire rides without sitting down at all on my regular bikes. It increases core strength massively.

If you can be bothered try yoga for improving your flexibility. 10 minutes a day will do wonders if you target the correct stretches/moves

 

[steve_sordy]

The only other thing I can suggest is a narrower bar. I know this is counter to what seems like every post on bars, but it will allow your body to move backwards a bit.

I've just thought of another one; get a different helmet that doesn't require you to lift your head so far in order to see the trail. Or remove the peak on the one you've got as a test.

 

[Gary]

The only other thing I can suggest is a narrower bar.

To test Steve's theory you can just move your controls and grips inwards an inch or so each side of your current bar first rather than hastily cutting down your current bars or buying a new set

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

The neck pain and fitting eleventymillion headset spacers sounds to me like you're just not very flexible. are you quite new to mtb? or possibly not so used to riding as much as you have since getting the levo? or have you come off a much shorter reach old skool mtb (like over 3 years old :lol

Try riding stood up a lot more. and moving around the bike more dynamically when you do. I sometimes do entire rides without sitting down at all on my regular bikes. It increases core strength massively.

If you can be bothered try yoga for improving your flexibility. 10 minutes a day will do wonders if you target the correct stretches/moves

have ridden for about 20 years but took the last 8 years off.. been playing rugby so still 'reasonably' fit but not particularly flexible... I also have terrible lower back problems and some years ago I dislocated my hip playing rugby... I do stretch on a daily basis but that just means that I can actually walk and work, not really for maximising my athletic potential

im guilty of not standing up much and I tried that today more than usual and it did help.
my last MTB was a 2003 specialized enduro which isnt comparable to the Levo for sure.

 

[apac]

Definitely try narrower bars. Worst case scenario you could try a stem extender.... Bicycle Fork Stem Extender MTB Bike Handlebar Riser Head Up Adapter UK F2F1 6666964423312 | eBay

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

Definitely try narrower bars. Worst case scenario you could try a stem extender.... Bicycle Fork Stem Extender MTB Bike Handlebar Riser Head Up Adapter UK F2F1 6666964423312 | eBay

wow I didnt know that was even a thing.. thanks !

yea the renthals I bought are 800mm wide but I dont use the whole width, makes quite a difference !

 

[MitchF]

Have tried rotating the bars forwards and backwards until you find a sweet spot.
Is the seat stem set to high ?

Posture can be an issue , mines getting better as my core strength improves.

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

Have tried rotating the bars forwards and backwards until you find a sweet spot.
Is the seat stem set to high ?

Posture can be an issue , mines getting better as my core strength improves.

yes mate, I do it on the trails and I have it in the right place..
posture is an issue and funny you should mention it because I was just trying to get pictures of me sitting on the bike to check how my posture is...im pretty sure its crap... the pics are harder to get than you think they should be

 

[Mikerb]

Lots of good ideas above. A lot depends on the type of riding you do what position you adopt on the bike. Certainly having the saddle too high tends to throw your weight forward so try riding with a lower seat position and completely slammed if you are on a techy trail or going downhill....that will pretty much force you to stand rather than sit but is also far better in terms of bike control ( as per Gary's post). Wide bars spread your arms wider and therefore bring your chest forward so trying a narrower bar can make a difference. Changing the stem for a shorter one and/or one with some rise can push you a little more central on the bike.

 

[Mickmick]

Had similar problems
For me it was raising the steerer with a £10
Extension and a shorter stem

 

[paquo]

i am about your height w/ 34 inch inseem, it needed a ridiculous 4 inch rise to get the bars even with the seat. My pivot 429 fit just by putting the spacers under the stem. I used an 80mm deity highside handlebar which went a long way toward ergonomic happiness

 

[Dan63]

Get a professional bike fit done to make sure you're setting your seat correctly. It needs to be positioned so that you wont end up with knee problems, the adjustment of the seat is more relating to your pedaling position rather than reach to the bars.

Cut your bars down to 760mm(20mm off each end for a 800mm wide bar), that will bring you "closer" as your arms will straighten out from the narrower grip. It will also provide a little extra clearance for tight single trails.

Fit a shorter stem - depending on whats fitted from factory - you can go as short as 35mm in length and this will reduce the reach measurement.

 

[PsiLoCybia]

To some extent I have the same problem on my S2 Kenevo. Something hasn't felt quite right since I've had it. On my old Spectral, I was running Renthal fatbars which I thought were 800mm so same width as Kenevo. However, I have felt that I am pulled to far forward and realised that actually my old bars were 760mm rather than 800. That extra width is pulling me in over the front, I moved my controls inward and repositioned my hands onto the inside of the grip and have felt this much better, so will now either cut down the bars to 760 or more likely buy some renthal carbons as I loved the feel of them.

Definitely worth looking at bar width first.

 

[Gary]

2003 Enduro's ruled.
I'd still prefer a 2003 Enduro SX to a 2020 Levo.. But that's probably just me.

 

[Zimmerframe]

2003 Enduro's ruled.
I'd still prefer a 2003 Enduro SX to a 2020 Levo.. But that's probably just me.

One of Gary's home video's ....

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

2003 Enduro's ruled.
I'd still prefer a 2003 Enduro SX to a 2020 Levo.. But that's probably just me.

it still rules ! im slowly changing bits and bobs on it so I can keep it on the trails!

 

[Gary]

One of Gary's home video's ....

FYI

The other bikes thread. - EMTB Forums

Yes. You did read that right. 12.6" BB height and it had 170mm cranks... kinda ,makes a mockery of all the "Ooooh PEDAL STRIKES... HELP ME!" threads on here all the time, eh?
Way ahead of it's time.


As for that advert... Yeah... that could easily be me... like loads of Dad's in the 70s/80s mine also bought me a 23" seat tube racer when I must've been 10yrs old (possibly younger). almost 40 years on at 5'11" I still wouldn't fit a bloody 23" frame. I used to wheely it the entire mile home from School most days anyway though.
Moral of the story = Bikes are fucking awesome. Even shit ones that don't even fit you.

 

[Gary]

it still rules ! im slowly changing bits and bobs on it so I can keep it on the trails!

View attachment 22244

Nice! that's the XC one though. mine (linked above) was the SX shorter travel slalom/play version if you remember them? They both shared the same seat/chainstays... unfortunately a bit of a weak point on a bike designed to hit 40ft doubles. Very few still surviving now.

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

FYI

The other bikes thread. - EMTB Forums

Yes. You did read that right. 12.6" BB height and it had 170mm cranks... kinda ,makes a mockery of all the "Ooooh PEDAL STRIKES... HELP ME!" threads on here all the time, eh?
Way ahead of it's time.


As for that advert... Yeah... that could easily be me... like loads of Dad's in the 70s/80s mine also bought me a 23" seat tube racer when I must've been 10yrs old (possibly younger). almost 40 years on at 5'11" I still wouldn't fit a bloody 23" frame. I used to wheely it the entire mile home from School most days anyway though.
Moral of the story = Bikes are fucking awesome. Even shit ones that don't even fit you.

haha, yea I have a raleigh javelin - a whopping 5 speeds !

nope, I never saw one of those SX bikes mate... no idea why cos I was a bit of a bike nerd at the time.

 

[Gary]

Mine was a Vindec. And if I'm honest was a little jealous of the kids on Javelins. Probably partly responsible for my competitive side getting the better of me and learning to wheelie it like such a boss.

Those SXs weren't plain white they had huge decals in red/blue /black so looked very different to my decaless frame. Specialized sold them as frame only with either a coil fox vanilla or fox air shock. Limited numbers were available and the price was amazingly cheap.
Each time Spesh redesign their line up they still do a very limited run of SX frames (New design each time) for slopestyle/duel slalom riders but now £2k+. Plus pre-order only and only sold in the states.