Whats your handlebar hight in relation to your saddle?

[2unfit2ride]

I'm about level, maybe a few mm higher on the bars with 20 mm of spacers at the moment, just wondering who runs what set up as it's hard to tell as everyone takes pics with the dropper post dropped

 

[All Mountain Coaching]

In optimum climbing position? Sounds wrong if it's level.

 

[Witte300]

I’m about level too. My previous bike was more sporty, handlebars lower than the saddle. My lower back is more forgiving now
I can imagine to go even more comfy in the future

 

[steve_sordy]

My seat height is adjusted according to where my lower pedal is. My guess is that most people do that, but their different inside leg length will alter the height of the saddle on the same bike compared to me.
Then there is the length of the crank to take into account. My clockwork bike crank length is 175mm, but 165 on my emtb.
Finally, that leaves the height of the fork steerer. I'm stuck with that. I can move about the spacers under the stem, but I already have them all underneath to raise the height of the bars so that the shifter body doesn't hit the top tube. So unless I buy some higher riser bars or an angled stem, I'm stuck!

Its a good job I actually like the body position I've got. Which is the benefit of test rides after all.

 

[Gary]

Seeing as we're not talking about roadbikes it's fairly pointless looking at other peoples set-ups. Or asking what their saddle to bar drop is.

IMO mtb bar height shouldn't be set relative to saddle height anyway.
Ideally bars need to be set at a height for optimum control and comfort.
Bear in mind control matters far more in situations where you will be (or definitely should be) standing
Comfort obviuosly matters while seated and standing but even though more of an mtb ride might be doen while seated I'd still always forgo ultimate seated comfort for standing control.
As for control;
Bars too high and you won't be weighting the front wheel enough
too low and you will have too much weight over the front. (and possibly too much weight on your hands/arms for longterm comfort)

Finding your optimum bar height is a case of starting at a neutral height, riding the bike and from there using trial and error to find your optimum height for control in the situations you find yourself riding.

none of this takes into account any other bar position preferences eg/ bar height/width, up/back sweep, roll or stem length. and all of these adjustments/choices matter too.

But... as @All Mountain Coaching said. bars at the same height as your saddle (assuming saddle is set to full leg extension height for pedalling) sounds too high for good control for a well proportioned adult.

 

[2unfit2ride]

Thanks all.
Gary just what do you get from making such detailed replies & taking the time & effort involved to type that much?
It must be so frustrating to give a decent answer only to have someone with a different opinion come & shoot you down, kudos for doing so though

 

[Gary]

 

[2unfit2ride]

But you’re such an argumentative sod, I mean why bother

 

[Russell]

I read loads of stuff and all said same as saddle or lower. I cut my steerer long just to see and its way more comfortable with the bars 20mm above the saddle. It may not handle as well but I can't tell.

 

[Al Boneta]

Seeing as we're not talking about roadbikes it's fairly pointless looking at other peoples set-ups. Or asking what their saddle to bar drop is.

IMO mtb bar height shouldn't be set relative to saddle height anyway.
Ideally bars need to be set at a height for optimum control and comfort.
Bear in mind control matters far more in situations where you will be (or definitely should be) standing
Comfort obviuosly matters while seated and standing but even though more of an mtb ride might be doen while seated I'd still always forgo ultimate seated comfort for standing control.
As for control;
Bars too high and you won't be weighting the front wheel enough
too low and you will have too much weight over the front. (and possibly too much weight on your hands/arms for longterm comfort)

Finding your optimum bar height is a case of starting at a neutral height, riding the bike and from there using trial and error to find your optimum height for control in the situations you find yourself riding.

none of this takes into account any other bar position preferences eg/ bar height/width, up/back sweep, roll or stem length. and all of these adjustments/choices matter too.

But... as @All Mountain Coaching said. bars at the same height as your saddle (assuming saddle is set to full leg extension height for pedalling) sounds too high for good control for a well proportioned adult.

My esteemed and distinguished colleague is absolutely correct. As a certified bike fitter I can attest to one basic fact:

There are no settings that will work for everyone.

While a competent bike fitter can get you in the ball park, it still comes down to the rider’s comfort and preferences.
Make your bike fit your body and not the other way around.
Don’t worry about mimicking your favorite Pro rider’s body position, there’s a reason he’s getting paid to ride a bike and you’re not.
Once I find a position that gives me the best comfort to control ratio, I measure my saddle height, stack and reach. I have a device called an XY axis tool that I use to copy the settings on one bike to another. Again this is only a baseline, I’ll still have to make adjustments between different bikes with different geometries.
Too often I see people with high bar height asking me why they have such a hard time cornering. They often over compensate for their fear of going OTB and their predilection to sitting upright, which results in lack of control and performance.
My usual routine when setting up a new bike for myself, involves setting my bike up with my current position. Then I will go hit a section of trail that I can do in my sleep with 2 or 3 other stems, spacers and my torque wrench in my pack.
I’ll do run after run experimenting with different setups until I find one that feels good, but also works great.
I do the same routine when I am testing tires and air pressures or suspension set ups.

Also keep in mind, what is currently ideal can change. Weight loss, flexibility and skill level can all be variables that fluctuate.

In my case senility.

 

[Tim29]

My bars are 27mm above my seat. But my seat is about 12mm to low fully extended for optimum pedal extension. But my bike only has 120mm dropper and i feel the seat is to high in dropped position, so i have the seat set to go as low as possible.
I still want my seat 25mm or so lower if i could. I keep the 2018 model 170mm cranks to help me get lower.
One thing i do is set my bars and stem so that when my arms full extended hands on grips seat collapsed i extend over back as far as i can and sit on rear tire. I am not comfortable on a bike i can’t get past the center line of rear wheel.
Basically if the rear tire is a clock.
I want my butt to contact the tire between 1-2 o’clock. If i can’t get that far back i feel unsettled and feel like the bike stalls into faces of chunky descents.

 

[Russ2550]

I'm about level, maybe a few mm higher on the bars with 20 mm of spacers at the moment, just wondering who runs what set up as it's hard to tell as everyone takes pics with the dropper post dropped

I actually prefer mine higher. My 19’ Decoy base has the lowest stem I’ve ever had. It’s actually led me to buying a new fork. Not sure why YT does it that way. I’m actually thinking of 30mm worth of spacers when it gets installed unless that ends making it look like a chopper lol

 

[steve_sordy]

Thanks all.
Gary just what do you get from making such detailed replies & taking the time & effort involved to type that much?
It must be so frustrating to give a decent answer only to have someone with a different opinion come & shoot you down, kudos for doing so though

@Gary can speak for himself, but for me it is driven by a desire to help others, to contribute to a general discussion, maybe give a different view point that may assist both. Or to reassure that others believe the same or have had the same experience. And most of all to learn new stuff and where I have been going wrong. The whole point of a Forum is to share and learn. If we are concerned about someone with a different opinion shooting us down, why bother joining the Forum? Just stay in the man cave and ossify. It is never nice when someone disagrees with my favourite opinion or proves me wrong in a public way, but whoever thought that growth was a pain free process?

 

[MrBrownstone]

About the same height. Always. No droppah post for this guy.?

 

[GrandPaBrogan]

Some of us have long torsos - some short, with different arm reach in relation to leg length, etc. And some eebs could be setup specifically for bike park, old lost trail, jump track, etc. The bike geometry also plays a factor because the location of the BB, chainstay length, wheelbase, seat tube and head tube angles will introduce preferential variance.

It’s ok to have a ‘looksee’ at what others are doing as long as we temper that with the understanding that our physique, skill level, and strength varies from person to person - which will have a bearing on what is optimum and what isn’t. So if we share these and explain a little as to why, we can learn something new or different from each other. ??

 

[urastus]

the top of my saddle level with the top height of the bars. It seems fairly logical and neutral to me and goes back to a book I read when I was starting and hadn't discovered youtube, admittedly probably dated now . It seems to work though. I'm conscious of my hands and whether I have force or negative force on them - it's usually for a reason (lifting over rock or pushing into a water bar, then lifting out again). As far as lower back trouble goes (several have mentioned this), it might pay to stretch your hamstrings. Because of injury I had one leg less flexible than the other, so I was only stretching it alone for a year or two. I was regularly tearing muscle in my lower back while riding. I have been stretching both legs for a while now (even though they are still unequal) and no more muscle tears. I use the kitchen bench. Adductor stretching is also beneficial just for getting on and off the bike . If you're older it seems you really need to work on stretching - no more free rides . I mostly climb up what I ride down, so I really want that equal balance of climbing and descending ability. I have to lean forward and low over the bars on parts of the climbs; likewise, while descending my bum is often hovering over the rear tyre, mostly while braking. I'm surprised I haven't hit the tyre, even though I consciously try not to hit it. To me, my bike feels neutral which is exactly what I want - a neutral platform.

 

[Levo-Lon]

I ride clipped in so set all bikes up with a seat height of 87cm pedal axle to seat .
Bars tend to be about 10-20mm higher.
I tend to work on bar width -760mm on my Levo 740mm on my Epic.
Both have a 45mm stem.
The Epic would typically have a 80-90mm stem for xc ,don't work for me as it makes it slow turning and to stretched.

My road bike "sorry I know some of you may be eating " is arse up bars lower..
This bike should have come with a gimp mask as it's a sadistic pain delivery device ?

 

[RickBullotta]

Go big or go home.