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Bar height vs. seat height on Mojo

3K views 12 replies 7 participants last post by  d-bug 
#1 ·
I recently bought and installed a new fork (2011 RS Revelation RLT) to replace my dead Fox Talas. The new fork is fantastic so far, but it is 150mm (vs. max 140 on my old Talas), so the slight change in head tube angle and axle to crown fork height led me to re-look at my bar vs. seat height.

Most people I know run their bars at the same height as their bars. (To test, on level surface I run a long level from my seat to my grips.) But I have always run my bars a little higher, which gives me a little advantage on the steep 'n techny downs, and hasn't really bugged me much on the steep ups (I just scoot forward on my seat and get low over my bars). But I'm thinking of lowering my bars = to seat height for a change. The only minor problem is I would have to flip over/invert my 90mm stem, since I don't have enough spacers under my stem to lower it enough.

I'm wondering if I'm highly unusual for running my bars higher than seat. Where do you run your bars vs. seat height? Any reason why I shouldn't flip over my stem to give lower bars a go? Any thoughts appreciated.
 
#3 ·
I run mine a little lower than the seat, it makes going DH much better, assuming you are lowering your seat. I feel in much more control with them lower. If I did not have an adjustable seatpost the bars would likely be a little higher.
The only people I see that have bars higher are usually too short to have them lower; like my SO. She is not capable of getting the bars lower than her seat due to the low seat height.

BTW, that fork is internally adjustable so you could drop it to 140. I did with mine, it was a simple procedure.
 
#5 ·
getbusyliving said:
Yea, will consider converting it to 140, but want to give 150 a try for a while. Why didn't you like the 150?
Front end felt too light. I may convert it back just to see if my preferences have changed.
But, I did have a Lyrik coil (set to 130) up front before the Rev. So the lightness might actually have been due to the Rev weighing 2lbs less than the Lyrik.
Likely it was a combination of the 2.
 
#6 ·
ive got 2-3 inches of seat above the bars. Doesn't seem to matter.

The 70mm stem, 700 bars, and fox talas 140 make steep climbs in auburn and the bay area pretty taxing on my arms though. Like riding a damn wheelie up the steeps.

I'm 6ft with shoes on btw, and its a large.
 
#7 ·
I run my bars maybe 5 - 10 mm lower than the seat with my seat at max height. I used to run them higher than the seat by about the same amount, but with the dropper post it definitely feels better all around with the slightly lower bar position.

I wouldn't hesitate to flip the stem over to give it a try... I've done that with various bar and stem combos when necessary to get the bars where I wanted them... there's no tech reason why you can't run the stem upside down. Frankly I think it kinda looks cool with some combos, but I know there are fashion slaves out there that will disagree. If upside down stem logos makes your panties get all bunched up then maybe you shouldn't:eek:
 
#8 ·
Try it, you might like it!

I found that lower bars with the same stem are better downhill and uphill. Uphill is kind of obvious, but I was surprised that I could brake with more power downhill with lower bars. I think the reason is my weight is leveraged lower behind the front wheel when standing low behind the seat with arms stretched from lower bars.
 
#10 ·
Mojo Man said:
I've always run my bars higher than my seat do to a sensitive back and alot of back tightness. However, now that I've gotten into XC racing I'm going to lower it to at least seat level.

Mojo
Yeah, I've had upper back and arm (carpel tunnel) issues for years, which is why I don't go more than 1/2" or so below the seat....heck, before suspension came along I got to where I couldn't ride flat bars at all.... all my bikes had WTB flared drops with either barcons or 7sp XT thumb shifters (with the mystery 8th click) on those little WTB perches.... I need to setup the old ti mojo like that....it's a really cool setup.... you could position the lever any which way you wanted.
 
#11 ·
Thanks for the replies all...great input. I'll flip the stem and give it a shot. Never thought lower bars could be BETTER on the downhill (seems like more OTB potential), but who knows...physics can be counterintuitive. I run a dropper post, so that definitely helps.

And if I get razzed by buddies for the "upside down" stem, I'll just tell them I'm starting a new trend. At least my Ibis stem has logo on both sides...
 
#12 ·
getbusyliving said:
Thanks for the replies all...great input. I'll flip the stem and give it a shot. Never thought lower bars could be BETTER on the downhill (seems like more OTB potential), but who knows...physics can be counterintuitive. I run a dropper post, so that definitely helps.

And if I get razzed by buddies for the "upside down" stem, I'll just tell them I'm starting a new trend. At least my Ibis stem has logo on both sides...
:thumbsup:
 
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