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Hi there! Returning rider and some questions

388 views 4 replies 5 participants last post by  Millennial29erGuy 
#1 ·
Hi there, MTBR community!

If you want go get straight to questions and skip the life story full of adventure, danger, love and adversity .. a poem .. a shaman song .. and 5 minutes of meditation routine - look for a TL;DR double line down below. I'd appreciate it, if you find the time to answer one or all of those questions. Thank you!

I wish I learned about MTBR back in 2011-12ish, when I first climbed on my ride and hit the road. It was a fun lonesome 2-year trial and error on my Jamis Trail X2 bike. Which is my first mountain bike ever, promptly snatched on discount from a closing local bike shop. The bike was way bigger than need be (I think it was a 21''), but I didn't know any better. And honestly I never felt off-put by its size - it just never occurred to me. I was riding my brother's "ram", growing up, which I lovingly called that for its weird horn-shaped handlebars. The top tube couldn't stop me from reaching the pedals, because riding on a side is viable. Until your brother finally catches you. So yeah, my frame of reference was shifted.

Hitting the Siberian trails on a bikeback of my own, I experienced summer heat, autumn rains, mud and even a bit of sleet. Sand, rock, long grass, shallow river waters. I discovered downhill before I knew anything about downhill, I rode so recklessly that flew over the handlebar twice, on full speed descent. I managed to remain in one piece (except a knee acting up every now and then), even though I had no protection whatsoever. That was really dumb, but I was convinced helmets are ridiculous. I still think most of them are, especially paired with tight and skinny apparel, but today you can find some really cool-looking and cool-headed models, so I'm actually looking forward to buying a helmet. (the price bites, though)

Today, after a long 7-year break, I'm going to be much more thoughtful in my decisions, while respecting that impulse and intuition has its merits.

I've moved to St.Petersburg since then, and I'm back to MTB now, in 2020, and picked up my 'dream-machine' just three days ago. Please welcome the jolly owner of GIANT ATX 2 2019, in all of its neon-orange glory! Praise the Sun! I've been drooling over GIANTs and Santa Cruzes for a long while. But I bet there are other discoveries along the road.
Unfortunately, the area in St.Petersburg is quite boringly flat - I never thought I'd miss mountains so much (duh). But if there's a will - there's a way, like my English teacher used to say. No one can deny my shovel. There must be cool trails around here, it's just that I never heard of any. I don't own a car though, so my range is limited.

So, back to bike business:
I think I might've accidentally oversized again. I'm right in the middle where M ends and L begins, with long arms and lack of good reference. I guess I needed a pro-rider come over, smelling of grime, oil and pine, put his beat hand on my shoulder and go: "Son, get an M" but I guess a bike demon still remembers the sensation of riding on a back of a whale. If I'm not mistaken L stands for 19-20'' and it's saying L2 on a sticker, so I'm guessing its the former. Definitely feels like a 20'' bike, especially since GIANT's frame is all-in-all bigger? Maybe?
Unfortunately, the pandemic made it impossible to come over to the store and ask for tips before purchase (so I had to deal with charts and numbers), but a 30% price discount is a plus.

Don't hesitate to point out if getting a larger frame was a terrible mistake, so that I'm convinced to not repeat it when I buy my next bike some time in the near future. Preferably somewhere in Colorado.

[HR][/HR][HR][/HR]
So, straight to the point, then.
Is groin protection a thing?
I got a sized up bike. I'm in between M and L, with long arms and went with an L. The clapper doesn't hit the bell, but there is about 1inch/2+cm allowance down there when I stand on the ground.
Not concerned, but "fun-fact" curious.

I love my neon orange bike.
As of now, I'm considering buying a shorter stem. Judging by the chart, my stock stem is 90mm, should I go straight to the minimum possible, or try 70mm or 50mm first? How do you decide what is best?

I've noticed there are shorter stems that are raised by 30 degrees or so. Is there some sort of rule of thumb for making a buying decision like that?

What about the stems that are adjustable, of varying angle? I've never seen anyone use those, but pretty cool companies like BBB seem to make a few models. Do you think I should go with it?

In my novices's mind, the gear looks pretty great on GIANT ATX 2 - the cassette, derailleur, shifters - everything. It's definitely a rocket-propelled departure from JAMIS (which was my trusty vomit comet anyway), but what do you think should be the first thing to upgrade?

I've noticed that quite a few riders I pore over on Youtube, seem to ignore the application of fenders on their wheels. How come? Is dirt and gravel hitting the back of your head not a concern? I remember having to wash my hair and clothes couple of times because the back wheel was catapulting puddle water and sand quite profusely.
Which fender should I get - front wheel, back wheel or both? Or just strip it, like I see people doing it.

I have more questions, but I think that's enough longposting for now.

Thank you in advance
 
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#2 ·
That's a lot of verbiage. You could use a cup, I don't and know of anyone that does. In 30 plus years of mountain biking I've never hurt myself that way. The first you could try is moving the saddle forward on the rails. But before you do that ,what is the issue with the bike as is? In general your arms should reach the bars with a slight bend at the elbows. Some people want a more upright position on the bike ,you need to try the bike as is to decide if you want that or something else. In general more upright is more comfort and less performance. If you look around ,you will not see many people riding with those stems ,they are mostly used to find out where you want the bars ,then you buy the right one for you. Plus they aren't as strong as a one piece stem ,what would happen if it came loose on the trail? As to fenders ,it depends on how and where you ride. I have some for my bike ,they mostly sit on the shelf . You shouldn't be riding on muddy trails any ways. The reason is, they are needed mostly, excess weight and looks .Bikes mostly don't come with fenders, some commuter bikes do ,some mountain bikes have a small front one.
 
#5 ·
Wait.. are your nuts hitting the top tube or do we have one of these situations going on?


Do you just feel too "stretched out" on the bike? Is that why your'e thinking shorter stem?

In general... I don't think sizing up if you are between sizes is a bad idea at all.
 
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