Initial thoughts about my new MTB
Only got to ride it around the subdivision last night, but I quickly discovered a few things that need to be changed ASAP. The bars need to be chopped more and the grips got to go. The saddle also sucks, but these are all easy fixes, not sure what saddle I will go with or what grips for that matter. I'm leaning towards Specialized Body Geometry Contour grips.
The other thing is I'm going to talk to the manager about the rear shock and what he thinks about giving it a little more bounce. He's got it pretty stiff now, but he's a MTB racer so he tends to lean that way. Though I don't know enough about shocks. Maybe it shouldn't have any more bounce/give for a reason.
Re: Initial thoughts about my new MTB
I've got the chunky grips on there now and they are bruising my hands. That's what the Jamis guy uses and recommends. He loaned me his, so I won't be going that route.
Tonight I'm going to put my road bike saddle on it to see if I like it on that bike. I love it on my road bike.
I need to either read up or ask him how to adjust the rear shock. There's a reason I went from hard tail to FS :-)
Initial thoughts about my new MTB
Shocks: the sag setting has to do with how much the shock gives with your weight. If it is an air shock, this is set with a special pump. There will be guidelines in the manufacturers manual on how many mm of sag you should have for your weight. The other setting is rebound. This is how fast/slow the shock responds or bounces back, and how it is set is both subjective and terrain dependent. For example, when I am riding on faster, smoother, flowy trails I have mine set pretty stiff, and on more technical stuff, slower rebounds. The front is also set up this way.
For handlebars, I would be very careful about changes, especially if you are new to Mtb. Wider will be more stable, but may feel strange at first. I have 22" bars on all my bikes.
Re: Initial thoughts about my new MTB
Thanks for the explanation regarding the sag and rebound.
This bike is a men's version so the handlebars are a lot wider than my previous bike, which may be part of my discomfort.
Re: Initial thoughts about my new MTB
Catrin, you've described exactly what I'm trying to achieve. When I hit bumps I'm bouncing in the saddle instead of the suspension absorbing it.
I need to take my saddle bag and my Camelbak when I go back on Friday for more adjustments so he can adjust the sag and rebound with those on me and the bike.