MTB fit

[veekcee]

Hi There!

Newbie here! I've been lurking here for a few days and need some advice.

We bought our first MTB Saturday (Trek 3700) and I'm a little concerned that the bike may be a little too big for me. Would like input before I take it back to the bike shop.

I'm 5'1", 29" inseam. The frame is 16" with very little clearance between me and the top tube when I am standing over the tube. The bike shop raised the seat to where I was on my tippy toes, but I lowered it a bit as I didn't feel comfortable with the seat so high. My knees seem to be in good alignment with where the seat is now while pedalling.

We went for an easy ride on Sunday with plenty of terrain variables to really get a feel for the bike. It was comfortable and I found I was able to handle the bike with no problems. I rode the brake a lot on the downhills which worked my forearms pretty good but I have bend in my elbows at all times. It was fun! I haven't been on a bike in 20 years!

We didn't go bike shopping totally blind and I knew bike fit would be important; I just didn't stick to my guns when the guy kept telling me that this bike was a good fit for me. I'm 46, don't have any joint problems and don't want to encourage any in the future!

We bought the bikes for recreational purposes and won't be doing anything real difficult or technical. My moto is: when in doubt, dismount!

I appreciate any and all advice and insight!

Thank you!

Vickie

[bounceswoosh]

The bike shop raised the seat to where I was on my tippy toes, but I lowered it a bit as I didn't feel comfortable with the seat so high.

Do you mean tippy toes when you're sitting on the saddle?

Most people I know can't touch the ground when their mountain bike saddle is at the proper height.

I had a trek mountain bike last year, and I could *not* touch the ground with the saddle in the right position.

I can't speak to the bike frame size for you, though as a data point, I was on a 16" (or was it 15.5"?) Trek Fuel 90 at 5'5 and a 32" inseam. I don't know if the geometry is similar enough to compare. How much standover height do you have?

When I first bought the Fuel, it freaked me out because it was my first "real" bike and all my older bikes were the "girl" ones with a lowered top tube. After a few weeks of riding, I didn't even notice it.

[veekcee]

Hi Monique!

Yes, when seated on the saddle. When I lowered the seat just a bit I am on bent toes which feels safer for me. I keep reading about the saddle height where you can't touch the ground; I think I'll have to get used to being on a bike and trails before I would feel comfortable raising it.

I have about an inch if not a little less clearance when I stand over the top tube. This is what has me a little concerned; not enough clearance.

Thank you,

Vickie

[bounceswoosh]

I'll have to check my standover height when I get home.

If your saddle is too low, which I'm thinking it is for you, you end up putting a lot more strain on your knees and you also end up working your quads a lot harder than they have to.

If it's too high, your pelvis will tilt in order to reach the bottom of the pedal cycle, which is no good either.

Is there another shop you could take it to, or even another person at the same shop, to get a second opinion?

[Adventure Girl]

Originally posted by veekcee

I'm 5'1", 29" inseam. The frame is 16"

Hi, Vickie:

Welcome to the forum. This is a good group of people here!

Each manufacturer (and each bike) will fit differently. A 16" Trek may fit you while a 16" Specialized won't. It's all a complex combination of frame and body geometry. How good are they at your bike shop at fit? They should be able to help you get to a starting point. Then you may need to make small adjustments once you ride it a bit.

FYI, I'm right around 5' tall, with a 28" insteam, and my hardtail (Specialized) is a 13" frame. My DS (Santa Cruz) is a "small" frame, and my road bike (Trek) is a 47cm frame... Hmmmm I guess that doesn't tell you much... A 16" frame sounds like it could be in the right ballpark for you, but you need someone who knows about bike fit to look at you on that bike. Don't be afraid to ask. It's their job.

Good luck!

P.S. I agree with bounceswoosh. I don't think you should be able to touch the ground with your feet when you're sitting on the saddle. I just sat on one of my bikes and I can't even come close to touching the ground (about 2 to 3 inches!!)

[veekcee]

Thank you so much for your feedback! I'm loading the bike up and off to the bike shop we go!

I agree, this is a great forum and am glad I found it!

Thanks again, Ladies!

Vickie

[bounceswoosh]

veeksee:

I dug up a link that may be of interest:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/saddles.html#adjustment

Also,

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/starting.html

[JanT]

I had a trek 820 that was 15 ", and now have 6700WSD @ 16 ". I'm 5'4", with bottom half longer than top half. I have nearly 2" of space between me and the top bar, and I wouldn't want any less. To be honest, in the 3 or 4 years I've been riding, I've never bailed with both feet at one time, or ever come in contact with the top bar. And I've certainly had my share of spills. How do you feel when you ride it? Do you feel like you have good control, especially when turning or on rocky downhills? Another thing to consider is what type of riding will you be doing? Are you going to stick to bike paths and fire roads, or are do you anticipate going after gnarly single track? Those are considerations as well. Have fun biking!

[veekcee]

Thank you, bounceswoosh, for the links. Yes, very helpful!

JanT ~ For quite a while we will remain on bike paths and fireroads. Someday we'll tackle the gnarly singletracks. I found the bike handled nicely; I wasn't going fast around any corners and feathering the brakes all the way down hills. I was just afraid I'd crack myself on that darn top tube!

I went back to the bike shop and sat on a men's 13" and there still wasn't 2" between me and the top tube. I sat on a women's 3700 13" and found my 2". They are switching out the tires since I rode on them and I'll have a great beginner bike!

One of these days I'm going for the WSD....

Thank you again for all your help! I can't wait to get back out on the trails and ride!

Take care all!

Vickie

[Irulan]

I'm 5'3, used to ride a 16" giant, went to a 15" Kona and I am much, much happier!!

Irulan

[bounceswoosh]

Wow, that's a good bike shop that will let you swap out a bike, even if it was their fault in the first place.

Glad to hear that you're getting a less frightening fit.

I'm confused, though: Trek doesn't list a women's 3700?

http://www.trekbikes.com/bikes/2004/mountain/

Not that it really matters, as long as the fit is there ...

[Irulan]

standover hieght is kind of irrelevant on a mountain as the top tube gets so angled from the different types of geometry and suspensions systems. But at 5-1... you definately should be on something smaller from the sound of it...

Irulan

[bounceswoosh]

Irulan,

Not sure I agree with you there. If you come off of the bike in a hurry, you don't want a top tube up your delicate parts!

If a bike's top tube is getting too friendly with my nether regions, I keep looking.

[Adventure Girl]

Originally posted by bounceswoosh
Not sure I agree with you there. If you come off of the bike in a hurry, you don't want a top tube up your delicate parts!

I have very little standover clearance on my Superlight. We had to change lots of things on it to make the bike "cockpit" fit me. I got the smallest frame made, but the standover was still pretty tall for me. It was the bike that I wanted, so we made it work.

I have fallen many times. I've hit the top tube probably about 10 times (in 4,000 miles of trail riding). I think that if I had more standover clearance, I still would have hit that top tube about 8 times. Mountain bike crashes are sometimes pretty violent. The difference in a couple of inches of standover doesn't save you every time!!

[veekcee]

Originally posted by bounceswoosh
Wow, that's a good bike shop that will let you swap out a bike, even if it was their fault in the first place.

Glad to hear that you're getting a less frightening fit.

I'm confused, though: Trek doesn't list a women's 3700?

http://www.trekbikes.com/bikes/2004/mountain/

Not that it really matters, as long as the fit is there ...

On the description page, under size, it lists women's 13, 16 & 19.5. I can't tell you how many times I've looked at all the bikes and missed it!

I was happy that the bike shop allowed me to do an exchange. Since I had used the bike, they swapped tires since they can't resell a used tire. It was no problem. I feel so much better about this one. I agonized over this for 2 days...must listen to our gut feeling, right!?!

Thank you all for your input. I really appreciate it!

Vickie