Help....need bike info

Katy009

My husband bought me a mountain bike for my b'day. I told him that I wanted a bike more geared for exercise since I have a typical city bike right now (high handlebars....comfortable sitting position....basket on the front for shopping :blushing:). My problem or question is that I rode it today and I feel like I am pratically laying down while riding it and it seems strange....and maybe painful on long rides. I looked at photos and read articles and it seems to be set up properly. Is this normal? Do you have to adjust to this? Should I change the bike? If it's a case of adjusting, I will use that one strictly for exercise rides alone and my city bike for rides with my daughter (WAY more comfortable). What should my sitting position / arms (they seem to be completely straight when riding) etc... be? Please help. I have zero information on this and don't want this bike to end up collecting dust. Thanks.

VballLeash

I don't have a mountain bike but I do have a road bike probably the same idea yet mine is very comfortable. I don't think that it should be uncomfortable, it may be the wrong size for you or it needs to be adjusted, I would take it to a bike shop and ask them, then you can decide if you want to keep it... good luck!

~Leash

tayner

a bike needs to be comfortable... the seat should be about hip high when standing next to it, handlebars should be a comfortable height for you so that you can keep a slight bend in your elbows. Maybe your seat needs to be moved forward or something. I second the opinion of taking it to a local bike shop and them them adjust it for you... no use having a bike you hate to ride...

Katy009

a bike needs to be comfortable... the seat should be about hip high when standing next to it, handlebars should be a comfortable height for you so that you can keep a slight bend in your elbows. Maybe your seat needs to be moved forward or something. I second the opinion of taking it to a local bike shop and them them adjust it for you... no use having a bike you hate to ride...

Thank you! I had someone raise the handlebars for me a bit and although they are slightly higher than they should be on a mountain bike, it made a HUGE difference.

Azdak

If you have access to a bike shop, they can fit it to you. Since you did not buy the bike, the first obvious question is: is the frame the right size?

msarro

It depends on the bike. Certain types of bikes are honestly not going to be that comfortable if you're used to something made specifically to be comfortable. For instance, if you're used to a nice touring bike (road bike made to be ridden for hours and hours, over hundreds of miles), moving to a sprinting bike (made for short fast rides) is going to be a HUGE step down in comfort.

What sort of bike did you get?

Katy009

The brand is Mirage.....the frame size seems to be good. I did locate a man that work on bikes and maybe next week will go and see what he thinks. But it seems okay with the handlebars raised. Will I still get the proper exercise benefits if the handelbars are a tad bit higher than the seat?

Ripgirl

If you feel like you are going head first (laying forward) then ask the bike shop to put some risers under your headset which will raise the bars (sounds like they did that). You should also be able to change the stem to move the bars forward or back to put you in a more comfortable position. Some stems are longer and sit flat horizontally, others are shorter and angle upwards.

I don't believe that the positioning of the bars will affect your exercise benefits, that is more for comfort and endurance - if you are more comfortably positioned you should be able to exercise harder/longer. The hope would be you stop riding because you're tired, not because you are feeling discomfort from the position you're in. That said, a new set up and new type of riding may take some getting used to but you can tweak it along the way. The seat can be moved foward/back, and the angle adjusted as well.

What will change the exercise benefits is the seat height relative to the length of your legs, not the handlebars. If you doing a long pedal you may want the seat higher as it changes how you use your quads - seat too low will be inefficient and exhaust your thighs quickly. As you are now on a mountain bike you have a whole new (and IMHO) and much more fun world to explore. If you go offroad or downhill it will get bumpy and you'll probably want your butt off the saddle a fair bit, downhill you'll want your butt off the seat but back over the seat. For this type of riding you'll want the seat lower so you can raise up off of it with ease.

I hope this helps - happy trails!

Katy009

If you feel like you are going head first (laying forward) then ask the bike shop to put some risers under your headset which will raise the bars (sounds like they did that). You should also be able to change the stem to move the bars forward or back to put you in a more comfortable position. Some stems are longer and sit flat horizontally, others are shorter and angle upwards.

I don't believe that the positioning of the bars will affect your exercise benefits, that is more for comfort and endurance - if you are more comfortably positioned you should be able to exercise harder/longer. The hope would be you stop riding because you're tired, not because you are feeling discomfort from the position you're in. That said, a new set up and new type of riding may take some getting used to but you can tweak it along the way. The seat can be moved foward/back, and the angle adjusted as well.

What will change the exercise benefits is the seat height relative to the length of your legs, not the handlebars. If you doing a long pedal you may want the seat higher as it changes how you use your quads - seat too low will be inefficient and exhaust your thighs quickly. As you are now on a mountain bike you have a whole new (and IMHO) and much more fun world to explore. If you go offroad or downhill it will get bumpy and you'll probably want your butt off the saddle a fair bit, downhill you'll want your butt off the seat but back over the seat. For this type of riding you'll want the seat lower so you can raise up off of it with ease.

I hope this helps - happy trails!

this helped tremendously!!!! thank you. and yes, I felt like I was going head first before the bars were raised. My seat seems okay at the moment....not quite a straight leg when the pedal comes down. I guess I will continue to mess around with is as necessary after each ride until it seems okay. thank you again!