Position over the Front Wheel
TJ Lemon in South Africa has a Scott Genius mountain bike, but is not sure if his position is correct as he feels too far forward on the bike. He wants our thoughts on his bike, here they are:
Question:
I feel that my body weight is too far forward making me less confident with stability. The bike was set up by a professional who fitted a long stem, spacers and a rising bars. My bars more or less obscure sight of the front hub (which I’m told is right).
It’s a large 2006 Scott Genius 40 and I’m 5’11″. The geometry of the frame is pretty strange if you get a chance to look at it. Can you give me your thoughts on this…is the bike too small for me…. should I be trying out other bikes. ? Thanks TJ
Hi TJ.
Yes, normally you can’t see the front hub when riding the bike, except, I have found with Pinarello carbon road frames, the geometry seems to move the front hub closer and you can see it when you look down so you are more over the front wheel.
I would say that you should try other bikes as this may help you to gain confidence with your Scott.
The Scott Genius 40 is a fine full suspension mountain bike, I couldn’t find a 2006 model, but the Genius 40 2009 model has everything with a mixture of Shimano, SRAM, FSA, Avid and Truvativ. Looking at the geometry of the Scott Genius it is normal for this style of bike and nothing out of the ordinary. If you are thinking that the bike is too small, or more precisely too short, then try adjusting the handle bars. You say that you have had riser bars fitted, so if you adjust the bars so that they are more forward using rise to give you more stretch with your arms.
If you find that this helps then maybe you need a longer stem or a longer framed bike. Try a friends bike if you have any that are taller than you or with a bigger bike. Your other option is to try and get some test rides of different bikes to help you decide if you are comfortable on your Scott.
You have a very good bike there; maybe you need to “tweak” your position to feel confident and comfortable.
Remember that when you are going down hill you should move your weight more to the rear of the bike for better (and safer) descending.
