Ive just bought a new bike and im in the process of setting up the contact points for ime instead of the previous owner.

whats the correct way of doing it then ?? stem and bars first or seatpost height/saddle position?

with regards to saddle position is their a correct way to set this i.e should your saddle be set so that when your are sat on it with your feet on the pedals in a horizontal position your knee should be just behind the pedal spindle

or

should the saddle be set a certain distance behind the back of the stem(i was shown a way that you put your elbow on the end of your seat and then use the length of your forearm and hand to measure the distance!! this was a very old roadie though!)

whats more important bar height or distance away from you??

or is all of the above a load of pish and its all down to personal preference??

cheers
steve

anyone?

Especially on a MTB, it’s all a load of pish – get the saddle height right, and the rest of it is personal preference. One vague guideline I use is that, sitting on the bike and looking down, the bars should be about an inch in front of the front hub.

Get saddle height right first, heel flat on pedal with leg relaxed straight is a good place to start. Then go for a ride and see how it feels. The only rules are is that it feels right for you. Small adjustments rather than wholesale changes are the way to go.

Feet upwards; cleats if clipless, then saddle height, then saddle set back, then recheck all three, then stem length and bar height.
You can pay, but its an ongoing process that takes time to settle into

bencooper – Member
Especially on a MTB, it’s all a load of pish – get the saddle height right, and the rest of it is personal preference. One vague guideline I use is that, sitting on the bike and looking down, the bars should be about an inch in front of the front hub.

Unless you are some kind of endurance racing pro, I suspect the above is pretty correct.

Just get it nice & comfy. Set everything to about ‘mid’ and go from there. Unless you are changing the stem, it is what it is. The bar can be rolled backwards & forwards to change where the grips sit & how they feel. A small change of this can make quite a difference to comfort, in my experience.
I have set my saddle position based on how ‘long’ the bike feels and how easily I can get back past it when I need to.

I’d get it roughly set-up and ride it a few times before changing anything (as in replacing parts).

i find that if i set the saddle how i like it then the fron tof the bike seems easier to wheelie.

i seem to be right over the back of the bike.

the stem that was fitted was a 50mm no rise version which just didnt feel right, so ive fitted a spare 80mm small rise version and this feel too long??