Trying a short stem 70mm setup on my Soul – do you all recon I’m too cramped? any advice? 685mm bar – 120mm fork. Genuine tip please. Trolls not appreciated.

Thanks

It looks like you’re dwarfing the bike. How tall are you? Is it a 16″?

Doesnt really matter much though, does it ride alrite?

Saddle too low, bike too short. But again, it makes no difference if it feels right, then it is

Seat looks a little low, that’s about it. In terms of length, you’re not after a roady position are you?

I’m 5ft 8 1/2 – I rides ok – but my climbing is not great might be the compactness of it.

Might try a 80 or 90mm stem…

but my climbing is not great might be the compactness of it.

Probably more to do with your fitness……

handling might be a bit better if you went with a longer stem. I’d go 80 or 90 mm by the looks of it.

Get some wider bars. 800mm!

When you say “not great”, what do you mean?

Not fast enough? Difficult to keep the front wheel down?

@druidh I feel I dont have enough weight over the front wheel – On the road bike I’m more balanced = climb better

Try a wider bar with current stem – the extra width will make things feel a bit less cramped (will it did for me moving from 685mm to 750mm). Worth swapping stems / bars with friends to try out sizes or tinkering can get expensive!

Saddle looks fine, it’s the same sort of height I ride mine at. Not having it wedged right up means you can really move about the bike a bit when the going gets technical, and top road cyclists don’t ride with them as high as some might think either!

Try the stem out rather than asking internet geeks how it looks to them.

Get some bar ends. Move forwards on the saddle when climbing.

What size is the frame and what seat post is it? Inline or layback?

Yep.

Try fitting the saddle further forward on its rails (if there is room).

I’d also say that a shorter stem is going to make things worse. How long is the one you’ve just removed?

It will never feel like a road bike anyway.

You dont fit a short stem and expect it to climb better.

You fit a short stem because it will handle better

You put up with the fact that it wont climb as well.

Ok – its 20mm layback – its set midrails – I might move it a little forward – legs 31.5 inches saddle at 34ish inches from pedal (175mm cranks).

Its the reach I wanna nail

great tips lads – I understand its a trade off – but trying to reach a balance!

A layback post is odd on a mtb like that.

Ignore saddle height and leg length, only you know if its right. People cant tell from looking at a picture.

Get some wider bars.

Why did you fit a 70mm stem?

On a mtb I put up with a short stem for the uphill stuff, because it makes it ride much better on everything else.

I’m 5’10.5″ and have a medium Soul with 90mm stem and 685mm bars. Seat a fair way forwards on the rails.

You look a bit cramped and the seat a bit low.

If anything my bike looks a bit petite on me, however I have stupidly long legs for my height so always end up with the saddle looking very high. The main issue by the looks of your photo is that it looks like you need to stick a longer stem on.

740mm bars minimum regardless of your current issues.

If you need longer than a 70mm stem the frame is too short.

The reach doesn’t really matter for climbing, just bend your arms more if you want to drop your shoulders down and forwards for your preferred pedalling posture. Your centre of gravity vs the rear tyre contact patch location is key to being able to climb without the front wheel lifting – move the saddle forwards and/or slide forwards on the saddle or stand up. I’m 2″ taller than you on a medium Soul with a 50mm stem, 711mm bars and a straight post with the saddle forwards of centre, and it climbs as well as I can (which isn’t bad on shorter climbs).

Regarding wider bars, they’re often a good thing but if they’re too wide for the gaps between the trees on your local trails they’re just frustrating – at 711mm mine require much more needle threading than they did at 670mm but they’re worth it for the handling with my long arms and relatively broad shoulders. 740mm+ would really annoy me round here but I’m sure I’d like them if I lived in the peak or the lakes or rode lots of trail centres.