[Closed] Bike holding me back, or is it me?

The stumpy is a capable bike, so it's unlikely that you would be riding beyond what the bike could do... that said, some bikes seem to inspire more confidence than others (and the factors affecting this can vary person to person).

In the first instance I would highly recommend a skills course focusing on cornering and confidence through rough terrain. It's likely to be fun and cheaper than a new bike.

It's probably you

Hate to say it, it's you. Some of my mates have/had Stumpy evo 29ers, and they didn't hang about.

It is definitely capable but just not comfortable (I find), I did stick some 160 forks of the front so that might have messed it up.

I have the same bike along with a longer travel Canyon Strive. I have raced both bikes and the stumpy handles itself just as well as the strive which has a longer reach. The bottom bracket is already pretty low.

Get on a skills course. 😀

It's not the bike BUT....

Confidence is more important than the bike so there are a couple of ideas to try.

Skills coaching with what you have, get better and get good at it.

Ride a more aggressive bike like the enduro, be overbiked and have a bit more of a fall back to push harder on - skills still needed

Reason for the second one is it's much easier to do something you have already done regardless of the bike, plenty of stuff I've done on a bigger bike and realised it's not that bad and then done it on the smaller bike.

More out of interest care to say why to each of these?

 If I was to change the geometry to feel more confident I would shorten the chain stays, lower the BB and increase the reach.

As above the bike shouldn't be holding you back but your symptoms suggest something is not right.

Maybe change the fork back to stock. Also get someone you trust to know about such things to check the bike is the right size and fit for you.

Also have you changed the tyres on it?

Lastly has the suspension been setup for you??

I want to lower the BB so I can sink into the bike a bit more and more easily dip my heels down to drive through stuff.

Extend the reach to feel more into the bike and push more forwards than down.

Shorter chain stays as I want that agility and that feeling of the rear wheel being more into the bike.

In short I feel on top of the bike and want to be more part of the bike. I would say I am a pretty competent but feel a bit unstable being on top of it. I must say it is a great bike and coaching could go far.

Edit: cyclist m

I built the bike up from a frame and am still on the first set which are a magic mary and hans dampf trail star with a healthy tread.

I set up the suspension myself, I don't know the sag percent but I have set my pressures to pressures which perform well, the rebound is middly fast on the front and slowish on the back and a couple clicks of low speed on my pike from open. I use 100% rear and 80% on average, no harsh bottom outs.

Probably to do with setup. I mean, bike designers don't come up with crap bikes, test them and go "yeah that's crap, let's take it to market".  There's no such thing as a crap bike, just one that's not designed for what you want (unlikely in this case) or not set up for you.

Adjust saddle position and tilt, adjust bars, change stem length and position etc etc.  All makes a huge difference.  My Trek was very difficult to ride fast for ages.  Was made much better when I got the correct offset fork for it, and again when I put riser bars instead of flats.  But it's finally now approaching a bike that feels like what I want when descending because I moved the saddle all the way forward, tilted its nose down a few mm and rotated the riser bars forward.  Now my weight's an inch or so further forward, and that's made a big difference to the balance and handling and my whole experience riding it.

Even things like more pressure in the fork and less in the rear makes a difference.  The 30% figures are just starting points.  I run 40% on one bike, cos it's better for it.

I set up the suspension myself, I don’t know the sag percent but I have set my pressures to pressures which perform well, the rebound is middly fast on the front and slowish on the back

No offence but after reading that I'd suggest that your bike could be set up better than you think.

How tall are you, and what size stumpy have you got? And what year is the stumpy?

Not sure shorter chainstays would help OP

One small thing that made my bike(s) feel better was actually moving my cleats back. I could get my heels down much easier.

I'll give you my setup in numbers.

I am 6ft 80kg running a size large stumpy evo 29 2015

Forks: Pike RCT3 160 60psi (20%-25% sag)  15 clicks of rebound, 2 clicks of compression all from open.

Rear shock: Fox CTD 170psi 3 clicks of rebound from closed.

50mm stem 5mm rise

750mm bar 20mm rise

175mm cranks

Cleats 3/4 of the way back

Numbers tell less than half the picture. To set up a bike somebody needs to see you say on it, your proportions matter for reach and the rest. The fork and shock depends how you ride.

Try the clears all the way back though it's worth a shot.

Well I saw a picture of me riding and I looked like a t-rex, my elbows were too close to my body, I can feel it that's why I want a longer reach to feel roomier.

Always the rider.

http://www.mbr.co.uk/news/jared-graves-stumpjumper-29-differ-normal-one-347072

Probably the best stumpy set up for fast 😁

Never realised how similar it is lol.

I guess i'll shut up and get better at riding m damn bike!

Gonna throw so more air into my suspension and play with my cockpit.

Getting a second opinion in person would be a good option though playing about is one thing but you could easily be missing the obvious

The longer fork shortens your reach and raises your BB.

I have had 2 large 2016 Stumpy 650b. I'm 6'2" and felt the same (perched on top like a t-rex). The bike was just too small for me. It was great downhill, but the last straw for me was banging my knee on the bars on a steep climb.

Everything I tried setup-wise was just a temporary fix. If you don't like how it rides, life's too short to not bu a new one 🙂

Couldn't be happier with my Hightower (XL). It feels like this bike was made for me and I found that my confidence shot up and I'm grabbing the brakes a lot less. I did also have a session with Jedi the other year and that's probably the best money I've ever spent!

Seems like you are running a lot of rebound? Isn't it a bit slow? There's a mojo masterclass on YouTube where they talk about it being as fast as possible whilst still in control. Fast enough to recover past the sag point then oscillate once back down.

I could be wrong here, but aren't spesh bikes known for short chainstays and low bottom brackets? Could be a bit outdated, maybe you need a 27.5 to get the chainstay shorter. I'd say at 6ft, try a wider bar, like 780, not game changing but will lower you a fraction. And run rebound more open front and back.

I have a mate who had same bike. Competent fast rider and he never looked right on it. Sitting on top rather than it it. He tried to change  everything( including the geo with a shock change) but it was always wrong.

He has now sold it for a santa cruz.

Demo another bike. There’s a lot more out there and if you find you like something else, well the stumpy can be sold

6” on a large tho..I’m 5”8 and a large always felt better than a medium (apart from the stack). Could be you’re on a bike that’s too small

A lot of guff talked about getting more training first.

Wrong priority.

It's always the bike holding you back, buy a new one, but hold on to the old one just in case.

Ok, it really wasn't the bike, but now you have a nice new bike AND your old favourite.

Win.

Now it's time to go and get some training. 🙂

Bit of both. You don't have to be at the bike's limit for it to cause you problems, because it's not all about capability, if the bike doesn't feel good and confidence inspiring that's more important than whether it can physically deal with it. Confidence inspiring and fun is imo actually more important than sheer capability.

The bike has quite odd geometry which is out dated, I'll spend this week tweaking with suspension and actively trying to improve my posture on the bike. I have my base settings to fall back on. The 2011 size large stumpy fitted me so well, it is a shame this one doesn't. The chain stays are rather long at 455, I don't want shorter ones to fix the confidence issue I would like them to make it more nippy/fun. I might get a trek fuel ex if all else fails.

If it felt ok before, can you rule out any damage to the frame?

is it possible that there’s a crack somewhere and things are moving which shouldn’t be?

ive seen it happen before, ‘my bike doesn’t feel right ‘ two days later, bike is broken.

The frame is fine (i'll check it anyway),I have felt this way about the bike for quite a bit now.

Don't listen to the others telling you to get more training, bike setup is personal and some people are more susceptible to bike setup than others. Look at the highend of the MotoGP world, Marq Marquez can and does ring the neck off just about anything, where as Lorenzo will go from leading the pack by seconds to riding like a donkey if his fork feels a little too stiff.

It's all about confidence and if your bike doesn't give you that no matter how you set it up, then it's time to change it. To me, it sounds like you want a bike with a highly progressive leverage ratio that allows you to set rear sag to 33%+, a high stack height, more reach, a slacker head angle and maybe more travel or a bike designed around the 160mm fork you are using.

Your bike is too small for you.

Get a bigger bike and some help setting it up.

You can thank me later.

OP, your going to get and have got quite a few conflicting answers, possibly because you might have more than one issue that results in you not feeling great on the bike.

I wouldn't get swayed by "out of date geometry". Its not like its some retrobike project.lol

If a new bike is an itch you have to scratch then fair enough but you might just be sorting an issue in your mind with the cash rather than a real issue with the bike?

If that makes sense? Lol

P.s. I'd love to get to a level where my bike holds me back but it will never happen. 🙂

The bike in question is a Stumpy evo 29.

I had a 2016 Stumpy Comp and at first I loved it, but as my riding progressed, I felt the bike was holding me back similar to what you have described. The thing that bugged me most was the high/tall riding position and how sketchy it felt on steep trails and the fork, god I hated that Rockshox Revelation! But I sucked it up for a bit but then took the hit and picked up the 2017 Spesh Enduro.

Diff bike, its burlier in build and parts spec'd and is slacker and longer but more suits my riding style and I have none of the issues which I used to have on the Stumpy. I could not be happier after making the change.

Another vote for wider bars. At 6’ tall and 80kg you’re not small, maybe try some 780 or even 800 if you can borrow some?

60PSi on the fork for 20 to 25% sag sounds quite low for your size. Are you really getting into an attack position when testing it? Maybe you aren’t getting enough support.

And the bike does sound a bit short for you.

"Bit of both. You don’t have to be at the bike’s limit for it to cause you problems, because it’s not all about capability, if the bike doesn’t feel good and confidence inspiring that’s more important than whether it can physically deal with it. Confidence inspiring and fun is imo actually more important than sheer capability."

Exactly.

One easy change you can make, is put a BIG bar on there. Although my Spitfire would be considered on the shorter side nowadays for my height, it doesn't feel small or cramped with an 810mm bar (800 + DeathGrips). And with that big bar, a 50mm stem and a -2 deg Works headset (sub 64 deg head angle) I feel I can stay centred or even lean on the front and it will go where I want, regardless on what I'm hitting.

Also, shock vs fork set-up matters a lot. Set your fork sag standing on the pedals, hands light on the bars. Set your shock sag sitting with the dropper down. That way you'll get useful and consistent readings. If you run the fork firmer and the shock softer (but with more spacers) then you'll slacken and lower the bike - that'll also shorten the reach a bit but a wide bar could more than compensate for that.

The 'on it' rather than 'in it' feeling is hard to change, but makes a big difference

My new 29er felt more like this than my old 650b (both Process 153)

was a bit worried at first, but getting my suspension set up better has really helped, running it softer with more tokens now and feeling much more confident & faster!

so my suggestion would be get suspension tuned + possible offset bushings

or just by an 29er enduor!

manlikegregonabike What tyre pressure are you running?

Thanks for the great advice!

The enduro looks very tempting.

The bike rides very well on meyandering flowing trail center stuff but I ride rooty steeper 'enduro' tracks in which i'm feeling as I am.

I have set the suspension up at 80/180 f/r to feel balanced and stiffer. Will give that a go tonight and report back.

My tyres are 26/29 f/r

Going to get an offset bushing and try wider bars.

The bike rides very well on meyandering flowing trail center stuff but I ride rooty steeper ‘enduro’ tracks in which i’m feeling as I am.

sounds identical to how i felt about my stumpy!

I have set the suspension up at 80/180 f/r to feel balanced and stiffer. Will give that a go tonight and report back.

On the stumpy I had to run the fork stiff to stop it diving, even running all the max number of tokens didn't really help. I found the rear Fox shock to be a POS...which had to be warrantied several times as the rebound kept breaking, LBS informed me it was cos I was shattering the shim stack! I was only running 30% SAG!

I agree that offset busings to slacken out the HA and drop the BB would prob help...

After trying out my new suspension settings the bike feels more confident, added a lot of low speed as well. Still feels a bit small but a big step in the right direction.

We are running Stumpjumper and Enduros. Never experienced the problems you are having. Tyres are either Butcher Butcher when our daughter is competing or Butcher Purgatory on the others. All in grid form. We are running them at 20 22 psi and tubeless. It may be worth trying lower pressures to see

Your rebound settings are too slow.