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Recently built up a 456 and I suppose it's my first 'proper' MTB with appropriate geometry.
I am running an inline seatpost as it seems that the frame was designed with this in mind to keep the weight forward. This means I have a lot of seatpost extension on this (18" frame), and that I feel quite close to the handlebars.
In order to get some breathing room I don't have many spacers under the handlebars. This means that they are noticeably lower than the saddle.
Does this sound about right? A lot of peoples bikes on here seem to have their handlebars higher than this. I guess I will be leant over the bars a bit more - and this will lead to more steering traction when seated, yah?
If I am going to have more weight over the front I was thinking of running my fork at 25% sag (as opposed to anything softer like 30%), sounds sensible?
As a rough rule without seeing you and your bike ... If you have most of your mass in your legs then this setup will be alright. If you have most of your mass in your upper body, slide your saddle further back and raise/shorten the reach to your bars.
Mess about with your fit until your comfortable. Noone can tell you if it's comfortable but you...
I am in proportion top to bottom, but I do have quite a lot of upper body mass. Why does this influence reach? Is it to avoid stressing the back muscles too much?
So I guess being cramped/stretched out is a matter of taste then...?
I like roughly 30mm drop from saddle to handlebars, but that doesn't mean leaning on the handlebars. By using good controlled posture you can still have it so that only the weight of your arms is laying on the bars. Consciously holding your head up and looking straight ahead at all times helps achieve this.
For handling the bike you do not want additional weight going down through the fork via the bars - you should be aiming to get all your weight going into the frame via the bottom bracket (ok, some via the seat tube when seated). This will still weight your front wheel, just not via the top/front of the bike.
So what's all this 'working the fork' malarkey then?
"Nonsense if you ask me/us. You do "work the fork" I guess, but with your feet, not your hands. Neutral with the hands.
By the way, as for setting sag - set the amount you want with yourself on the bike in your normal position. So whether or not your set up causes front/rear weight change the sag will be unaffected, if you see what I mean.
I was under the impression that you should set sag for an out of the saddle, weight centred body position?