I’m a 33inch trouser if I can find them, otherwise usually 32. Don’t know what my actual physical measurements are.

Our seats must be within an inch or each other, based on seatpost length and insertion.

I’m similar. 6’3″ with 34″ inseam, 36″ to floor.

Long story short, longer stem.

Riding in attack position didn’t work on my XL San Quentin. Short 35mm stem, basic 28mm low riser bars, 30mm of spacers under the stem. I was hunched over, no strength to control, too far forwards.

I considered extending the fork travel, but then the head angle would go out, and handling at all times. Seatube angle would be out too, limiting saddle position and angle. Getting the parts for that where I am was near impossible anyway.

I got some 90mm fmfxtr riser bars. Not too much upreach on them. Cheap and nasty Chinese ones. Still didn’t work for me.

Dealer told me I’d be needing a longer stem off the bat. I’d tried 45/60 out of my parts bin. It was only by sticking on an 80mm 7deg stem in conjunction with the really high bars that I fit the bike. Dabomb Shark 80mm 7deg on there now. Handling isn’t noticeably upset. I think extending the fork would have been to detriment. I may try lower, branded bars I trust, but I think this is my solution to being lanky.

Not too much upreach on them.

What is “upreach”?

I got some 90mm fmfxtr riser bars

thats a lot of rise! do you run them vertically, in line with the fork/headtube angle, or somewhere in between?

the “effective stem length” – or distance from grips to steering axis is going to vary hugely with that much bar rise

the “effective stem length” – or distance from grips to steering axis is going to vary hugely with that much bar rise

It will also generate a lot more torque on the bars under braking on descents. The first time I fitted some riser bars it was to an XC bike with a two-bolt stem. They were probably about 2″ rise bars and I obviously didn’t tighten the stem cap enough because the bars rotate forwards on the first rough descent, which meant I couldn’t reach the brake levers. Very exciting experience, I recommend everyone should try it once.

Lanky riders have to deal with bikes that fit most riders. You do what you can. If everything was meant to be perfect, many would have to find a new hobby.

Bar are rotated a bit forward compared to the head angle out of necessity. Everything is done up with a torque wrench and nothing has budged.

At least I’ve managed to get the BMX Stem and moto-X bars off the bike. They really added some annoying weight.

Reach is the horizontal distance from the BB axle to the steering axis. It’s not to the grips, it’s to the center of the steerer. Fitting a longer stem does not increase the reach, it moves the bars forward. Raising the grips by fitting riser bars will reduce the effective reach, even if the grips haven’t moved horizontally. This is because reach is not measured to the bars, but to the steering axis.

Manufacturers publish reach figures measured at the top of the head tube. This is not particularly useful if you are tall and run your bars a lot higher than stock. A much more useful measurement to determine whether a bike will fit a specific rider is to calculate effective reach at the level of the handlebars. This is basically the reach measurement you would get if you extended the headtube enough to run a zero rise stem with flat bars. By raising the bars, you will always reduce the effective reach.

It does not matter how you get the grips to your preferred height. You can fit spacers, you can fit a riser stem, you can fit a riser bar. The only thing that matters as far as effective reach is concerned is the height of the grips. If you raise your grips by 50 mm, the effective reach will be reduced by about 20 mm.

Having found a suitable height for your grips, you can then try different stem lengths and bar sweep to find a comfortable setup for you. Provided you are not changing the height of the grips above the BB, this does not change the reach because the reach is measured to the steering axis, not the bars.

i know. i didn’t mention reach.

i know. i didn’t mention reach.

No, chakaping did. He posted this utter nonsense.

chakaping

It doesn’t look weird, a lot of the cool kids are running high-rise bars now as they don’t compromise the bike’s reach so much as going higher up the steerer.

chakaping
Full Member
Stated frame reach is the measurement out from the BB to a point parallel with the centre of the top of the head tube.

It’s a bit of a vague measurement because head tubes vary in length, but if you consider the variables, it’s still a great indicator of how well a frame will fit.

Clamping the stem higher on the steerer can artificially reduce the reach a bit, by bringing back the effective centre of the top of the head tube. Thus keeping the clamp point lower and using high rise bars preserves the reach.