Along with giving you a better selection and expert advice, bike shop personnel can you help you get fitted to the right size bike. You can get the bike either too big or too small, which will cause your enjoyment to suffer. Follow the tips below, and you’ll have the perfect fit for your mountain bike.
Standover height
When you check the fitting yourself, the first thing you want to check is the inseam clearance, or the standover height. You want to have plenty of room between yourself and the top tube when you come to a stop. There should be around four to six inches of clearance from the top of your inseam to the top of the top tube.
Leg and feet position
There’s a nifty formula for determining the leg position for riding a mountain bike. When riding a mountain bike, the terrain constantly changes, raising you off the seat constantly, sometimes just slightly, other times completely off.
Therefore, you’ll need to sit your saddle slightly lower than you would on any other type of bike. Be sure you take this slightly lower seat height position into effect when you factor the size of the frame.
Riding...