ive got a small intense 951. tt 22.5 sa 65 and it feels small. when i stand on the bike, which i am inclined to do for dh, i feel too far forward. so when i move my weight back, im hanging off the bars instead off standing on the pedals. i rode my buds medium trek session, and it felt better. tt 23.15 sa 57 my regular ride, a trek remedy, tt 23.1 sa 73 feels just right. i fit the bike sitting down and it feels fine. standing up, its like i move forward by a foot (figuratively) its like the bb is a lot further forward than a regular bike with the same tt. am i just not used to a dh bikes fit? will a longer stem help? will it be detrimental to my handling? ive got a one piece crown stem on a fox 40. changing it will be expensive. do i need to swap to my frame?
Dh bikes you do not fit sitting down. They will feel different because the slack seat angle coupled with sag. The real measurements you need are reach and stack. Not tt or st.
Dang, Intense doesnt provide stack and reach. Out goes the tape measure..... Trail bike reach 16.5" Intense 951 reach 14" Anyone want a slightly used 951?
Those numbers don't look bad to me. I'd want a shorter reach DH bike than a trail bike. How tall are you?
Quit obsessing on the stats and your experience with one ride on a bike of a discipline that is new to you. Ride it more, in a place that's more forgiving than Hummingbird.
i didnt have one ride. we hit three different trails. this how i am with any new bike. i assess, tweak, tune and repeat. hummingbird wasnt so bad, maybe 2-3 big square edge rocks that almost fully stopped the bike. old stage coach, thats another thing. the dust rings on the fox 40 told me i only had a little more than an inch left of travel, and i wasnt even going at it as fast id like i will ride it more. just need to do whatever i can to suit the bike more to myself.
You might just need the next size up, or a different frame, what I currently ride feels a little longer that other dh bikes, it gives me the feel of stability, Let me know how much you want to get rid of it for?
Thanks for the interest. I am being offered a frame swap. I am going to look at the medium on offer and fit it. Will get back to you guys if that falls through.
Yeah, this was a major phuck up on my part. I did not appreciate this standing on the bike in a parking lot. It takes on a whole new reality when Im standing on the pedals staring down a 60 degree descent. Live and learn, oh well. UPDATE: so I went to see the medium Intense 951 and negotiate a frame swap. I took it for a spin a found that there was not much more difference in standing position. didnt go for the trade. Back home, I tried to address my issue. I dropped the spring from 500 to 450. Sag went 27% to 33%. This pushed back the seat angle a bit more, slackened the bike and opened up the cockpit. The cockpit probably grew by half, to an inch, the medium provides 1 inch longer TT. With the pushed back seat angle, I raised the saddle 2-3 inches, which pushed it back more, and I think I got an extra inch more. Just looking at it, the bar to seat distance is much bigger. Can't wait for a test ride
Again, why are you bothering with seat measurements? Reach should have felt significantly different on the medium
It really didnt, and the owner of the medium agreed with me as well. There is a difference, but it was marginal. Not enough to go through the trouble of stripping the bikes and swapping frames. In any case, the guy I was swapping with had an M9, an Uzzi and the medium 951. He says Intense was weird when it came to frame sizing. I don't know, I only have this. As for where the bike is now, I switched a spacer from the top of the crown to raise the bar 1/3 of an inch. This will reduce the amount I have to bend to reach the bars standing, hopefully reducing my OTB sensation. It also puts the bar closer to me a bit. The sag was increased, slackening the seat angle. With this, and raising the post, the saddle is made further from the bar, opening the cockpit. When I stand on the pedals, I start from a position further away, hopefully lessening the OTB sensation. I dont need the seat slammed anyway. 4-5 inches below the bar is fine with me. Fitting a bike to my liking is normally involved like this. When I went to get fitted for a bike once, the fitter guy said I was definitely a tweener. I'm in between sizes in a big way. 5'6" and Asian proportions. This is my before. You wont see the sag differences though, and the saddle is higher than normal so I can get the post into the stand. After Not sure if this is normal, but there is half an inch of spacers under my upper crown now. If this is not good, I will upgrade to a raised upper crown and stem combo.
Once you stand up, it should not matter where you started. Reach is reach. Where your bottom bracket is doesn't change. Are you riding with your knees locked? Are you keeping your heels down?
I had a app align the pictures and you can now see the difference in saddle position. No I dont lock my knees. I have no plans on getting dental work done I do know some basics in riding, so yes, I have my heels down. I'm doing every little thing that might help. You say it, won't, but to me, its worth a try. When I do stand on the pedals on a fairly shallow angled descent, I don't normally go straight up, but will raise my behind off the saddle a few inches. On steep descents, then the saddle thing wont matter as I will be behind the saddle anyway. Will test the weekend after Memorial day.
The spacers (to bring bar height up) is normal. I'd run whatever feels comfy. The taller the easier it is to tackle the steeps, while the lower (to a point) feels better on the fast flow jump stuff to me. I try to find a happy middle ground (I have 3/8 spacers on my Boxxer WC with Deity direct mount stem and chromag OSX bars). For whatever its worth I rode a small and medium 951. I had a tough time deciding. I chose the medium and I'm 5'9" with long arms. You bike looks nice, maybe I'll get to shred Snow Summit with you this summer some time.
