New bike brakes don't match specs

[Tim]

The longer you ride, more it will hurt if you don't have the right fit.
Coming from a guy who has never been fit and also a DIY'er, I can tell you it will prolly be cheaper in the long run to get a fit done than to experiment with different rise, length bars and stems. I have 4 or 5 bars and prolly more stems in my parts bin trying to get things dialed in on the bike.

Solid advice. I am really leaning towards getting the fit.The sport is already expensive enough to blow money on parts based on wild guesses. Also no need for unnecessary pain...

 

[Paul H]

Solid advice. I am really leaning towards getting the fit.The sport is already expensive enough to blow money on parts based on wild guesses. Also no need for unnecessary pain...

You should come out on one of beginner rides that @qclabrat sets up
I think the next one is at Lewis Morris. Should be a fun ride if you can deal with the cold this weekend.

 

[Tim]

Cold doesn't bother me too much and I have yet to try LewMo but this weekend is a no go. My son just turned 5 and his party is this weekend. I have family coming in from out of state so I'll have to keep them entertained.

 

[Paul H]

Cold doesn't bother me too much and I have yet to try LewMo but this weekend is a no go. My son just turned 5 and his party is this weekend. I have family coming in from out of state so I'll have to keep them entertained.

Happy birthday to the little guy!

 

[Tim]

Happy birthday to the little guy!

Thanks! I can't wait until he is ready to be out on the trails with me.

 

[Paul H]

Thanks! I can't wait until he is ready to be out on the trails with me.

My kid loved it... loved it so much that she would not get on her own 2 wheeler.

 

[Tim]

My kid loved it... loved it so much that she would not get on her own 2 wheeler.

Those are cool and I thought about getting one. He has been riding on 2 wheels all summer. He is tall for his age (already 47" at the age of 5 - 99th percentile) and is already way too big for his 14" bike. Going to upgrade him to a 20" bike. Once he has confidence on that I'll start introducing him to mild trails. I'm thinking Rutgers Ecological Preserve or the the part of the Blue trail at 6 Mile near the Canal lot. Of course this is all months away at best. I'm not going to push him too much. I want him to enjoy it.

 

[pooriggy]

I am 5'10" with a relatively long torso which seems to be the issue with the large Anthem.
So far all of this has been DIY. Are bike fits something that mountain bikers do or is that primarily a roadie thing? I would think a precise fit is less important on an MTB since so much time is spent out of the saddle.

Usually out of the box mtb works for most, however given the fact that you are in between Large & Med. getting a custom fit dialed to your body will be a good idea. A custom fit will involve finding the right bike size/ stem length for your body as well as saddle adjustments. Hopefully the shop you bought the bike from can work with you to get you feeling good on the large Anthem.