tim.stevens
New Member
I have been reading all the discussions on bike fitting/tweaking, especially fogerson’s, and would like the forums opinion. Sorry upfront for the long post.
I am 6’1” 220lbs and have a Large Cannondale 29er that I absolutely love. When riding chimney rock, six mile run, and hartshorn, everything about it feels better then my XL Rush did before I sold it to buy this bike.
Bike setup:
Stock controltec bars: very small rise 10-20mm? not cut down
Si 100-120mm stem with medium rise (Jason would know)
Carbon lefty
CrossMax wheels with Nevegal tires
I never had any problems until I figured out how to go faster in the twisties in 6-mile keeping up with tommyjay. Turns out I can keep up (~10mph avg just in twisty section) but have to darn near bring my chest to the stem. My elbows need to be bent at a 90 deg angle. I’m not sure if this is necessary to weight the front end, keep my center of gravity low or a little of both. When I do this it feels like the bike can take any corner at tremendous speeds. The problem is it is not comfortable, and doesn't feel natural or safe. And, I feel like I need to work on my bench press to improve handling skills.
So, my question is, is this normal? Tommyjay doesn’t have to do this. If I get a longer frame then supposedly that would hurt cornering, plus I like being able to get behind the seat for descending at chimney rock. The frame size feels fine for everything else, especially climbing.
If it is not normal what should I be doing different or changing about the bike?
Tim.
I am 6’1” 220lbs and have a Large Cannondale 29er that I absolutely love. When riding chimney rock, six mile run, and hartshorn, everything about it feels better then my XL Rush did before I sold it to buy this bike.
Bike setup:
Stock controltec bars: very small rise 10-20mm? not cut down
Si 100-120mm stem with medium rise (Jason would know)
Carbon lefty
CrossMax wheels with Nevegal tires
I never had any problems until I figured out how to go faster in the twisties in 6-mile keeping up with tommyjay. Turns out I can keep up (~10mph avg just in twisty section) but have to darn near bring my chest to the stem. My elbows need to be bent at a 90 deg angle. I’m not sure if this is necessary to weight the front end, keep my center of gravity low or a little of both. When I do this it feels like the bike can take any corner at tremendous speeds. The problem is it is not comfortable, and doesn't feel natural or safe. And, I feel like I need to work on my bench press to improve handling skills.
So, my question is, is this normal? Tommyjay doesn’t have to do this. If I get a longer frame then supposedly that would hurt cornering, plus I like being able to get behind the seat for descending at chimney rock. The frame size feels fine for everything else, especially climbing.
If it is not normal what should I be doing different or changing about the bike?
Tim.