wheelhot

Hmm, it seems I have a weird brake and shift lever position, my brake and shift lever position of both of my bikes are both 45degrees facing the ground. When its positioned it like that, I feel my hand more relaxed and I wont experience any pain. So I was wondering is this angle okay? or is it bad if I crash? and what angle you guys set your shifter pods and brake lever on your bikes?

Flak

Near veritcal.

never

That's a terrible angle, it must be at 49.5* for XC riding. For FR or DH you can run a more relaxed angle.








Seriously...if you are comfortable and you don't experience any pain, why would you care what others are running. I set up my bike for me...you set yours up for you!

wheelhot

Just getting a bit of confirmation, thats all, wut you are running at 49.5*, thats like very very steep angle, no problems at all after crashing?

Maelstrom 

I was almost taking you serious Never...You "MUST" ahahaha...nothing is wrong. Set up your bike for your strength and riding style...one friend I ride with is parellel to the ground, she is a killed rider, who am I to tell her, her brake setup sucks...

wheelhot

wow, parallel to the ground, her seatpost must be freakin high

never

Everyone is different, bike geometry varies, seat heights vary, riding styles vary...all of that will affect how you set up your bike. If you're comfortable with your setup, you're fine.

wheelhot

kay thanks, thread close

Flak

Not so fast.

You're going to end the thread without consulting people on the endurance downhill position? I was reading both MBA and Dirtrag recently and they both mentioned it as the best position, according to independant study.

wheelhot

I cant close the thread XD, but feel free to give more opinions

MattP.

Obvisouly, you are wrong. The angle is directly proportionate to the sin of the seatpost angle when combined with the cube root of the bar length divided by the reciporcal of the riders height (in millimeters of course).

I don't know where you got your info from, but you're wrong.

mx_599

i like a neutral wrist position...neither flexed nor extended for the majority of riding time

Dannihilator

I'm weird when it comes to lever positioning.

Flak

I find you're just weird period. But hey

never

Ahhh, you have ths start of the formula but you didn't take into account the inverse cosine of the theoretical top tube length...a significant omission...if you leave that out, your riding performance will severely be compromised...not to mention you'll really wreck your levers when you crash!

Blazinall91

what's with you and seatposts?

LowCel 

I like to have mine in a straight line with my arms. When just setting on the bike I see what angle my arms are going to hit reach the bars. Then I just move the levers to get them pretty much the same angle.

A tip for you wheelhot. When tightening your brake and shifter levers leave them loose enough so they will rotate in the event of a crash. This will save you (well, your mom) money later on.

mx_599

= neutral

+1

**one more thing. if you are doing riding where you are not in a "saddle" position as much as XC, not to worry. neutral levers still work. say you have a DJ bike and don't really use the seat. well, support the bike somehow and stand in a "neutral" position and set your levers to be in-line with arms as best you can. naturally, things vary once moving around. however, you should be able to find a point with the highest percent of riding position to make your settings at. as you can see, it is a great place to start for all your riding needs. there is no need to put undue stress on your young wrists.**

to add more to that and give you another thing to do on your bike, have your mom get some teflon sealant tape from the hardware store. it is only about 99 cents american....so i am guessing maybe 49.99 for you? if you have a 2-piece perch, wrap a layer or two of teflon tape under the area of the clamping surface. this will allow for a good solid connection, hopefully no loosening of bolts, and still allow rotation as lowcel mentioned.

sometimes, but not always, leaving a perch loose for crash purposes allows the fasteners to come loose while riding. no biggie if you're not racing and you have tools with you. this is where the tape CAN be an added benefit

wheelhot

hey good point, never though of leaving my handlebar and brake lever a bit loose, use a tape? what kind of tape you are talking about? Care to show some pics

mx_599

generally, NOT handlebar. sorry, i'll have to get photo of my bike another time. i couldn't find one online.

ed 

You mean freakin low. If the brake levers were perpendicular to the ground then a high seatpost would bee needed to get the rider higher up over the bars to be able to touch the levers.

Parallel to the ground means the levers are facing straight forward...low seatpost.


Just ask for "pipe tape".

mcoine

Ha, that guy is wrapping the tape the wrong direction.

LowCel 

Good eye!!!

mcoine

this is better...

Maelstrom 

Nope.