Hi Everyone,
I'm new to this forum and just getting back into riding. Ten+ years I go I purchased a mongoose alta and it just doesn't seem to fit right. I had been riding with the seat fairly low which was OK on flat land - now I live in the mountains of Colorado and have a dirt road (steep too) then a 4 mile hard uphill to town. I discovered that my seat was too low & wasn't getting any power. The issue is, to get the leg length right, my seat ends up being 4 inches above my handlebars and now I can't reach the bars without my lower back hurting and I can barely get my head up to see ahead. (in fact my back was hurting with the seat low too). One bike salesguy suggested getting new handlebars, then the service guys said it would end up costing $150 - 200 to swap all the cables, etc. so maybe I should buy a new bike. And now there's all of these options - one person says comfort bikes should be fine on dirt roads but will it be good for climbing a steep dirt road that nobody in our neighborhood can do sitting down (these are gnarly guys too.)? I'm worried about getting another mountain bike that doesn't fit. Suggestions?
-Tbop