Originally Posted by
sbslider
I rode a Trek 7000 for 12 years with bar end extensions on it, and loved it until I started getting back problems. May not have been associated with the bar ends, the point is that is certainly a viable option as well. I will certainly take a wait and see attitude before doing a major overhaul. I also wonder if the bike could be too small in a year or two as well. If so, then I can inherit it and tinker to my hearts content then.
I bet the trek 7000 had a typical 1990s MTB set up of super long and low. I would guess it was the length of the cockpit more than the type of handlebar that were to blame for your discomfort on the bike (especially when stretched way out on bar ends, you gotta have good core strength for that). Todays MTB fit is completely different. Most people run stems under 70mm. I run an 85mm stem on my xc 29er with risers for a more trail oriented position and I am 6'4" My fat bike has an 80mm stem. Back then they wanted to close the hip angle with a low torso for more XC power. Today it's all about the handling of the bike for the average rider since the terrain is way more technical owing to the advances in suspension technology and changes in geometry. In the early 1990s Most racing component manufacturers didn't make a stem shorter than 110mm and often up to 160mm (syncros for example). Today 110mm it the longest MTB stem you will find.
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1 Super Record bike, 1 Nuovo Record bike, 1 Pista, 1 Road, 1 Cyclocross/Allrounder, 1 MTB, 1 Touring, 1 Fixed gear