How To Size A Mountain Bike For Yourself

"What size mountain cycle do I need?" Information technology's a question oftentimes asked – for skillful reason – because choosing the correct size of wheel is one of the about important decisions you lot'll make.

We recommend y'all don't buy a cycle until yous've understood how to get i that'south the right size for your height and torso shape. Our ultimate guide to bicycle geometry and handling will aid.

The best mount bike for yous, that fits correctly and is fix properly, will be a joy to ride, making it easier to tackle trails faster with more than control. But a bike that'southward also small can be twitchy, nervous and uncomfortable on longer rides, technical descents or when you're just pootling along the flat.

Read on for some advice on what mountain bike frame size y'all should be considering, especially if yous're in any uncertainty nigh it.

We'll besides help you empathise the changes you can brand to your wheel's parts to help information technology perform meliorate for your measurements, personal requirements and preferred bailiwick. For example, the best mountain bike intermission forks can be adjusted to arrange you.

And earlier we get started, if drop handlebars are your affair, then head to our guide to road bike sizing.

What size mountain wheel do I need?

Ask an experienced rider about bike fit and they'll tell y'all that all bikes experience and ride differently, even if their numbers look almost the same on paper.

Manufacturers' listed mountain bike frame sizes can be disruptive. How to measure a wheel frame is non prepare in stone. The traditional method is to listing the seat tube length, but even that varies because some are measured to the top of the seat tube and some to the middle of where the top tube joins the seat tube.

Many manufacturers only list their bikes as S, Grand and L, perchance with XS or Xl at either terminate.

And, more than recently, cycle manufacturers take begun list their bikes' sizes based on reach figures rather than seat tube and top tube lengths.

This means they've been able to abound the bike'southward achieve figure, wheelbase and top tube length while trying to proceed seat tube lengths and stack heights shorter and lower.

Smaller seat tube lengths mean that shorter people can fit on bikes with a longer reach effigy because they can adjust the seat acme lower, opening up the potential to ride a larger bicycle.

Information technology's withal of import to consider seat tube and tiptop tube length when buying a cycle. The seat tube length will dictate the lowest saddle height that can be set and the top tube length will roughly dictate how stretched out a passenger will feel.

Getting a bike that's the perfect fit can seriously meliorate comfort, command and speed on the trail.

Andy Lloyd

And so, where do you discover out what size frame you need? Like so many other things on a mountain bike, at that place is no one perfect solution considering, within sensible limits, you can conform your saddle, stem and handlebar to help make a slightly imperfect fit experience fine.

We'd always recommend looking at manufacturers' own size charts, which will usually list a suggested height range for each bike frame size they produce, but here are some general guidelines:

(Bear in mind that route, cyclocross and hybrid bike sizes tend to be 8cm to 10cm bigger for riders of the aforementioned height – something that confuses a lot of riders when looking through bike listings.)

Important geometry terms and what they hateful

We all come in different shapes and sizes, and so do well-nigh mountain bikes, so we recommend using the information beneath to help yous empathise what size mountain bicycle frame you should be riding.

First, it's good to know the beefcake of a mountain bike, because we'll be referring to these terms.

These key parts of a bike will define its geometry and how it fits.

Matt Orton / Immediate Media

A. Seatstay
B. Chainstay
C. Seat tube
D. Superlative tube
E. Downward tube
F. Stem
Thou. Head tube

When y'all're looking at ownership your side by side bike, it's crucial to understand how the cycle's geometry volition affect how it rides and what each element of its geometry means. Understanding these terms will assist you make up one's mind what size mountain bike you need.

When you're looking at mountain cycle frame size charts, these terms will too help you lot empathise how each measurement affects the size of the bike.

The paradigm shows you all the key length measurements you lot need to know when because a bicycle'southward size.

Matt Orton / Immediate Media

A. Constructive top tube length is the length of a virtual horizontal line drawn between the top of the bike'south caput tube and the centre of the seatpost at the same height.
B. Stack summit is the altitude between the centre of the bottom bracket and the eye of the pinnacle of the head tube. This measurement dictates the minimum top of the bars in relation to the bottom subclass and has a relationship with a bike'due south reach.
C. Seat tube length is the distance from the centre of the lesser-bracket to the top of the seat tube. This length determines how loftier or low the cycle's saddle can be prepare, and therefore how long or brusk any given passenger's legs tin can be.
D. Down tube length is the distance between the middle of the bottom of the head tube and the heart of the bottom bracket. Down tube length figures aren't usually quoted on manufacturers' size charts, merely it's an easy measurement for a consumer to practise at home when comparing one bike to some other.
E. Bottom bracket driblet denotes how far above or below the horizontal line connecting the centre of the axles the centre of the bottom bracket is.
F. Bottom subclass acme is the distance betwixt the centre of the bottom bracket and the ground.
Thousand. Wheelbase is the horizontal measurement betwixt the centre of the front and rear beam.
H. Front centre is the horizontal length between the heart of the bottom bracket and the heart of the front end axle.
Reach (not pictured) is the length between the lesser bracket and the centre of the top of the head tube. Attain provides the best indication of how 'roomy' a bike will experience, especially when it's existence ridden continuing up. Click here to find out how reach and stack peak affect each other.
Rear eye/chainstay length (non pictured) is the horizontal distance betwixt the centre of the bottom bracket and the rear beam.

Seat tube and head tube angles are important to empathize and can affect the rest of the wheel'southward geometry.

Matt Orton / Immediate Media

A. Effective seat angle is the angle of the line that connects the bottom bracket to the centre of the top of the seatpost when it's at pedalling height. Manufacturers often quote their effective seat tube bending, but the height at which information technology's measured isn't usually disclosed.
B. Actual seat bending is the bending of the bike's seatpost measured from horizontal.
C. Caput angle is the bending of the fork'south steerer tube measured from horizontal.

Getting the perfect mountain wheel fit

Getting a bike to ﬁt y'all perfectly is something you lot need to piece of work at. We know riders who've ridden for years on what they thought was their perfect wheel, with perfect attain, perfect saddle height, perfect handlebar shape, a perfectly prepare fork and the all-time mount cycle tyres, perfectly inflated, until they discovered information technology wasn't.

They discover that a basic change, perhaps even a few basic changes, to that setup seems to make them ride ameliorate.

It'll oft be something equally simple equally a different handlebar sweep, dissimilar tyre pressures or more or less suspension-fork sag. It's often pocket-size details of wheel setup that change the mode y'all ride and experience near your bike.

With the right size bike, you'll instantly have more command.

Steve Behr / Immediate Media

When we sit down on a bicycle, we brand contact in three places: our easily on the bars, our feet on the pedals and our backside on the saddle.

Information technology's the relative position of these three areas that governs how the bike ﬁts and several variables inﬂuence their exact location: top tube length, seat bending, distance from bottom bracket to saddle, crank length, bar height and width, stem length and saddle bending all play a part.

Tweak your ride setup from time to time, and then give yourself a few rides to decide whether you like information technology or non. There are some things that experience wrong when you ﬁrst alter them, but feel right afterwards a few rides.

In the following sections, we'll lay down the basic guidelines of bike ﬁt, together with variations to consider and the reasoning backside them.

Don't think of a bike ﬁt and setup as something that'southward carved in rock, though. Use our guidelines equally a starting point, so become out and experiment.

Seat tube length and standover

When a bike is listed equally 'Ten' inches, what does that mean?

In most cases, it's the distance from the bottom bracket beam to the top of the seat tube, but it can exist to the middle of the peak tube or to various other places – at that place isn't a universal standard.

Even if there were, information technology would be no indicator that you could straddle the top tube and clear information technology considering top tube shape and bottom bracket height vary substantially.

This all relates to 'standover elevation': an of import aspect of any bike ﬁt, since it governs the clearance of your crotch!

Minimal standover peak can have painful consequences.

Oliver Woodman/Firsthand Media

The seat tube should go out you with an acceptable standover gap – the distance betwixt the top tube and your crotch – and usable standover clearance.

To get this, stand back equally far as you can while over the cycle and ensure that at that place's a minimum of an inch of room from the top tube to your crotch area.

If you adhere to this advice then your frame should provide you with a large range of adjustment at the seatpost, which is of import for finding your optimum mountain wheel seat height.

While this holds true for beginner and cross-country bikes, depending on the shape of the frame the rules change slightly, for instance if it has a low-slung top tube or if you're looking to buy a downhill or enduro bicycle – which accept unlike geometry all together.

It'south therefore important to not use seat tube length and standover acme every bit the only measure of a bike's fit. It as well highlights how crucial sitting on different sizes of your prospective purchase is.

Saddle tiptop and crank length

The majority of mountain bikes have 170mm or 175mm cranks, which exercise the job perfectly well for most riders. Merely if you accept brusk legs, you may ﬁnd the cranks are too long to turn without your human knee bending excessively at the top of the stroke, resulting in the wrong muscles beingness used.

Crank length can brand a deviation to how your bicycle fits, especially if you've got long or short legs.

Steve Behr

Similarly, if you're long-legged you may beneﬁt from a longer creepo so you can brand the almost of your lofty dimensions.

For general trail riding, aim to set saddle height on your cycle for maximum power and efﬁciency. Also high and your hips will rock from side to side, wasting energy; too depression and your muscles won't deliver power effectively.

Make certain your saddle is fix at the correct height.

Andy Lloyd

Suit the saddle height so when your heels are on the pedals at the bottom of the pedal stroke, your leg is fully extended – this means when yous move your feet to the correct position, your knee won't lock out.

If yous demand more than clearance, drop your saddle an inch or two.

Top tube length and achieve

Another of import consideration is the top tube length. Together with seat peak, stem length and handlebar position, top tube length dictates the comfort and efficiency of your body on the bike.

To confuse matters further, the attribute of top tube length that matters is not the summit tube itself, which frequently slopes, simply the reach number.

The superlative tube length is responsible for more than than but your comfort.

Oliver Woodman / Immediate Media

Although height tube length volition give a good indication of how a bicycle will experience when you're seated, the reach figure is virtually relevant for when you're standing up and is particularly pertinent to descending, but besides helps contribute to the feel of a bike's size.

A cross-country rider may prefer a long, stretched-out position, just a beginner who has never taken a bike off-road may want to exist more than upright for extra comfort, with less weight on their easily and wrists.

Your accomplish is often a compromise between comfort, control and pedalling efﬁciency.

Find what works best for you lot, but avert being besides hunched or too stretched out, since this can cause discomfort and dorsum problems.

Seat angle and constructive pinnacle tube length

The cranks (or bottom bracket) are never situated directly beneath the saddle, and for practiced reason. If they were, yous'd be placing excessive weight on your arms to back up your upper body when yous lean forward.

Thus the seat tube lies at an angle, which determines how far behind the bottom bracket the saddle will be and how yous're counterbalanced when seated.

Too much can be counterproductive, but luckily the range of angles is usually quite narrow so this measurement isn't normally that important.

If nosotros have two bikes with the aforementioned ETT length but different seat tube angles, the slacker-angled machine will have a bottom bracket that'southward further forward in relation to your saddle and vice versa.

The effect of this is that you can take two bikes with the same reach that handle differently, due to how they distribute your weight.

1 of the biggest mistakes made by beginners is to slide the saddle also far dorsum. While it may be psychologically reassuring to sit down well back from the 'attacking terrain' position, too little weight on the forepart of the bike can make the steering feel vague and cease your suspension fork from compressing efﬁciently.

Sit further forwards and yous'll get maximum use of the fork, full apply of the forepart tyre tread and the bike volition handle better.

This is all assuming that the reach is correct for you. Every bit a general dominion of thumb, if you drop a plumb line from the eye of the saddle it should cross the chainstays virtually exactly halfway between the lesser subclass axle and the rear bicycle axle.

Foot position and cleats

The best mount bike pedals tin exist flat or clipless. With ﬂat or platform pedals, the ball of the foot usually drops into a comfortable position in a higher place the pedal axle.

However, clipless pedals can exist more problematic to go right, so it'south essential to know how to ready up clipless pedal cleats. A expert identify to start is to ﬁnd the ball of your pes and place the cleat directly underneath.

Once you've plant this spot, adjust back and forth – minor changes can affect which muscles are utilised and how effectively you pedal.

Run across what works best for you. Lateral positioning is a personal preference: a narrower stance can amend efﬁciency, but be careful that your shoes don't striking the cranks during the pedal revolution.

The angle of the cleats should match the natural angle of your anxiety, which you can run into easily if you lot use ﬂat pedals.

Many of the latest clipless pedals have built-in ﬂoat, which helps your foot achieve a natural angle and is a practiced option if y'all're unsure what's right for you.

Experiment with the ﬁnal setup; once yous have this sorted, the pedal stroke will experience ﬂuid with no twisting of the ankles, knees or hips.

This can take a few rides, but is worth persevering with – when y'all striking that sweet spot, draw a line around the cleats for reference when they need replacing.

Women'southward-speciﬁc mountain bike fit and size

A recent development in the world of mount biking has been the introduction of women's cycle sizes and gender-specific geometry.

Because women typically have different dimensions to men for a given height, the proﬁle of some of the all-time women's bikes has been altered to requite a amend ﬁt. Some brands take designed their bikes specifically for women based on body geometry data and rider feedback.

A bike that fits will be a pleasure to ride.

Steve Behr

Look closely, however, and you'll see that some brands use exactly the aforementioned frames as the men's/unisex equivalent with just touches, such as the finishing kit, tailored for female riders.

Whatever one particular model won't conform all women and some riders will ﬁnd that a unisex bike is a better fit.

Most accept several things in common, such equally thinner grips, lighter sprung forks, women'southward saddles and narrower bars. But it isn't but the ladies who tin can beneﬁt, men tin also take advantage of this thinking and should check them out if they have small hands or narrow shoulders, for instance.

Kids'-speciﬁc mountain bike fit and size

Many of the same rules apply for the young 'uns, whatever their historic period, but there are also a few extra considerations to be aware of.

The best kids' bikes are usually sized by their wheel bore, from 12in up to 26in. As with an adult, acme tube clearance and reach are very of import.

Kids' bikes come in all shapes and sizes to accommodate all ages and abilities.

Black Mountain

However, dissimilar most adults, information technology's essential a child can reach the ﬂoor when seated for control and condom.

Never exist tempted to purchase a size up for 'growing room', information technology can be both uncomfortable and unsafe. Have a look at the controls: can they reach and operate them effectively?

It'south paramount that the brakes work well and can exist easily squeezed with weaker hands. Take a look at the shifters as well: are they struggling to push a thumb lever? If so, become for twist grip-type gears because many kids ﬁnd the ergonomics easier to handle.

Gears and cranks are also oftentimes overlooked, with a considerable number of bikes sporting adult-length cranks and full-sized chainrings. Look for a skilful range of smaller gears instead, which will ensure they don't struggle on the inclines.

In one case the bike's sorted, our beginner's guide to cycling with kids will go y'all on runway.

Problems caused by the wrong size mount bike

If you do end up on the wrong sized mountain cycle, whether that's too small or too big, y'all could finish upwards not enjoying yourself as much or, as a worst-case scenario, injuring yourself.

Aches and pains tin can be caused by aspects of bike setup, merely also by other things, then don't take this list every bit gospel; it'southward a rough guide.

See your doc if something is really hurting, specially if information technology continues to be painful after riding and it's not solved by the adjustments mentioned here.

Knee, hip and back pain can ruin rides.

Matt Grayson

Be aware that a lot of your aches and pains on a bike are just acquired by insufﬁcient muscle support. In other words, you may just need to ride more than and do some core musculus training to work things out.

Here are some common ailments and their causes:

Knees: Knee pain when riding tin be caused by your saddle being too high or too low, or your shoe cleats being poorly adjusted. Some riders ﬁnd that a pedal/cleat organisation with more free ﬂoat gets rid of knee pain.
Back: Back pain during/later on riding will often be related to poor core muscle support, so there may not exist a quick and easy setup ﬁx. Merely try changing the position of your handlebars and/or your accomplish from the saddle to the bars. Nosotros know a lot of riders who've solved lower-back pain just by putting the stem up or downward by half an inch, or getting a handlebar with more backsweep. Back pain can be indicative that your bicycle's frame is the incorrect size.
Shoulders/artillery/neck: We're putting these iii together considering it's often similar aspects of setup that cause aches and pains in these areas, namely likewise much stress beingness placed on these bits of your body. This may be caused by being sat besides far forward on the bike, but it can likewise be down to sitting besides far back, making you curl your shoulders and preventing you holding the bar properly. Experiment with stem acme and saddle-to-bar reach. Endeavor different bar shapes: a lot of riders ﬁnd that more backsweep or upsweep on a bar volition make them feel far more comfortable. Also endeavour anatomically shaped grips, which support your hands meliorate. If your shoulders, arms or cervix are pain, they could be telling you lot that your bike is either also big or also small-scale.
Hips: A lot of hip problems among cyclists are caused by the saddle being either as well loftier, too low, tipped likewise far back or forrard, or not offering the correct sort of padded support.

When your bike is the correct size:

Arms: Good bike position results in relaxed shoulders and slightly bent elbows.
Saddle: Correct saddle position is essential for balance, control and pedalling efﬁciency.
Knees: Having very slightly bent knees at the bottom of each pedal stroke is perfect.
Frame: Getting the correct frame size is essential, merely it'southward only a starting point for perfect bike setup.
Shifters and brake levers: Don't just get out them in one position. Experiment with setting them further in on the bars or tilting them.

Although everyone is different – some folks may have longer legs and a shorter torso, while others may have long arms and short legs – starting with the correct-sized frame allows you to further tune the position using stem, bar, seatpost and saddle tweaks.

How to get the perfect mount bicycle fit

Follow these tips on how to conform your bicycle so that it fits you better.

Mount bicycle saddle acme

Setting saddle height is crucial.

BikeRadar

When answering the question 'what size mountain bike do I need?' what really matters is how the bike feels when y'all sit on it and ride.

The ﬁrst affair you need to do, in the shop or on a demo ride, is set up the saddle at the right peak. If you can't get the saddle to a comfortable tiptop then the bicycle you're riding could exist the incorrect size.

A rough approximation of maximum seat meridian for efﬁcient pedalling is your trouser leg measurement plus 13cm (5in) from the centre height of the saddle to the centre superlative of the pedal.

To work information technology out more accurately, with condolement and efﬁciency in mind, sit down squarely on your saddle with the cranks in a straight-upwardly/straight-down position.

The saddle is at the right height when your heel just touches the top of the lower pedal with your leg direct; your creepo should be correct at the lesser of its stroke.

If you take to tilt to one side on the saddle to achieve this position, then the saddle is too loftier.

Identify your foot on the pedal in the gear up-to-pedal position. If your leg is direct with your heel on the pedal, it should be slightly bent at the human knee in a pedalling position. You should never feel as if you're beingness forced to rock your hips from side to side on the saddle while pedalling.

You may need to brand adjustments to this position according to conﬁdence and comfort preferences, and depending on what shoes you habiliment.

And keep in mind that this is all based on efﬁcient pedalling for cantankerous-state trail riding. You will want to set your saddle lower for difﬁcult descents – a task taken care of by dropper posts.

Mountain bike saddle position

Setting the saddle bending is an oftentimes overlooked role of setting up your mountain bicycle.

BikeRadar

Equally a rule, start with your saddle as level as possible on the acme. This is an efﬁcient cross-country position, just some riders will prefer a slightly tipped-back saddle for tricks, stunts and/or steep downhill work.

A few will adopt the nose of the saddle slightly tipped downwards for climbing or a more than forward-biased ride posture – or if your bicycle's seat tube angle is especially shallow. But expressionless ﬂat is right for virtually riders.

Saddle rails accept a lot of fore/aft slide adjustment, and not all seatposts are created equal.

Some have gear up-dorsum clamps, others have clamps in line with the acme of the post. This has a bearing on the position you lot're trying to achieve with your saddle.

Set the saddles too far dorsum and it'll make the bike feel back-heavy, maybe fifty-fifty too light at the front especially when you're climbing.

A saddle set too far forward can cramp your ride position and make y'all feel as though y'all're putting besides much body weight on the front of the cycle.

In theory, if a cycle has exactly the right reach for you, and the fork is ready properly, you'll probably end up with the saddle prepare expressionless centre on its rails. If you've got long arms for your height, yous may end up with the saddle set well back: short arms and yous'll be looking at inline seatposts and your saddle forrad.

You lot tin can use stalk length and handlebar position to ﬁne-tune the mode y'all sit over the bike likewise.

How far away should the handlebars be from the saddle?

If you lot have admission to different stem lengths and unlike-shaped handlebars, experiment with different ride positions, adjusting your saddle accordingly.

Arm, leg and torso length will vary between riders of the same summit, and trunk weight distribution can have a major begetting on setup.

A starting bespeak to piece of work out the right saddle to handlebar reach for XC or low-cal trail bikes is to put the tip of your elbow on the nose of the saddle and see how far your longest ﬁnger reaches forth the stem; forearm length is generally a good indicator of full arm and torso length.

Most riders looking for a fast and efﬁcient trail riding posture will notice that their longest ﬁnger reaches to near exactly halfway between the top of the steerer tube and the handlebar centre.

You lot tin ﬁne-tune ride experience from that point by adjusting your seat position, stalk length and height, and handlebar blazon.

Some handlebars have a more generous backsweep than others, and you can plow bars in the stem to tune your agree position/wrist bending. We know riders who like their bars straight and others who ﬁnd a 25-degree backsweep their platonic solution.

Continue that elbow tip to ﬁnger tip measurement in mind when working out whether a test bike is the right size for you.

It's also worth considering the blazon of riding yous're going to exist doing considering while this rule of thumb works for disciplines where you spend a lot of fourth dimension pedalling seated, it'south less appropriate for hardcore trail, all-mount, enduro or downhill.

Mountain bike handlebar peak

Placing spacers above or under the stem can totally alter how a cycle rides.

BikeRadar

How high you have your confined is a office of stack top, steerer tube length (and the number of adjustment spacers on it), stalk height and rise, and handlebar ascent.

Some riders feel relaxed with their bars at roughly saddle peak, others (peculiarly cantankerous-country racers) have them manner beneath saddle top to achieve a ﬂat-backed streamlined posture on the bike.

Control positions

Brake lever angle, and lever throw and reach are also crucial elements to become set up correctly.

BikeRadar

Brake levers and gear shifters tin can exist put in different positions on the bar. On most brakes, you can adjust lever reach as well, and on some you can conform the bespeak of contact where the brakes compress the pads.

Nosotros know riders who put upwards with their thumbs rubbing on their gear shifters for years before realising that setting them half an inch further inboard on the bars solves the problem without making them harder to use.

Bar width can be trimmed too: cut an inch off either cease of a handlebar might make a difference to your ride comfort.

As, you lot might benefit from ameliorate control with a wider bar. Swivelling bars a few degrees back or along in the stem can also brand a difference.

Don't be afraid to effort something different, simply attempt information technology for a few rides in order to ﬁnd the pros and cons of a new setup.

Components that affect comfort and command

Tyres: Tyre compounds, as well equally pressures, will impact the way a bike feels on the trail. Cleverly treaded dual-compound tyres with a high TPI (threads per inch) carcass structure will generally deform more over rough terrain, and so grip better, without any increase in rolling resistance.

Cheaply made tyres tend to grip less and are more than prone to losing traction when nether pressure level, especially in wet conditions.

Grips: Soft or mucilaginous chemical compound handlebar grips, or grips made from soft foam, might not be equally hardwearing as others merely they're far more than comfy, absorbing vibration and making yous feel more than at ease on the bike on rough terrain.

Observe out which grips top our list of favourites hither.

Renthal Traction UltraTacky grips are really sticky, gripping your hands. This ways you should exist able to relax your grip on the bars.

Andy Lloyd

Saddle: The correct sort of surface textile and the right sort of padding on a saddle is plainly going to make a huge difference to the way you feel about your bicycle.

As a rule, you should be able to movement hands on the surface of a saddle; fancy embroidered graphics aren't e'er conducive to this. And don't assume that more padding is always better.

Slimline saddles with minimal padding in just the right places are frequently more comfy than big bouncy affairs, which will often chafe later on a while.

SQlab claims that the raised rear helps to improve your grip on the saddle.

Georgina Hinton

Pedals: The efﬁciency of your pedal/shoe interface has an bear upon on how yous ride.

Stiff-soled shoes with inset cleats ﬁxed to clipless pedals volition make you a more efﬁcient 'total circles' pedaller. But read instructions carefully when information technology comes to cleat position because poorly positioned cleats can cause bug, especially with knees.

Most riders start with their cleats fix dead eye in the shoe recess, merely that doesn't feel right for everyone, and some cleats/pedals offering more than gratuitous ﬂoat motion than others.

Pedal preference is a personal thing, and so figure out what you're looking for and do your research before buying.

Andy McCandlish / Immediate Media

Tyre and suspension setup and pressures

Your tyres, suspension fork and rear shock effectively provide an adjustable cushion betwixt your bicycle and the footing.

Existence able to gear up your mount bike intermission properly underpins your overall control and comfort. The same applies to mountain bike tyre pressure.

Big-book tyres can be run at lower pressures than pocket-size-volume ones, and big-volume tyres with a depression knob proﬁle will often roll just every bit fast as, and offer more comfort and control than, skinny tyres.

Brand sure you bank check your pressures before every ride.

Steve Behr / Immediate Media

Tyre pressures need to be adapted to accommodate your riding way, the width of the tyres fitted to your bike, the width of the rims the tyre's seated on and the conditions or trail-blazon you're riding on. And of course, it depends if you're running tubeless tyres. In that location is no universal rule.

All the same, if yous feel that your bike is getting pinged effectually on the trail and you lot've verified your suspension is fix upwards correctly, then your tyres might exist too difficult.

Equally, if it feels as though your tyres are squirming or rolling on the rim in turns, so they could be besides soft.

Fork and shock settings will vary co-ordinate to brand and model, so consult manufacturer guidelines to find out how you should be dialling in your suspension.

Get an expert opinion from a bike fitter or reputable bicycle shop

Even if you feel overwhelmed after reading all of this information, fright not. Any reputable wheel shop will be able to help you with finding the correct size mountain wheel for your needs.

Some shops even offer a professional bike-fitting session to really help you nail down what size bike you need and how you tin can modify your electric current bike to fit y'all improve.

Don't be afraid to caput to your local bike shop to notice out more than.