Modern Mountain Bike Geometry & How It Works | The Explainer

New bikes these days can almost always be summed with with three words: long, low and slack. But what does that really mean? Mike Levy takes a deep dive on mountain bike geometry.

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[pinkbike]

Hey everyone, hope you enjoyed our little Grim Donut tease here! Don't worry, the next episode is currently being filmed. We've had a few speed bumps (like a global pandemic) but we're stoked to create something that can live up to the hype of the first episode.

[MikeinCC]

I'm 54 and settled on a 74 degree STA and a 67 HTA. Ride semi-flat much of the time and that geo suits me.

[rokoa]

Well you tease us Pinkbike 1:03 (Grim donut)

[povteer]

wow, learned something new! 😁.. ah, the grim donut!..🤙

[Kot]

Somewhere in 2030...
87° seattube angle, 59° headtube angle, 514mm reach, 32" wheels, 1x22 drivetrain...

[loud_v_noises]

Mike, I understand why you don’t include stem lengths when talking about reach but it should be mentioned when comparing “new” and “old” geometry often the older bikes had significantly longer stems. To maintain same position on a newer bike that has an ~20mm shorter stem you will need a frame that’s 20mm longer in reach. This could confuse a lot of buyers who want their position on the bike to be the same or slightly more aggressive than their previous bike and are solely basing sizing on the published reach measurements.

[youwatch]

The MTB world is an amazing place today. There are options for all types of riders. The only hangup is trying to understand what geometry fits your riding style and terrain and not just getting hung up on the newest catch words.

[alicangul]

>"Steep head angle..."
>Shows 66.8 degrees

[mrvwbug]

I kinda find it funny that some trail bikes are starting to resemble enduro bikes in being long and slack. I demoed two bikes this last week, a Specialized Enduro and a Stumpy 29er. The Enduro climbed great, was very comfortable in terms of riding position, and so stable and capable on the descent that few people could ever find its limits. However, I took the Enduro on the worst possible trail for it, a tight, technical, rock garden, the length of the Enduro actually made riding that rock garden miserable, the bike is so long your back tire catches stuff you steer around, and it only climbs great ... if the climb is straight, it is not nimble at all. The Enduro makes a terrible trail bike unless your trails are PNW double blacks that are nearly vertical. By comparison the Stumpy 29 was an absolute joy to ride, incredibly nimble, so nimble it almost felt like a 27.5, but was also incredibly confident hitting the rough stuff due to the 29er wheels, and fast as hell. But the Stumpy made my hands hurt because of the short reach, I find the longer reach more comfortable, and even then it is a fine line, the Stumpy was 425 reach, my own Giant Trance is 435 reach and that is enough to get my hands in a more natural position on the descent.

[randomdudeontheinternet]

As geometry gets longer the wait for the Grim Donut review get longer too. We will probably get the review, when the geometry is state of the art

[MTBScotland]

I'm stuck in 2015 with a medium patrol mk1. Equivalent today is a small. great news for us shorties. We get the reach but smaller stack making the bike easier to move about.

[czechnolike]

Great review - I don't see the point in getting longer and slacker, because there are tradeoffs. I hope companies create a whole range of options, maybe even more flip chips to really dial in the perfect geo for your area. I see plenty of slacked out bikes struggle to get back up narrow, techy, switchbacks.

[jny]

“Costco parking lot on Christmas Eve” nothing but trouble 😂. So true

[aljowen]

6:22 No, funnily enough we haven't... xD

[adrian_veidt]

I can't get enough of Mike's smug smile 😂

[ukaszmigda]

I ride 2015 dh bike with 430mm reach. Im 197cm height and I love this geo and probably i will never change for bikes that long, only if i cant buy sth like my bike

[stefantud]

nothing beats that 57 degree head angle

[pancakesafterdark]

Appreciate this video. New to mountain biking (getting either a YT Capra or a Polygon N9 and would love to hear peoples input on which is better for a beginner) ...but I really do appreciate the info on geometry

[srichmon]

Love this. About to watch every one of these.

[trailattraction]

Nice explanatory video! Already knew most of it but cool video nonetheless 👌👍