Touring with MTB - Bike Setup

t1mm

Hi there,

Plans are well underway for my tour this summer (about 2000km), and I've got most of the gear together already. I've pretty much just gotten into cycling again and I'm doing 30km ish spins regularly (and easily) these days. However I find that when I'm on a flat piece of road I tend to sit up straight on the saddle with 1 set of fingers touching the handlebars.

I'm just wondering if this is a kind of subconscious back discomfort or something caused by handlebar height, and a bit worried it might spell actual pain on much longer (and consecutive) spins. Should I go to a professional and see if the stem is correct, etc? If so, who would you recommend around Dublin?

Any pointers would be greatly appreciated

Thanks!

Plutonium Kun

I don't think there is one answer to this - when I've toured on mtb's, I've found that while the position is 'right' for me at the start, after I tire after a few hours in the saddle I find I rise up the same way you do and go into a more 'sit up and beg' position. Its partially that most mtb's are just a little too stretched for comfortable touring (thats not what they are designed for of course) but it may also partially be related to back weakness. I've found I can stay in the saddle more comfortably all day long since I started doing serious core exercises with pilates.

Another issue is that mtb straight bars are not idea for touring. The 'natural' position for your hands is at right angles to your body, not parallel as they are with mtb bars. I find bars with a slight bend back are much better for touring on an mtb.

t1mm

Hi Plutonium,

Thanks for your reply. I'm in agreement about back weakness - its been too long since I've done any substantial core exercise and that could definitely be a factor. Might be an idea to strengthen it up a bit before heading off! Maybe I'll start off by doing so, and if the issue still remains after a few weeks I'll look into different sets of bars.

Al Wright

I use a hybrid with flat handlebar for commute and as general working bike but occasionally used it on tour, trips of about 80 miles per day. I also have a 'sports' bike (dropped handlebars) that I nearly always use on long spins/tours. The main difference for me in terms of comfort, is that when using the flat handlebars on hybrid for long periods, I tend to suffer from pins & needles in wrists/hands. I dont have this problem when riding the sports bike, I think because there are alternative positions for holding the bars, on flats, drops or brake hoods. It might be worth considering fitting bar end pieces to flat bars of an mtb.

From the humourous angle, 'mtb ing' as shown in the attached clip doesn't involve any of the above;-
http://mediacenter.dw.de/german/lessons/item/903681

columbus_66

What about using bar-ends as they give you another position for your hands and a very powerful position for climbing out of the saddle.

t1mm

Thanks for the further replies Al_Wright, and columbus_66. I'll definitely be adding a set of bar ends to the bike. I haven't used a set in so long that I don't know how much of a help they'll be, but a lot of tourers seem to swear by them - can't be a bad sign! Cheers

Plutonium Kun

Ergon grips are much better than plain bar ends.

http://www.ergon-bike.com/us/en/home#

GypsyBiker

Before I set off on my world tour I used http://www.cyclefit.co.uk/ and they were excellent. You can read about them on their website and maybe email them to see if they know anyone in Ireland that does similar.

What type of saddle do you have? How are you going to carry your luggage and do you have suspension on your MTB?

Aidan