'Growing' a MTB for a newbie?!

[panpipe]

Hello all,

I want to get back into cycling, but don't want to spend too much initially until I work out whether I could actually be any good at it! I have the MTB I had while I was at school, and although I'm short I think I have grown a bit since then! I was wondering to what extent you can raise the handlebars and saddle before it becomes unsafe/difficult to handle? Or would it just be a better idea to find a cheap second hand bike to fit?

I want to move onto a road bike eventually as I have been challenged into doing a triathlon, but at this stage I just want to work on getting back my cycling confidence, fitness and technique on my current bike before going down that road.

 

[Landslide]

When raising the stem (handlebars) or seatpost, there should be a "Minimum Insertion" marked on them, e.g.:

or

Make sure that you don't raise the components any further than this.
If that doesn't give you enough extension, then it's probably new (second-hand) bike time.

 

[panpipe]

Thanks for that Landslide. I'll dig it out from the back of my parents' garage next time I go to visit and see what I can do.