Saddle to bar drop road vs MTB?

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cyberknight

As long as I breathe, I attack.
I do not run with much drop anyway being on the smaller side of ass :smile:
My road bike has 3-4 cm of drop but my drop bar mtb feels more comfy with a longer no drop stem .

Has anyone an idea why ? , the mtb is more of a winter bike cruiser and some have called it a tourer set up .Tried a shorter stem with a little drop to match reach on the road bikes and i just cant get on with it .It does have bar end shifters if that makes any difference ?
drop bar mtb.jpg IMG_20170606_151701846.jpg
 

Venod

Eh up
Location
Yorkshire
It sounds as if your a bit cramped on the road bike, try a longer stem on the road bike and see how it feels, I suspect most people would find drops on a MTB a bit of a stretch, I know I would
 

CXRAndy

Guru
Location
Lincs
Mtb will feel comfier for longer rides because its bars are equal or slightly higher than seat. This transfer weight onto saddle more ans as long as you're comfy with the saddle every thing else is comfortable. My touring road bike has equal bar to saddle height.
3 points to get right physically are, saddle height(important for knee, ankle joints), Reach (you ideally need a slightly bent arm position on the hoods) without over stretching. Stack height( height of handlebars in relation to saddle).
 

Lozz360

Veteran
Location
Oxfordshire
It sounds as if your a bit cramped on the road bike, try a longer stem on the road bike and see how it feels, I suspect most people would find drops on a MTB a bit of a stretch, I know I would
The OP reads as though he has no problem with the road bike.
 
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cyberknight

cyberknight

As long as I breathe, I attack.
It sounds as if your a bit cramped on the road bike, try a longer stem on the road bike and see how it feels, I suspect most people would find drops on a MTB a bit of a stretch, I know I would
Its the other way around though , the road bike fit has been fine tuned as i used to have a longer stem and was too stretched , the mtb in that photo has a reach 2 cm longer but higher , tried an exact match and didnt like it just on the mtb,
Could it be down to handling characteristics , reach to shifters ?
 
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cyberknight

cyberknight

As long as I breathe, I attack.
When you say you don’t get on with it; in what way? Do you mean it is uncomfortable or the ride feels twitchy for example?
when i had the same set up as my road bike i got tingly fingers like there was too much weight on the hands, saddle height and set back are the same, reach was the same, drop was the same .
go figure :smile:
 

Lozz360

Veteran
Location
Oxfordshire
If the position is the same on both bikes then its probably not set up that’s the problem. Tingly fingers could be down to the road surface. You maybe riding on rougher surfaces on your MTB. It could be that the forks are stiffer on the MTB or tyre pressure too high?
 

T4tomo

Legendary Member
Maybe with the mtb set up same as road, although the reach saddle to bars was same, the reach from bottom bracket to bars was longer, due to the MTB having longer frame but shorter stem. I.e the mtb frame will put your lower body is a slightly different position and a slightly different hip angle/ pelvis rotation, thus you need the bars a tad higher to compensate.
 
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cyberknight

cyberknight

As long as I breathe, I attack.
If the position is the same on both bikes then its probably not set up that’s the problem. Tingly fingers could be down to the road surface. You maybe riding on rougher surfaces on your MTB. It could be that the forks are stiffer on the MTB or tyre pressure too high?
same roads as its for commuting with lower tyre pressure 70 rather than 95 on the road bike , the fork is a alloy fork rather than carbon on roadies.
 
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cyberknight

cyberknight

As long as I breathe, I attack.
Maybe with the mtb set up same as road, although the reach saddle to bars was same, the reach from bottom bracket to bars was longer, due to the MTB having longer frame but shorter stem. I.e the mtb frame will put your lower body is a slightly different position and a slightly different hip angle/ pelvis rotation, thus you need the bars a tad higher to compensate.
feels higher , tried the same set up and its no faster than before .

It all odd , like you say geometry and all that , i dont care as long as its comfy , just wondered why as all things being eual if the contact points have the same set up you would think its would be the same.
 
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