Reply To: Try and talk me into staying with mountain biking

[Bruin]

Addendum:

Also, maybe you need your LBS to check out your handlebar STEM length. Is it too short, too long? Is it pushing you and your body weight too forward, thus increasing the changes for you to endo your bike?

If your suspension fork’s spring is too weak, your body and weight will be thrown forward more quickly and significantly when the fork rapidly compresses when you hit a rut, ride off of a drop/ledge, etc., thus increasing the danger on the trail for you. With your size and weight, I recall my old F-700’s stock HeadShox spring not being able to handle my 175 lbs. when under similar trail conditions.

One poster also mentioned saddle height, which is also very important. There are tons of YouTube videos and online literature (i.e., Specialized’s website) that can offer you some guidance in this respect. And, dropper posts can be very helpful, as the above poster suggested. When descending, dropping the height of your saddle can significantly enhance your control over your bike and pushes your body weight more rearward, which is suggested when descending.

Again, good luck!