Making a bike more comfortable

[biasoccerboy]

When my dad was a young (er) person he purchased a specialized stumpjumper. This was sometime in the 90’s. It’s one of the first mountain bike geometrys made and is very uncomfortable. My dad isn’t so young any more, but we wanted to go riding together. He can’t really ride the bike the way it is and we’re wondering how we should adjust all the heights and stuff like that so it’s more comfortable (he already got a shorter stem, but that didn’t help very much). If anybody has suggestions that would be great. Maybe methods for sizing a bike would help too.

Thanks

[GoldenGoose]

If it’s made in the 90s it’s hardly one of the first geometrys for mountain biking. It probably just feels that way to you! 😆 Mountain specific bikes have been around since at least the 70s. 😛 😛

Lots of early 90s bikes had a much more aggressive, weight forward design that puts the bars semi low and puts a lot of pressure on the shoulders and back if you aren’t in biking shape. You might also try riser bars with your shorter stem to see if that makes him a little more comfortable. It’d also help to know what hurts and feels uncomfortable to him. If the bike properly fit him 20 years ago it’s probably not too far off from a correct fit now unless he shrank. It’s probably more an issue of flexibility.

[Greg Heil ✓ supporter]

GG is right on. I was going to say riser bars too, and make sure the saddle is at the proper height, which may be higher than you think it should be (there’s a guide around the forum here somewhere). Also, like GG touched on, if you’re not used to riding a bike it can feel wrong simply because you’re not used to being in that position. For instance, if the saddle is hurting your butt, you need a padded chamois, but if you don’t ride often you’re probably still going to hurt.

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