I flip my bikes every year... my last four bikes have been relatively similar with small changes in the amount of suspension travel and reach has been getting longer with every bike. As I changed bikes, my seat tube angle has been getting steeper along with the HTA getting slacker. Where I live I have crazy access to so many different riding zones.. my main local is a lot of steep technical climbs to a lot of steep technical descents... and it's my favorite style of riding. But in-between those, I ride some more chill terrain (low angle, buffed climb trails and fire roads) and then everything in-between.
For me, I've found zero downsides to steeper seat tube angles and I love the change every time it gets steeper. Obviously there's a point where it will be too much... my current bike is at 77 degrees, and I have my saddle quite far forward... I'd like to try 78 and see what that feels like. My current ride is a 140mm bike so the sag is a little less than a 160+ bike. For really tech climbing situations I bump my seat post down an inch... but I've always done this.. 75 or 77, it's just better and I think everyone does this, no?
I think this is also an argument for adjustable geo. My bike has it and I can alter my seat tube angle by 0.75 of degree if I wanted to. But I love it for everything, so I don't bother. Think that gets tougher on a hardtail though...
I also think maybe some people don't take the time to really get their bike fit just right. After I get a new bike... I'll be altering stem length and height, bar roll, seat angle, seat position and cleat position, sometimes a couple months into owning a bike until I've got everything feeling just perfect.
Anyway, long story short... I'm a fan of the steep STA whether it's flat and rolling or uber steep and tech.
Oct. 7, 2022, 9:21 a.m. - IslandLife
I flip my bikes every year... my last four bikes have been relatively similar with small changes in the amount of suspension travel and reach has been getting longer with every bike. As I changed bikes, my seat tube angle has been getting steeper along with the HTA getting slacker. Where I live I have crazy access to so many different riding zones.. my main local is a lot of steep technical climbs to a lot of steep technical descents... and it's my favorite style of riding. But in-between those, I ride some more chill terrain (low angle, buffed climb trails and fire roads) and then everything in-between. For me, I've found zero downsides to steeper seat tube angles and I love the change every time it gets steeper. Obviously there's a point where it will be too much... my current bike is at 77 degrees, and I have my saddle quite far forward... I'd like to try 78 and see what that feels like. My current ride is a 140mm bike so the sag is a little less than a 160+ bike. For really tech climbing situations I bump my seat post down an inch... but I've always done this.. 75 or 77, it's just better and I think everyone does this, no? I think this is also an argument for adjustable geo. My bike has it and I can alter my seat tube angle by 0.75 of degree if I wanted to. But I love it for everything, so I don't bother. Think that gets tougher on a hardtail though... I also think maybe some people don't take the time to really get their bike fit just right. After I get a new bike... I'll be altering stem length and height, bar roll, seat angle, seat position and cleat position, sometimes a couple months into owning a bike until I've got everything feeling just perfect. Anyway, long story short... I'm a fan of the steep STA whether it's flat and rolling or uber steep and tech.