Questions, comments and criticisms

Promising sign: 5-year-old with a wide grip

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Lee,
My son is 5 years old and riding much better than I ever did. However, I worry about his hand position on the bars when he rides. I grew up thinking you should grip the handlebars “in close” on the grips. He grabs them at the end of the bars so there is about an inch between his thumb/index finger and the grip “flange.” Is this “OK” or should I be encouraging him to grab in closer. Does all this make sense? As always, thanks for the time.
Justin

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Sizing for pump track bike

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Thought I would drop you question. I race a large frame Cdale rush for XC, and I have pump track in the back yard. I have a spare Large frame set to pump but I feel it is a bit too long I would like to drop in frame size for my pump bike. I am 6 foot tall. I am all about fullys I can pump the [heck] out of my full. Would you go with a medium or small.
Jeremy

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Pros and cons of a shorter stem

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Lee,

I’m reading your section on doing wheelies – very helpful. I saw the note about going to shorter stem to aid in doing wheelies.
I have a 100mm stem. Is there a downside to going to shorter stem?

thanks,

Rick

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Enduro SL chain guide and related issues

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Hi Lee:

I saw your thread about an Enduro SL with a prototype chain guide. I am considering buying this or the pitch but I have heard chatter about the ISCG mounts being useless and needing an adapter bracket. Is there validity to this? I am trying to stay more on the all mountain side of a big travel bike and stepping to the SX trail is asking for way too much bike. Just need a little direction in my quest for a xc capable AM bike. Thanks in advance!

Nate

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Real commitment: Cutting your steerer tube

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Hey lee,
Simple question for ya. I am swapping out my 130mm fork (fox TALAS 32) for a 165mm fork (Marz 55 ATA). My question is, would it be better to cut my new steerer tube to the same as my old fork or cut it down to where i dont use any spacers? what would be the advantages/disadvantages of doing that?
Thanks for the great book and great website
Chris

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Help: My front wheel is washing out

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Hey Lee,

I think everything about cornering you have taught me just clicked. however i am still having minor troubles with the front wheel slidding a little bit. Any advice?

Zach

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Demo 8 sizing?

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Hey Lee
I am currently riding an 07 Demo 8 size Medium Frame. I am 6′ 1″ and the bike feels cramped. I have a 50mm stem on the bike. Would putting a 65mm stem on the bike effect the bikes handling and stearing? Or would it be wiser to buy a size large frame for the Demo 8? Or even a size large Demo 7 which has the same wheel base as the Demo 8 but has a 1 degree steeper head angle as the medium Demo 8?

How tall are you and what size Demo do you ride? Do you know the size of the bikes the guys on Team America ride and their heights?

Thanks for your help.
Ted

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Controlling speed on long downhills

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Hi Lee,

Great book I enjoy it very much. It’s the best investment since I bought my first MTB, well that and attending your clinic.

I do have a question about braking. On your book you said to keep the legal speed of 15 mph. I try to do it on a smooth grade or rolling singletrack. How about on a long 4-5 miles fire road what should I be doing? If I don’t brake I can quickly gather speed but if I try to slow down I’m just dragging my brake. Is there a secret formula to roll smoothly and still maintain relatively legal speed?

Thanks again for writing the book. You have no idea how much it helped me. I hope you are in SoCal soon. I want to do a Jedi Knight clinic.

Best Regards,
Albert

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Can Sand Hill Ranch be saved?

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Hey Lee

I have just recently heard that the good folks at sandhill ranch might be considering shutting down the bike section because of unknown reasons. I personally consider this a horrible thing to happen. If I had the opportunity to help them keep the area open or help maintain the park, I would.

Can you PLEASE help me rally the braaapers and help please keep this wonderful area open.. What forums can I write to? Who can I motivate to help? Can IMBA help us? If you have any suggestions can you please send it our way? I’m deeply worried. If it was a matter of money I would pay double what they charge. If its a matter of up keep, I would volunteer. thoughts? Your expertise and knowledge is valued and respected. Please help me keep this heaven open.

Daniel

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Shorter shock on SX Trail?

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Hey Lee.

I have an older 05 sx trail frame I am looking to build up for light freeride use. It uses a 5th element 8.75×2.5 shock. The headangle is too steep though even with the very long 66 forks it originally came with. I am wanting to run an 06 for 36 talas on it so it becomes more of a problem. The other issue is that I’m not a huge fan of the stock shock and I have access to a dhx5 in 8.5×2.5 size. Is this my silver bullet? How much difference will the shorter length make to the h/a?

Cheers, Jonny

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Cornering: Which foot forward?

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Hi Lee,

Your website in an invaluable source of info, and thanks to your tips I’ve become a better rider. Lately I’ve been practicing aggressive cornering a lot; as you say pointing your hips in the direction of the turn is key.

I’ve noticed that I can more effectively point my hips in the right direction if I keep the turning side foot behind, ie keep the right foot behind when turning right, and the left foot when turning left. Yet since I’m right handed and my dominant foot is the left, it comes natural to keep the right foot behind even when turning left, which results in less effective hips turning.

Lately I’ve made an effort to “switch stances” when cornering to the left. Am I doing the right thing or should I just keep the same stance all the time? In your pictures I noticed that you keep the dominant/left foot in front when cornering in either direction. Thanks

regards, Vito

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Frame size for tall pump/urban/trail rider

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Great site Lee.

My buddies and I are getting more into pump tracks. Most recently we just laid the groundwork on my friends backyard pump track. Its already starting to take shape nicely.

I have a question about bikes. I’m 6′ 2 and I’m trying to figure out what kind of frame to build up. I love Yeti’s so the long Yeti DJ comes to mind. I have also been looking at the Santa Cruz Chameleon. I guess I’m looking for a bike that I can ride the pump track on, but also do some urban and light trail on. Being tall its hard to decide what size is right. Is there a good rule to follow for pump/urban bikes. Like maybe one size down from what normal sizing would be?

Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Ian

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