Daniel Br Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 Hi there! This is my first thread on this forum so I hope I've chosen the right spot to post it. I'll have a lot to learn here I am sure, but the first thing I want to ask the experts is about the stem and handlebars of my onza blade '09. I've changed pedals and some other minor stuff, but the geometry is still the original. I didn't change fork, stem and handlebars. As I watch many many videos I notice almost everyone rides with riser bars and shorter stem nowadays. Should I change them? What would you guys recommend me doing on this bike? I am 1,76m ( 5' 77 ). Actually, from this I want to make you another question... By my height should I be riding a stock bike? I've always ridden MTB's (26" of course) but mods are cheaper and easier to get where I live (Brazil). Here is another picture. this one from me riding like 6 months ago. I am posting cause it may help to get your impressions on the geometry. I think maybe I would be more confident on a 26", is it possible or probable? Since now thank you so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isitafox Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 You look perfectly fine on a 20" to me, I'm 6'3" and occasionally play on a mod and I know of taller people who do. As for the bars and stem I wouldn't worry too much about them, probably just swap the bars for some risers as you may find them more comfortable but I wouldn't put a short stem on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD™ Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 Does your bike feel comfortable? If yes, it's fine as it is. Setup is as individual as you are, and the best thing you can do is take advice but then come to your own decisions. If I were to give a suggestion it would be to play with the angle of your bars - when I had flat bars I personally preferred them rolled back a bit more then you seem to have them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Br Posted June 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 Thank you for your answers... I was riding today after reading your messages and I realized the bike fits me good indeed. When I go out for a ride on my MTB then later I feel a little strange on my mod, but then again pretty soon I lose that strange feeling. Is a riser handlebar really that better? For MTB I prefer it for "downhill", not actual DH but extreme XC. What I feel strange on my bike is that sometimes it seems as if this stem holds me too far from the bike and therefore also further away from the obstacle. Is that an impression or a technical issue that should be solved with practice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isitafox Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 It's a tough one really, it could be the stem at fault but it's an expensive problem if you replace it for something shorter only to find it doesn't solve the problem. Like JD says if your comfortable with the bars as they are then don't worry about it, as for the stem how long is it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Br Posted June 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2011 Hi again, sorry it took me so long to answer was really busy here. So, I rode a Neon Bow this week with a 165x25 stem and a riser handlebar and I feel much closer to the object when on the rear wheel. I know the high BB is the main difference to make it feel lighter, but I noticed my Blade is really short to me with this front setting. When I am riding the Neon I get my back straight with arms a little bit bended. With the blade I have to crouch and really bend my arms. The stem is high, the handlebar is short, and both together make me be far from the bike. I kinda feel "out" of the bike backwards. MY stem now is a 165x40. I thought about putting a 165x25 with a 25mm ECHO handlebar... The bike should feel then a little bit "longer" and closer to me, shouldn't it? Am I out of reality or all this geometry ideas make some sense? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForrestDump Posted June 26, 2011 Report Share Posted June 26, 2011 I had the same bar and stem combo as you when I had my onza rip and I also decided I wanted to change them, remember that you'll have to get both a new stem and bars if you upgrade as the new parts have different clamp and bar diameters. Anyway, I decided to go with the V!Z 720 bars with a TryAll 3D forged stem, however I use this with 55mm of stem stackers as after a lot of tweaking I decided I preferred them higher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Br Posted June 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2011 I had the same bar and stem combo as you when I had my onza rip and I also decided I wanted to change them, remember that you'll have to get both a new stem and bars if you upgrade as the new parts have different clamp and bar diameters. Anyway, I decided to go with the V!Z 720 bars with a TryAll 3D forged stem, however I use this with 55mm of stem stackers as after a lot of tweaking I decided I preferred them higher. And did you feel a big difference after all? Was the change worthy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForrestDump Posted June 27, 2011 Report Share Posted June 27, 2011 And did you feel a big difference after all? Was the change worthy? Well the set up was a lot more comfortable than it had previously been and setting it up so the bars were higher also made moves on the rear wheel feel a lot easier and less 'forced'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Br Posted July 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 Wow, I did put a ECHO TR stem and a ECHO TR RISER BAR and what I huge difference it made... HUGE. The bike feels much more comfortable, stable, easier to control and the front is now much lighter. Thanks you all for the tips. I will attach a picture so people can see how the blade frame looks with this front set. Sorry for the bad quality pictures... Does anybody see any necessary changes here? Would a BIONIC B5R frame be much better than this one? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dann2707 Posted July 19, 2011 Report Share Posted July 19, 2011 Looks great now. And the difference is really noticeable when you upgrade isnt it? Next personally I would change them forks as they are really really heavy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mission Impossible Posted August 1, 2011 Report Share Posted August 1, 2011 bike looks really nice now.and i would change the forks next to something like echo urbans which would look great with what youve got now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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