- Your e-mountain bike can take you
to some pretty amazing places.
It can often mean spending a lot of time in the saddle,
so it's really important to make the whole bike
feel as comfortable as possible.
So today's video, we're taking a look
at the ways you can make your e-bike
feel more comfortable when you hit the trails.
(laid back bass music) (digital beeping)
Now it all begins with making sure
you're on the actual right size of bike
to actually fit you as well.
And a really good way of doing this
is by going to the manufacturer's website,
they often add a size guide to it.
Just make sure you're actually on the right size
of bike to begin with.
Now size and fit are actually different things,
and fit is something you can actually adjust on your e-bike
and Steve's done a really good video about this already,
so make sure you check that one out.
Now we're going to start with our first point of contact,
and that obviously is your tires,
and tires can make a big difference
on the way that your e-bike is going to feel out on the trails.
Too hard a tire means that the tire isn't going to perform
as to the manufacturer's specifications.
It means that it's going to deflect
off every little bump on the trail,
it's not going to give you a lot of feedback
from the trail either.
It's really just going to be skitting around
all over the place.
It might roll a little faster, but it definitely
isn't going to be as the manufacturer designed it.
And vice versa, if the tire is too low a pressure
you're going to have a lot of washing going from that tire,
it's going to feel really unpredictable.
And it's also going to drag a lot as well,
and that means draining your battery
and a slower rolling tire.
Now tire pressure is definitely a really hot debate,
and one pressure that might work for one person
in a different location, is going to be different
to how you're going to ride your trail.
So just mess around with that tire pressure.
Rough ball park figure?
It's going to be 25 to 30 psi for general trail use.
You can drop it a little bit if you're a lighter rider.
And obviously it depends on how hard
you're going to hit those turns,
and the type of trails you're going to be riding.
If you're going to be riding rocky, high-speed terrain
then you might need to raise that tire pressure up a little,
and vice versa if you're riding smooth cross-country
or fire roads you can get away with a higher pressure tire,
which is obviously going to roll faster,
and you're not going to need as much grip
or predictability as a softer tire.
Another contact point on your e-bike is going to be the pedals.
Now you might want to swap these out from the original,
factory fitted ones 'cause they're usually going to be plastic,
they're not that comfortable, and they're not that durable,
especially if you're doing proper mountain biking.
Now I suggest swapping them out for an alloy platform pedal,
like the Crankbrothers Stamp that we use here on EMBN.
These are available in, actually, small and large.
So if you're a big-footed rider
you've got these large pedals,
which are going to give you a lot more support
out on the trail.
Your foot's going to sit on there a lot better
versus a small pedal, and vice versa,
if you've got small feet you can get the small pedals
that're going to fit your feet a lot better,
give you a lot more support.
Obviously if you're a clip pedal user
you might want to think about getting a pedal
with a bit more of a cage around it,
it's going to give your foot a lot more support.
And the cleats that you're using,
if you are experiencing any discomfort,
you might want to look for a brand that's going to offer
a little bit more float in that cleat.
So a lot of customization you can actually do,
and get comfortable on this pedals.
You're going to be spending a lot of time
in the saddle on your e-bike.
Now obviously these come in a wide range of sizes,
lengths, widths, compound, male or female,
loads of different options on there, with different cutouts.
So make sure you're getting the right saddle
is really important.
Now, a lot of people suffer from saddle soreness
when it comes to riding an e-bike,
because you're in the saddle a lot of the time.
Now there is e-bike specific ones as well,
with a big curve on the back, different compounds,
and some of those rails might actually move around
to give you a bit more float in the saddle,
so they're worth looking at.
But a thing that I recommend that you do
is get along to a specialist saddle dealer,
or your local bike shop.
They can actually measure your sit bones,
where you sit on the saddle,
to make sure you're buying the right saddle
to suit your pelvis and your hips and things like that,
to make sure you're getting the most comfortable use
out of that saddle.
When it comes to the saddle,
there's a couple of adjustments you can make
which might make your e-bike feel
a little bit more comfortable.
And now, obviously one is sliding the saddle forward
in the rails or backwards.
That way you can increase or decrease the reach
of that top tube, especially when seated.
So if you're feeling a little bit bunched up
you can slide it backwards,
make that weight go to the rear of the bike,
or you can slide it forwards and get your weight
more towards the front of the bike when you're seated.
So that's a really good one.
And obviously the tilt of the saddle
you can adjust on these two bolts here.
If you're feeling a bit of pressure
from the front of the saddle,
then I suggest you rock it down,
so you let the nose of the saddle drop.
Or if you're feeling a bit of pressure
from the rear of the saddle,
you can drop that as well, so tilt the back of it down.
It's just you want to feel really neutral,
and making sure your sit bones are nicely on that saddle,
and you're not feeling any discomfort at all.
Now seat height is something that's definitely critical
when you're out and about on the trails.
If you've got your seat too high
it means that your pelvis and your hips
are going to flex down on every downwards pedal stroke.
If it's too low you're not going to be getting
that maximum power out of your legs,
so just make sure when that saddle's raised
at it's full height, you've got a little tiny bend
in your leg at the bottom of the pedal stroke.
Too high or too low you're going to be paying the price.
Now moving towards the front of the bike
there's a bunch of adjustments we can do here.
First up I want to start with the grips.
Now OE grips, or the standard grips
that come on your e-bike,
might be a little bit more harsh,
and made from cheaper rubber.
So I suggest a grip upgrade
is one of the best ones you can do.
Now obviously they come in a wide range of compounds,
soft rubber, hard rubber.
You need to suit one that's going to suit
your style of riding and how much you ride your bike.
Obviously a soft compound grip is really good
at absorbing shock from the trail,
but it's going to wear out fast,
versus hard compound, obviously going to last a lot longer
but will be a little bit more harsher ride.
Loads of different widths and things like that as well.
Just make sure your grip is wide enough
so when you stick your hand around it
you've got a good grasp of it.
Too thin a grip is actually going to make your hand
a lot more bunched up.
You want to get a good handful of grip in there.
Make sure you're getting a lot of support from it.
Now handlebars is something that a lot of riders upgrade.
Now there's a lot of different choices in these,
and one is obviously the height of the handlebar itself
can make a big difference,
or the rise if you want to call it that.
Big difference in the way that the bike's going to ride.
A big higher-rise handlebar is going to sit you up
a bit more on the bike,
it's going to give you a bit more of a higher riding position,
a bit more comfortable versus obviously a flat handlebar
which is going to drop your weight more forward,
a lot more front biased.
It's not as comfortable as a riser bar,
but just messing around with different height bars
can make a big difference to the way that your bike feels.
Now bar width is definitely a hot topic.
Now, stock e-bikes come with 800 mm wide
handlebars standard.
Normally trim them down a little bit to 780,
for me and Steve, and if you're a smaller rider
you might want to think about even going to 760.
If you're running too wide a handlebar
it actually moves your weight forward,
as your hands go out it moves your weight
forward to the stem.
So getting that bar width is really critical
with getting the most comfortable feeling
out of your e-bike.
Obviously as is rolling the bars forward or backwards.
You can rotate these in the faceplate of the stem
by just undoing these bolts here.
There is a definite sweet spot as well.
Just when you're cutting those handlebars down on width
just make sure you don't go too crazy,
because if you cut too much off
you obviously can't replace it.
Now at the front of your bike, under or on top of the stem,
you're going to find a few different spacers.
Now these you can swap around to on top of the stem,
meaning you can drop the stem right down
to the top of the headset, therefore lowering the front end,
and getting your weight more over the front of the bike,
or you can add all those spacers underneath the stem,
and effectively raise the stem up, quite a lot actually,
by sort of 40, 50mm height on that handlebar.
Therefore it's going to increase your comfort on the bike.
It's going to move your weight
slightly more to the rear of the bike.
So just mess around with those.
As you can see on my one I've kind of got one above
and a couple beneath the stem,
so I can swap that around.
I haven't actually dialed in this,
I might actually go sticking one underneath
to get a bit more height on that handlebar,
making my e-bike feel a bit more comfortable.
Now the stem on your e-mountain bike
can obviously make a big way that the bike's going to feel
when you hit the trails.
Now, a short, little stem is ideal
for doing those technical, downhill-style kind of riding,
whereas longer stem is actually going to make you feel
a bit more stretched out on the bike,
and it's going to make those climbs a lot easier as well.
I mean, in that your weights going to be more biased
on the front wheel, therefore you're not going to be doing
power wheelies up every single little climb.
You might also feel a little bit of back pain
as well when you're riding,
so maybe you want to shorten that stem
and bring your cockpit backwards,
raise it a little bit.
As I mentioned, you can get different rise stems,
so that can alter the height of the handlebar.
You can get flat rise stem or a high rise stem.
It's going to alter the way
that that bike's going to feel massively.
So stem length, stem rise,
is a vitally important one to try and customize
to get that ideal comfort level on your e-bike.
Now one of the things you definitely want to get dialed in
for comfort on your e-mountain bike is the suspension.
If it's too stiff, or too much air in the system,
it's going to feel horrible.
Every single lump and bump is going to be amplified
through the bike.
Also you're going to feel a lot more fatigued out
on those technical trails.
The suspension is there to save you
from all those lumps and bumps,
so if it's set up wrong it's going to feel horrible.
And obviously vice versa, if it's too soft
you're going to get pitched towards the front of the bike
if your fork is too soft, or towards the rear of the bike.
So making sure there's a balanced feeling
in that suspension is vital.
And whilst you're in there setting the suspension up,
needless to say, make sure that shock is always
in the open position.
A lot of the rear shocks are going to have lockout
on them as well.
So obviously lockout means the suspension is exactly that,
the whole shock is going to be locked out
and is not going to work.
So just make sure you're running it in the open position.
That way the shock's going to be fully open,
and fully able to absorb all those big hits.
So there you go, I really hope you've enjoyed
today's video on all those little tips and tricks
to make your next e-bike ride
even more comfortable than usual.
Really hope it works out for you.
But don't forget, if you've enjoyed today's video
be sure to check out 100k the fun way,
that one's just down here,
and check out how to buy the right size bike for you,
that one's down here.
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Drop us some comments in the box below
about how you set up your e-bike up to be more comfortable.
And we'll see ya in the next vid.