BikeRadar Tech Talk Podcast Ep 3: Mountain bike geometry

Seb and Tom go head-to-head on the topic of mountain bike geometry

Despite the lower-than-ideal bar height, the SB165 was totally composed on really rough trails.

Ross Bell

Tom Marvin

Published: July 29, 2019 at 4:21 pm

In this episode, BikeRadar's technical editor Tom Marvin and technical writer Seb Stott cover the somewhat huge topic of mountain bike geometry. While Tom advocates for slightly 'smaller' bikes, Seb is definitely a fan of the super-long and slack.

Geometry is key to dictating how a bike rides: long, slack bikes tend to be calm, confident and fast, whereas shorter bikes might be a touch more agile and involving to ride.

There's no right or wrong, but that's not to say that Tom and Seb don't have opinions on the subject.

Cyclist riding silver full-suspension bike downhill in woods
Not surprisingly, the Pole is immensely stable in fast, uneven sections. - Russell Burton

After defining a few terms, the guys chat about their preferences, and how the different aspects of mountain bike geometry alter how a bike feels and rides on the trail.

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Any more for any more?

Our Tech Talk series covers a range of relatively geeky subjects, all to do with mountain bike tech. Let us know in the comments if there’s a subject you want to know more about, and what we should cover in our upcoming Road Tech Talk series too.

Tom Marvin

Senior technical editor

Tom Marvin is a technical editor at BikeRadar.com and MBUK magazine. He has a particular focus on mountain bikes, but spends plenty of time on gravel bikes, too. Tom has written for BikeRadar, MBUK and Cycling Plus, and was previously technical editor of What Mountain Bike magazine. He is also a regular presenter on BikeRadar’s YouTube channel and the BikeRadar podcast. With more than twenty years of mountain biking experience, and nearly a decade of testing mountain and gravel bikes, Tom has ridden and tested thousands of bikes and products, from super-light XC race bikes through to the most powerful brakes on the market. Outside of testing bikes, Tom competes in a wide range of mountain bike races, from multi-day enduros through to 24-hour races in the depths of the Scottish winter – pushing bikes, components and his legs to their limits. He’s also worked out that shaving your legs saves 8 watts, while testing aerodynamics in a wind tunnel. When not riding he can be found at the climbing wall, in his garden or cooking up culinary delights.
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