ADJUSTABLE BIKE GEOMETRY AND WHAT IT MEANS ON THE TRAIL

Adjustable mountain bike geometry is nothing new when it comes to frame features. While it may not be an absolute necessity for all riders or brands, when it’s done well, being able to adjust the geometry of your bike can transform a good feeling bicycle to a great one. And for those who are in-tune with how their bikes feel in different regions and types of trails, having the ability to greatly change the bike’s attitude allows riders to eek out every bit of speed, confidence and performance possible. In this video we’re going to be talking about bike geometry for newer riders, or those who maybe haven’t experimented with what the changes in those fancy flip chips will do to your bike’s performance on the trail. If you’ve ever wanted to know how and why you’d want to adjust your bike’s geometry, we hope this video will help shed some light.

Our lovely model today will be the Specialized Turbo Levo Expert in size S4.  We felt it was a great option because of the wide range of adjustability it offers. While many bikes have an adjustable geometry chip, often called a flip chip, the Specialized Turbo Levo also come with a headset cup that will allow you to make even bigger adjustments to your eBike’s geometry by changing the head tube angle one full degree in either direction. Now, if you’re newer to riding that may not mean a ton and you’ve only heard that longer and slacker is better, but today we’re going to offer some insights as to why that may not be the right case for you.

For those looking for more of a break down on different dimensions, what certain parts of the bike are called and how all these angles and measurements work together, this other video may be worth a watch.

Many months ago, we made a video called Bike Geometry 101, where we compared two very different bikes in one brand’s line up. The Specialized Epic Evo and the Specialized Enduro. Both bikes are made by the same brand, have similar retail prices and level of components, but are designed for very different applications. Because of that, their geometry, and the geometry of their namesake predecessors from ten years ago, are drastically different and mean that on-trail performance is also very different. If you want to learn more about bike geometry, check this other video out here.