Steep Seat Tube Angles & Their Effect on Riders w/ Coach, Joel Harwood

The NSMB podcast: Obsessed with Mountain Biking

For every rider frothing about their new bike with a steeper seat tube angle, there are plenty who feel things are going too far. Claims of poor power and efficiency accompany complaints of sore hands, knees and backside but what if the seat angle alone isn’t the cause?

With many happy to see steeper seat tube angles on modern mountain bikes, the complaints from those unimpressed by the changes got A.J. Barlas thinking; Is the steeper seat tube angle going too far for the majority, and how does it affect our biomechanics on the bike?

After a year of on and off research on the topic, A.J. reached out to a performance coach with education in exercise physiology. Joel Harwood is the founder of Blueprint Athlete Development and works with a range of World Cup and EWS calibre athletes. Joel simplified the science while also raising points that all riders, whether comfortable with steep seat angles or not, could consider when on their bike.