Yes! We have had a great summer, just a few of weeks of brutal temps instead of months of 100+ this year. We even got some rain in July and August. It’s been a loooong time since that happened. Matter of fact, it rained a little bit today and it’s a cool 74° right now. 
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For seat, I like my WTB volt wide and my handlebar are Deity blacklable 38mm, I first got the 25mm but my T-Rex arm like the 38mm. I also got the Deity supercush grip and the megcush on the dirt jumper.
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Thanks for the info; the seat sounds especially promising. I like wide seats on bikes. How long did it take you to find the combination of mods that best fit you?
9/2/24, Monday
Bike ride - 35:08
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For the seat, I use a piece of cardboard and sit on it then measure from the center of each seat bone and from there you can choose.
For the handlebar, well I am a T-rex with pink flamingo legs. So my bike as a fairly long reach for leg room but I use a high handlebar to compensate the arms. I did go from the stock 15mm rise, to a 25mm and that was not good enough so I went to the next size up of 38mm and now I am happy. That was over a solid 6 months of trying out stuff.
For the grips, that was easy, as I ride horses with very large reins. So I went straight to think smoochy grips.
Is that a Stumpjumper?
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That’s a great idea. My butt bones were literally painful to sit on for the first part of yesterday’s ride. As a bike saleam told me the points of contact are usually the first parts to be upgraded. I bought wider grips with rubber flares when I picked up my bike and am starting with wide, regular pedals. I might eventually upgrade to clipless or at least cages/toe clips.
It’s interesting you have short arms but like raised handlebars, because I have extra-long arms but also want a raised seating position. In my case, I’m uncomfortable leaning forward for so long. Perhaps gym exercise bikes retrained my body to prefer an upright sitting position 
Regardless, it’s very encouraging to hear I can greatly adjust my handlebar height and backwards reach.
Yep! It’s a Stumpjumper. I’m really happy with the suspension, even though I haven’t ridden off-road yet. Remind me - what types of bikes do you have?
I ride a Fuel Ex, medium size.
I rise the bar to compensate for short arms and torso. It make the reach a bit shorter, I also roll the bar back a bit too.
I find it much easier going down steep stuff. It makes the bike a bit light on the front going up. You can change the stem too for a riser, that will make the front higher but not affect the reach as much.
I ride on flats but I like to be able to jump off/ditch/bail the bike. We have option of nice groomed jump trails or rocky tech stuff. They are some more CX type trails but they need more travel to get there. Either way, life is more fun out in nature.
I wear knee and elbow pads with a body armor on most ride too. And shopping for a full face helmet. But I like to get air.
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9/7/24, Saturday
Bike ride - 50:24
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Yay!!!
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9/8/24, Sunday
Swimming
- 27:36, 1,000 m / 0.62 mi, 1:1 breaststroke : freestyle
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9/11/24, Wednesday
Seated cable rows, medium neutral grip
- 100 x 10
- 120 x 5
- 140 x 3
- 160 x 3 x 8
- 120 x 12
Low incline DB press
- 35 x 15
- 55 x 5
- 65 x 3
- 75 x 4 x 8
Lat pulldowns behind the neck
- 100 x 11, 12, 13, supersetted w/
Standing DB shoulder press
- 45 x 10, 10
Shoulder was pinching, so cut short
Rower → push-ups
- 500 m → bw x 21
- 500 m → bw x 21
- 1,000 m → bw x 21
Lateral raises - 15 x 15, 15, 15
BB curls - 50 x 13, 13, 13
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9/14/24, Saturday
Swimming
- 31:06, 1,100 m / 0.68 mi, 1:1 freestyle: breaststroke
At some point, I’ll increase the ratio of freestyle to breaststroke. I’m really comfortable with the current arrangement though, and I’m adding around 100 meters each session, so I’ll probably keep it as is until I’m swimming a continuous mile, then I’ll change the ratio and work to swim the mile faster.
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9/15/24, Sunday
Bike ride - 59:59
This was the longest, most enjoyable bike ride yet, so I deduce I’m getting into better biking shape. It’s finally supposed to cool down, so soon I hope to start legitimately mountain biking.
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I test road a Fuel and really liked it, but the Stumpjumper had an X factor that the Fuel didn’t for me, for whatever reason.
I’m learning I like my torso as upright as possible when just cruising, so I’m going to try some of the mods you’ve done. Thanks for taking the time to reply thoroughly.
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