Tall rider - good cockpit/body position for downhill I have been riding mountain bikes since a long time, and I am riding only downhill/bikeparks since 2009. I've had several bikes, but I've never been in a real comfortable position when riding (or if I was, the bike was not good enough) : I feel that my upper body stands too much over the front wheel.

For reference, I'm 1.9m tall (6"2 approximately), but I have long legs, not a long torso, and a "normal" arm length.

I've owned several bikes:


Short ones (M size) : they were very playful and fun to ride, but uncomfortable because in attack position my head is way above the bars/over the front wheel
Long ones (L size) : my previous bike was a Kona Stab Deluxe, comfortable but too heavy, not easy to ride in tight singletracks. My current bike is a Scott Voltage FR 30 in L size, but seems a bit shorter than the Kona, so again I feel that my head is too much on the front of the bike.


My current setup:


785mm wide bars with 0.5 inches of rise
40mm stem with 0° of angle


Here's a picture with my bike so you get an idea :



I've spent a lot of money on buying bikes during the last 7 years, so buying a new frame is not an option for the moment, plus my bike is really fun to ride.

Question : would it help me to have a better downhill position if I install one or both of the following items:


Longer stem (50mm, 60mm..), or a stem with more angle (5°, 6°), or both
Bars with more rise (30mm, 40mm)


Update : I finally bought 40mm rise bars, which is much better : I'm less bent on my bike, and I can lift the front wheel more easily!
Are there other aspects that are causing you to position yourself wrongly on the bike?

I was taught that to get the best brake angle you should stand behind the seat, feet on the floor and reach for the bars. Extend your fingers forward to continue the line of your arm and the lever should be rotated to touch under your fingers.

I'm a short person so I'm not that qualified to say how a tall person should alter things but beware of over-reaching. As mentioned before, you'll get a more direct feeling from your steering with a short stem but a little less stability. I wouldn't go for a longer stem personally.

You may be able to raise your bars a little if you have spacers above your stem. Failing that, so you have a bike shop locally that would let you borrow an ex-demo or second hand bar? Could you try some bikes out in a shop to get a feel for reach? Some shops have turbo trainers that could at least give you and idea of how different frame sizes feel.