MTB stem length

[NotSoBigBen]

I have heard that running a shorter stem would make a bike handle 'better' in tricky stuff (tight single track, rocky downs).......

 

Assuming the frame size is not the reason you are messing with the stem length and only handling is an issue!!!

 

Now the questions, since stems aren't that cheap, how do you find the right one? I now have a 110mm on my S-works but will try a 90mm (luckily can get one on loan!) tonight. Just wondering does it really make so much difference and is it a case of swings and roundabouts, getting better handling in those conditions and then giving up some stability on the high speed flats?

 

If you raced both XC short track (shorter stem maybe better?) and marathon MTB races (longer perhaps more suited?) should you rather go with the shorter than the longer stem?

 

Anyone actually experimented with stem length?

[AndreZA]

I also got better performance when I cut my bars narrower. Some (hubbers) frown upon it but I like the short movements.

 

 

[NotSoBigBen]

Hey Parra - when I first started MTb'ig all them years ago it was quite common to see okes with pretty narrow bars. If I recall it was the guys who liked the more technical stuff. You'd see the brake levers nearly at the stem ......

 

You often see quite the opposite these days with some people running some pretty wide stuff and then with bar ends on nogal ......

[rad006]

cut ur handlebars that makes ur quicker not the stem

[NotSoBigBen]

rad006 - nice idea but if you don't like it you can't put the bits back  ....... or maybe that Dirt Rider oke who does the welding of wood could help ......

 

At least with the stem I can try it out first

[Johan Bornman]

You can argue this one both ways. A longer stem sweeps the bars through a bigger arc and yes, your arms have to travel further to sweep that arc but hey, a microsecond makes no difference in my view. The handling stays the same. I'm sure someone here will attempt the word "responsive" in this context.

 

Choose a stem for comfort, not handling.

 

In the early 90s it was very fashionable to show that you're a racer by having very short bars. Then only geeks had wide bars. Today, the very short bars have disappeared, although I must say they will come in handy when negotiating zig-zags in a place like Logwood. There, even bar-ends are a disadvantage.

 

Nowadays I choose my bar lengh so that I can fit enough stuff onto the bars - lights, speedo* and Polar, that is.

 

*Note that I still ride with a computer in spite of my Polar, the latter is just not reliable enough.

 

 

 

[NotSoBigBen]

Thanks JB - I have the option to try the 90mm so will just for fun tonight. Will comment here tomorrow if I actually felt any difference.

[Thug]

BB, now that you diverted my attention from a meaningless thread about some MTB race on Sunday, I'll give you my R0.02c worth regarding stem length.

 

Err.... 

 

Stem length is purely a function of getting the right position on the bike to make yourself comfortable. 

 

 

 

 

[AndreZA]

Stem length is purely a function of getting the right position on the bike to make yourself comfortable. 

 

so are saddle and many year's worth of topics on the hub has come and gone.

 

 

[Thug]

 

Stem length is purely a function of getting the right position on the bike to make yourself comfortable. 

 

 

 

 

so are saddle and many year's worth of topics on the hub has come and gone.

 

 

 

I did say it was only worth R0.02c 

 

 

[paulvs]

cutting of my carbon ritchey handlebar won't be allowed and neither will it make you go quicker

[NotSoBigBen]

Couldn't try it last night cause I had to fetch LittleBen from the hospital but have fitted it tonight and will try it tomorrow

[Sean Badenhorst]

I find that the biggest difference for handling comes in the type of bar. A riser bar gives you a better feeling of control than a flat bar. Well, that's what I experience anyway. And it seems as though a slightly shorter stem makes for a less twitchy front end than a longer stem. No science, just my opinion.

 

[Johan Bornman]

I find that the biggest difference for handling comes in the type of bar. A riser bar gives you a better feeling of control than a flat bar. Well' date=' that's what I experience anyway. And it seems as though a slightly shorter stem makes for a less twitchy front end than a longer stem. No science, just my opinion.
[/quote']

 

Sean, your experience may have come from two bikes with different setups where the ultimate height and reach were different, hence your perception that the rise makes a difference.

 

Just like a road bike fork (and of course MTB for that matter, but the suspension complicates it slightly), where the path taken to reach the point where the fork attaches to the front axle doesn't matter at all, the path taken to the point where the stem attaches to the bar doesn't matter either. In the case of your riser bar, the point that matters is where your hands end up. Again, the path to get there is irrelevant.

 

For instance, straight-blade and curved blade forks, provided that the trail and offset remains the same, offer exactly the same handling. Pinarello took this concept to the extreme with it's S-bend fork.

 

A fork and stem simply connects two points in space and the path to get there is irrelevant. Obviously if you start venturing into the ridiculous the structure won't be rigid anymore and that could provide it's own set of problems, but that's not the case, even with Pinarello's crazy chicane-fork.

 

 

 

 

Johan Bornman2008-04-03 00:12:00

[AndreZA]

 

A fork and stem simply connects two points in space and the path to get there is irrelevant. 

 

 

 

Dude, that's deep.

 

But 2 points can not occupy the same point in space at the same time.

 

But please lay off the dubie man.

[NotSoBigBen]

So for me .................. IT DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE !!!!!!!! Rode with the short stem tonight, definitely easier to 'man-hoover' the bike around in the tight technical sections and also a bit easier to take the 'better' lines on the tricky rocky downs.

 

No I don't know why but it's one of the few changes I have made to my bike that I could feel had a noticeable effect. Now this could be just a perception but it's fine for me, I'll keep it on!