Stem 101

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

I just fitted a 30mm mtb stem to my road bike. So they do come pretty short. In my research I didn't see a shorter one. The shortest I saw here was 60mm, anything shorter, you have to look overseas. I can't speak for if it helps lift the front or not.

As soon as you go shorter you have to either stack it on top of the steerer, like mondraker's system (which goes down to 0mm) or put a dent in the bar so that it moulds to the protruding steerer (if you don't want extra stack height that the mondraker system gives) and that is sold by another company, and goes down to I think 20mm

[AlanD]

I have a 90mm stem currently but want to try one slighlt shorter, say 80mm. Will this small change make a difference?

 

I feel maybe a shorter stem will give me more bend in my arms making them a little looser

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

I have a 90mm stem currently but want to try one slighlt shorter, say 80mm. Will this small change make a difference?

 

I feel maybe a shorter stem will give me more bend in my arms making them a little looser

Try going down to 70 or 60 rather than just down 10mm. You may be pleasantly surprised

[Raydek]

I have a 90mm stem currently but want to try one slighlt shorter, say 80mm. Will this small change make a difference?

 

I feel maybe a shorter stem will give me more bend in my arms making them a little looser

 

I went from a 100 to a 60 and have never looked back, changed the handling drastically, for the better.

[AlanD]

Try going down to 70 or 60 rather than just down 10mm. You may be pleasantly surprised

Will this change my position on the bike? Assume make me more upright and more bend in the arms?

[AlanD]

I went from a 100 to a 60 and have never looked back, changed the handling drastically, for the better.

Cool. Will give a 60 or 70 a try. Thanks

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

Will this change my position on the bike? Assume make me more upright and more bend in the arms?

It'll change your position slightly, yes. It'll open up your chest more, place you more centrally when you're out of the saddle, enable you to get behind the saddle more easily and get your weight further back than you currently can, sharpen the steering (if you stay with the current bar setup) and also make you less stretched out when in the saddle, which will allow you to bend your elbows more. With climbing, you *may* need to maneuver slightly forwards, or bend your elbows a bit more to prevent a light front, but it's easily rectifiable by changing your style a bit. 

 

In short - it rocks in all the right areas, and allows you to adapt in the other SINGLE area that it compromises on. 

[AlanD]

It'll change your position slightly, yes. It'll open up your chest more, place you more centrally when you're out of the saddle, enable you to get behind the saddle more easily and get your weight further back than you currently can, sharpen the steering (if you stay with the current bar setup) and also make you less stretched out when in the saddle, which will allow you to bend your elbows more. With climbing, you *may* need to maneuver slightly forwards, or bend your elbows a bit more to prevent a light front, but it's easily rectifiable by changing your style a bit.

 

In short - it rocks in all the right areas, and allows you to adapt in the other SINGLE area that it compromises on.

Excellent. I seem to struggle somewhat to get my weight behind the saddle as I can't get back far enough.

 

Gonna give a 60mm a try..now to find a cheap one to try.

 

Thanks for the input man.

[Raydek]

Excellent. I seem to struggle somewhat to get my weight behind the saddle as I can't get back far enough.

 

Gonna give a 60mm a try..now to find a cheap one to try.

 

Thanks for the input man.

 

Look for the Ryder stems, cheap and range from 60-120mm, so nice to experiment with.

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

Excellent. I seem to struggle somewhat to get my weight behind the saddle as I can't get back far enough.

 

Gonna give a 60mm a try..now to find a cheap one to try.

 

Thanks for the input man.

Ryder, or KCNC Bear Claw. Both in the R 250 to R 300 range, both with various lengths. 

[AlanD]

 

Ryder, or KCNC Bear Claw. Both in the R 250 to R 300 range, both with various lengths. [/quote

 

Thanks. One last question if you dont mind: current stem turned upside down to give zero rise as per bike setup I went to.

 

Should I keep as zero drop or try a slight rise? What would the rise do?

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

 

Ryder, or KCNC Bear Claw. Both in the R 250 to R 300 range, both with various lengths. [/quote

 

Thanks. One last question if you dont mind: current stem turned upside down to give zero rise as per bike setup I went to.

 

Should I keep as zero drop or try a slight rise? What would the rise do?

nothing wrong with keeping it zero. Your hands will be further back anyway, so it's not a hassle. It'll also allow you to get a bit lower when climbing. 

 

Rise will give you a slightly higher hand height, less hunched over, will also mean that you'll need to be more active to get your weight over the front. 

[AlanD]

nothing wrong with keeping it zero. Your hands will be further back anyway, so it's not a hassle. It'll also allow you to get a bit lower when climbing.

 

Rise will give you a slightly higher hand height, less hunched over, will also mean that you'll need to be more active to get your weight over the front.

Ok cool. Will.keep it at zero. Thanks R.man

[AlanD]

Went out and got a 60mm ryder stem and went for a spin at Thaba to test it out.

 

Wasn't sure what to expect and didn't think it would make a great difference...wrong was I...so much of difference.

 

Handli was so nice, the bike just went exactly where I wanted it to go, and when I wanted it to go there. No more dodgy steering.

 

I was more central, felt looser and could more easily shift my weight. I had more confidence and cornering was a breeze.

 

I felt so much better than I actually am and it seemed everything just fell into place.

 

Super chuffed with this small change and me likes alot, sticking with the 60mm

 

:-):-):-)

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

Went out and got a 60mm ryder stem and went for a spin at Thaba to test it out.

 

Wasn't sure what to expect and didn't think it would make a great difference...wrong was I...so much of difference.

 

Handli was so nice, the bike just went exactly where I wanted it to go, and when I wanted it to go there. No more dodgy steering.

 

I was more central, felt looser and could more easily shift my weight. I had more confidence and cornering was a breeze.

 

I felt so much better than I actually am and it seemed everything just fell into place.

 

Super chuffed with this small change and me likes alot, sticking with the 60mm

 

:-):-):-)

Awesome! And.... we told you so :-)

[AlanD]

Awesome! And.... we told you so :-)

Sure did. So much of knowledge you have. Thanks.

 

One more thing, my bars are 660mm...is that reasonable with a 60mm stem? It feels good.