Can I turn this upside down?.... ('Stem')

[Scruffmonster]

Hello beautiful people,

Can someone advise whether I can turn this stem upside down? It's a tiny tiny bit too much of a stretch for me, looking at the angle, flipping it upside down would help. Is it possible or are they a one way street?

Lee

 

[PatrickPending]

yes

 

[Mark_Robson]

It's designed to flip, so flip away.

 

[Scruffmonster]

Awesome. Thats what I hoped. Just had a hallelujah moment staring at it. I find myself inching back, just off the hand holds on the hoods. Hopefully this will sort me out.

Lame, but is it a simple case of undoing all of the necessary , flipping it and then doing back up? No pitfalls?

 

[longers]

As long as you do the bolts up tight again, no problem. I have had bars turn down while riding when I've not been careful enough.

 

[Scruffmonster]

Thank you kind people. I am off to flip it.

 

[Norm]

I did mine a few days ago and it gave me just the adjustment that I wanted. It moved the bars slightly backwards but, more importantly, it moved them up by about 40mm.

The most difficult thing I found was what to do with the bars when they were unclamped.

Oh, and it might be too late for this advice now but take care tightening the bar clamps. Do the diagonals and do them a bit at a time, don't just tighten one all the way.

 

[Scruffmonster]

Remember that the top cap is the bit that sets the tightness of the whole front end. So slide the stem back on, tighten the top cap until it all pulls together and there's no play when you rock the bike backwards and forwards with the front brake on, but not too tight that there's any binding when you lift the front wheel and turn the handlebars.

When you're confident that you've got the tension right you can do up the stem bolts properly.

Thanks. I procrastinated and it got dark. Will thrash it out in the morning, bearing this in mind.

 

[jay clock]

It will not change the reach required by much, but it may be a tiny bit shorter, and the extra height may be more comfortable

 

[cyberknight]

I did the same and it certainly makes a difference to comfort.

if it is still to long a replacement shorter stem can be found fairly cheap.
Going into reach is your saddle set to what some call correct distance as well?

There is a method whereby your knee should be over the middle of your pedal at the 3 oclock position , some agree with this and some says it make no difference.
Another method for reach is nose directly over the center of your handlebars for a road bike anyway.

http://www.jimlangley.net/crank/bikefit.html

Prepares to be shot down in flames with counter theories ................

 

[Banjo]

Dont take the stem off with the bike hanging up or the forks may drop off.Do it with the wheels on the ground.

The screw holding the cap on tightens the bearing in the headset so make sure its right before tightening the bolts holding the stem on.

 

[ColinJ]

I flipped the stem on my bike and find the position much more comfortable. One thing though - you might find the cables too tight after you've done it.