Is this normal???

[Deleted member 1258]

I never understand this stuff about stem length. (OK, I do understand the science behind it.) My road bike has a 75mm stem and narrow female specific bars, and it isn't twitchy once you get used to it.

One of the differences between riding a MTB or a road bike (on the terrain they were designed for) is that on the MTB you need to keep your hands light to allow the front wheel to negotiate obstacles, and I've also found it makes it a lot easier to steer and control the front wheel, and make it go where you want it to go. On a road bike, you should have your weight about evenly distributed between the 3 contact points - saddle, pedals and bars. This means there's a lot more weight on your hands, which helps to keep the front wheel pointing in a straight line, and stops it wandering. On windy days like we're having here today, I actually find myself leaning heavily on the bars to stop the front wheel diving out from under me in crosswinds.

My geared bike has a 75 stem and my fixed has a 90 stem and neither feel twitchy, This thread has got me wondering, In 40 years of cycling I've never rode a mountain bike, its always been road bikes, I wonder what I'd make of a mountain bike if I rode one?

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

My geared bike has a 75 stem and my fixed has a 90 stem and neither feel twitchy, This thread has got me wondering, In 40 years of cycling I've never rode a mountain bike, its always been road bikes, I wonder what I'd make of a mountain bike if I rode one?

slow, sluggish and bouncy at a guess. But it is completely different, rather like comparing a base model fiat punto with say a 4x4 taken off road; you can't. both will get you from A to B, how much you enjoy it is another matter entirely. OK, that might not be very kind to the mtb's and I used to have a very decent one, and now have a very cheap road bike, but I can't compare my £300 road bike to my significantly more expensive expedition bike (touring bike based on an mtb but with hub gears) and I certainly can't compare it to my old mtb. which would I rather have, no idea; they all serve different purposes and currently there is a hole in the spread of my bikes...

 

[lulubel]

My geared bike has a 75 stem and my fixed has a 90 stem and neither feel twitchy, This thread has got me wondering, In 40 years of cycling I've never rode a mountain bike, its always been road bikes, I wonder what I'd make of a mountain bike if I rode one?

It would feel really weird, and it would take a while to get used to the different position and the wide flat bars.

If you were riding it on-road (and to continue with the car analogy), depending on whether it was towards the race/XC or downhill end of the spectrum, it would feel somewhere between a Landrover Defender and a tractor, I should think.

 

[HLaB]

I felt my first drop bar bike was skittish at first but I now see them as responsive and touchwood they've been nimble enough to get me out of scrapes.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

I felt my first drop bar bike was skittish at first but I now see them as responsive and touchwood they've been nimble enough to get me out of scrapes.

I am not the greatest on two wheels (probably more a hazard than anything), but you can correct quickly.