Shorter Stem

[gb155]

Sorry for the n00b like question but on seeing my Trek a friend at work who himself does a lot of MTB riding said I should get a shorter stem ASAP.

I asked him why "Coz its better" was the reply.

So as this has been something I have been thinking about for a while I thought I would ask here, What is the point in getting a shorter stem ?

 

[fossyant]

No point really. You get a shorter stem if the bike is stretching you too much, a longer one if you feel hunched.

If you are comfy, leave as is. I have 13cm stems on the road bikes, and a 12cm one for the fixed (so I can sit a little more upright for spinning).

 

[gb155]

No point really. You get a shorter stem if the bike is stretching you too much, a longer one if you feel hunched.

If you are comfy, leave as is. I have 13cm stems on the road bikes, and a 12cm one for the fixed (so I can sit a little more upright for spinning).

Thanks for that, It now makes sense, I have no need for one, but the guy who said it is about 5 foot 4".

 

[palinurus]

I've got a short stem on one of my road bikes, but that's only because the frame's a bit on the large size for me.

 

[Bear]

I've got a short stem on one of my road bikes, but that's only because the frame's a bit on the large size for me.

And what does the bike feel like now ? Apart from shorter ?

 

[palinurus]

Fine, feels fine to me. I didn't notice any difference in the handling after I swapped the stem (80 mm for a 110), but perhaps I'm not particularly sensitive to small differences in handling.

 

[Bigtwin]

A good general start point is to hold the bars in your normal riding position - look down, and the bars should be around the same eyeline as the front wheel spindle. If it's a long way different, you may want to have a think about fit.

Only a general guide, but it works pretty well.

 

[J4CKO]

On my Bad Boy I was just to stretched out, sometimes I think bikes are set up to look good rather than be ridable, it was the correct size but I had to change the stem for a shorter/adjustable one as it just wasnt comfortable.

 

[yenrod]

No point really. You get a shorter stem if the bike is stretching you too much, a longer one if you feel hunched.

If you are comfy, leave as is. I have 13cm stems on the road bikes, and a 12cm one for the fixed (so I can sit a little more upright for spinning).

Fossy, you speak with experience !

Couldn't have said it better myself

 

[yello]

I've got a short stem on one of my road bikes, but that's only because the frame's a bit on the large size for me.

Sort of the same here. I have an 8cm stem on my 54cm audax bike!

The handling is a bit more twitchy (that's the word I think people use!) than on my 53cm, longer stemmed bike. What it means in real speak is that it's not as easy to hold the line, the bike is more prone to wander BUT you adapt to it - no big deal.

Fit wise, both bikes are fine for me and both pass the 'front spindle sight' test mentioned by bigtwin above.