Stem length

[stu9000]

I have read a few posts where Triban 3 owners have fitted a shorter stem. I'm in no rush to buy loads of extras , but am getting wrist pain and just feel a bit stretched out.

I'm 5'10 1/2" on a 57cm frame. I've moved the saddle forward a bit and legs, knees etc feel OK.

I'm sure I need to toughen up a bit but I'd like to get it right as I've had a few problems with wrists and shoulders in the past.

I saw this stem and thought it might be a good buy

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/matt-black-1-1-8-bike-handlebar-stem-60mm-15-degree-/281056936208


I'm also not feeling that confident about my ability to break hard in an emergency. Might these cross levers be a good buy?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tektro-RL726-Cyclo-Cross-Top-Mount-Brake-Levers-26mm-Silver-/380603982241

I've only cycled 50 miles since I got the bike? I'm I being too precious or am I right to play around with the set up? Thanks

 

[vickster]

I'm no expert but isn't a 60mm stem seriously short and will do weird things to the handlebars - what length is the current stem? Have you tried flipping the stem you have?

My commuter and run around roadbike has cross levers, use them all the time. Manufacturers are kind to us women.

If they enable you to stop at red lights, they sound like a fine investment

 

[Lanzecki]

Have you flipped the stem? Try that before buying a new one.

Ohh, Vickster said that.

I'll go back in my cave.

 

[Widge]

I realise that it's a bit late to say so now, but in case others read..........it does sound as though you might have been better off buying a more upright hybrid or commuter bike if you are seriously considering a stem that short and angled up? As Vickster said....you are going to make the front of the bike behave very oddly with that sort of set-up...(it would terrify me!) although you may get used to it in time. Also, a typical commuter bike would have had flat bars so you would not have to cope with the reach involved with using a drop-bar bicycle and would come with the sort of brake levers you are now considering retro-fitting. The geometry of a commuter style bike would also probably have meant you could have avoided moving the saddle forward. Too much may trigger knee pain.

Did you get fitted to the bike?

Have you looked at some of the many 'fit' tutorials on the web? Have they helped?

Do you have experience with this sort of cycling ? It sounds to me like you are trying to convert a road racing bike into a hybrid...could end up expensive and unpredictable IME so am rather at a loss. Also....dual pivot road bike brakes are never going to have quite the same stopping power as the 'v's and discs on hybrids and mtbs-you need to develop a different technique and feel for them. Try to anticipate more in advance and make sure your blocks and tyres are up to snuff. I wouldn't rely too much on the tyres and brakes the Triban comes with......they don't exactly inspire confidence-particularily in less than perfect riding conditions. Many Triban owners change them pretty much before anything else.

It will also (usually) take more than a mere 50 miles of riding to really nail a comfortable 'cp triangle' based on your intended style of riding. Changing one element of fit can have surprisingly large knock-on effects in other areas so make small changes if you can and really give your body a chance to adjust to each......assuming of course that the bike is within the right size/fit parameters to start with.

HTH

w

 

[Deleted member 20519]

The standard stem that comes with the Triban is 110mm, moving from that to a 60mm stem will be seriously different.

 

[Widge]

Mine was 120mm, jaz........I think it might depend on the frame size as to exactly what gets fitted. I have a steep angled 60mm stem on my MTB .... i can't imagine what that would feel like on a skinny-wheeled drop-bar bike!!

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

A 57 frame for someone who's 5-10 sounds pretty big to me

 

[Widge]

Also............if you are considering fitting cross-style brake levers, then this suggests you will be riding the tops of the bars in order to use them.Cross bikes are designed (rake/trail/geometry wheelbase etc) to accommodate this. But on a road bike this makes for a harrowingly narrow bar width. If you then combine this with a high, short, mtb stem a road bike will be difficult (ie dangerous) to control at ANY speed....unless you really know what you are doing here, I would SERIOUSLY advise against it.....maybe your LBS could make it work......but it all flies in the face of how such bikes are made to behave?

I didn' t realise you had a 57' frame. It is somewhat easier to make a small(ish) bike bigger, and sometimes harder to do it the other way round......I wonder how you came up with that fit? It might be ok if you are, say long-armed or long in the torso? what did the shop-guys say about it?

 

[vickster]

A 57 frame for someone who's 5-10 sounds pretty big to me

Tribans seem to come up small though I think

I know to my chagrin that riding a bike that is too big can lead to all sorts of issues, in my case chronic tennis elbow that needed surgery. I think the shortest road stem is usually about 90mm?

I don't ride on the tops, I use the hoods, just moving to the bars to brake

 

[stu9000]

The guy at decathlon said the stem wasn't angled so flipping it would not make a difference, but he was gone in a nanosecond so I'm not sure I trust this opinion. Thanks for the feedback on the stem I posted. Maybe a bit short. I'll measure up my current one.

 

[Blurb]

I seem to be sensitive to wrist pain/pins and needles and one thing which might be worth trying and has helped me on some, not all, bikes I've ridden is to tilt the seat nose very slightly up. It shifts the weight back and off your wrists slightlyreducing pressure. It's a no-cost option so worth a go.

 

[Widge]

Yup.......I too learned that you can't just jump on a road bike and hope it fits and responds as it was designed to regardless of size. In a way...as a beginner, I was suckered into thinking that owning a full-on road -bike would be the pinnacle of my cycling experience, that if it was good enough for Sir Brad of wiggo etc then it would be more than good enough for the likes of me. I couldn't have been more wrong at the time

Sadly.... in the real world very few of us are born racers, and ebay is littered with state-of-the-art Pedigree Racing Bikes whose expectant owners couldn't get them to work for them....or who imagined they might become overnight cycling gods. In my humble opinion it actually takes a fair amount of research, perseverance, commitment and wherewithal to actually 'GET' skinny tyred road-roading at first and making the b'ggers fit without crippling you is pretty crucial!

If, after plenty o'miles and subtle tweaking, you still feel forced to make unchactersitic and aggressive changes to the set up of the bike, then it is a simple fact that you might consider you have the wrong style (or-at least - SIZE) of bike for you and your style and needs.

 

[Widge]

The guy at decathlon said the stem wasn't angled so flipping it would not make a difference, but he was gone in a nanosecond so I'm not sure I trust this opinion. Thanks for the feedback on the stem I posted. Maybe a bit short. I'll measure up my current one.

Stem has a 6 degree angle...so can be flipped. What was he thinking!!? This is a fairly common degree of angle on Sport or compact framed road bikes!

I wouldn't consider flipping a steeper angle or running any less than 90mm though.

 

[Widge]

Those cross-levers will not fit the Tribans oversized handle bars which will be too thick too near the middle. You will need to retrofit new standard (old-stylee) bars (and stem) to make them work.......in which case you may as well buy some wider flat bars....maybe some barends to improve control/comfort,then you will need different shifters (with the brake levers integrated?), new grips, cables...and then.........and so it goes, I'm afraid. You will however, end up with a skinny-tyred, uncomfortable and fragile overgeared hybrid which can't take decent sized tyres/mudguards or anything other than road-bike brakes...............................

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

I am one of the many who have put a shorter stem on my T3 (as well as cross levers to deal with an emergency stop issue - I have poor grip on one hand following 11 ops over 15 years). Since putting a shorter stem on (I think I dropped to 80 or 90mmmm slightly more raised stem) and slightly narrower bars (the 44cm wide bars were way too wide for me being of narrow shoulders & female), the bike has been much more comfortable with me now able to cycle +100km days before I start to have ache issues at the back/spine shoulder joint. It is however, also much more twitchy with the steering, a symptom of narrower bars & shorter stem, something that does take getting used to.

My OH is still on the original stem and to be honest, still has issues even after 6 months. He looks too stretched out and I can't help thinking he would also be better off with a slightly shorter stem, but I would only drop him down 20-30mm. He is on the 60cm T3 and is 6ft exactly.

You may well be better off changing your brake blocks. the stock ones are not great IME and I have fitted were recommended back in September and whilst some may think £24.95 on brake blocks is a lot, being able to stop is much more important to me and I have done over 3,500km on these blocks since fitting them (used in all weathers) and they are still going strong and have plenty of life left in them yet,
http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/what-brake-blocks-please.111349/#navigation