Stem measurement question

[Monkspeed]

OK Probably a stupid noob question but how is a stem actually measured?

From the centre of the fork to the centre of the handlebar or end to end?

I guess centre to centre would be a more logical measurement.

Mine is 110mm centre-to-centre.

Does replacing with a shorter or longer stem drastcially alter the handling of the bike, If so, then how?

Cheers.

 

[ianrauk]

it's centre to centre

 

[Monkspeed]

it's centre to centre

Thanks Ian. What about the handling of the bike, is it affected by stem lengths?

 

[PaulSecteur]

I have changed a 110 to a 90 (also had a little more upward rise) and I couldnt notice any difference, certinly wouldnt call it twitchy. (Was on a tri-cross)

 

[ColinJ]

I've used stems from 90 to 130 to get better fits on different bikes and didn't notice any handling problems. I don't think I'd want to go much beyond that range though because the stems would look odd, even if they worked okay.

 

[Monkspeed]

OK Thanks. I think I will change to a 90mm as well, I find myself continually repositioning myself towards the rear part of the seat.

 

[PaulSecteur]

OK Thanks. I think I will change to a 90mm as well, I find myself continually repositioning myself towards the rear part of the seat.

Just so happens... I have a 90mm stem to sell. Its a specialized one with the shims that allow a bit of adjustability. Used, but no marks on it an boxed with the 2 shims. Cost £30, would sell for £20 with second class recorded. Its one of these, (31.8 by 90 with 12 degress of rise) let me know if you want some photos as the decals are a bit different to the photo on the website.)

http://www.specializedconceptstore.co.uk/Detail/equipcomponentsroadstems/road stems/Comp-Set Stem

 

[Monkspeed]

Does anyone know what sort of reduction in stem size I should be going for?

If I went from 110mm to 90mm is that enough to give me a slight bend in my elbows? Or would 70mm be better?
Or is the length even the issue, say if I had a 110mm stem but with a 30 degree rise (for arguments sake) would that give me a more comfortable riding position?

I just feel as though I am a little stretched out at the moment, and get a bit of a sore neck after long rides.

Cheers.

 

[Scilly Suffolk]

I don't think that question can really be answered on here: everyone is different.

The sore neck could also be down to the height of your stem and/or saddle.

My advice would be to get a proper bike fitting. Try the shop you bought it from, they might do it for free especially if you'd be buying new parts from them.

 

[Monkspeed]

Hi Jim (hope you don't mind me calling you that?), thanks for replying.

I bought the bike from Decathlon and I don't think they do a proper bike fitting in there? and LBS is definitely out of the question as when I went in there looking to buy a bike, I told him my budget and he basically said "We don't do anything in here for that" and then proceeded to give me the cold shoulder and started dealing with another customer when they came in, so to be frank, I wouldn't go in there if it was the last bike shop in the world (EDIT: actually, make that the universe).

OK let me rephrase the question:

Is changing a stem from 110mm to 90mm considered a big difference, because in my mind I keep thinking its only 20mm, what difference can that make?

 

[ColinJ]

Is changing a stem from 110mm to 90mm considered a big difference, because in my mind I keep thinking its only 20mm, what difference can that make?

Imagine that you have a pair of shoes that are a perfect fit for your feet. Now imagine a similar pair of shoes, only 20 mm smaller- they've got to be comfortable, right? I mean ... they are only 20 mm smaller!

As posted above - everyone is different, but the basic principle of getting something that fits you applies to everyone!

I had a bike with a 60 cm (or maybe 61 cm?) frame and a 110 mm stem; I was too stretched out and got backache. I changed to a 90 mm stem and was much more comfortable.

My bikes now have 58 cm frames and I use 110 mm stems which I've flipped to raise the bars, and bring them back a bit more.

You have two obvious choices:

1. Have a proper bike fit done and listen to the advice.
2. Try a shorter stem and/or one with more rise (or flip the current one) and see how you get on a.k.a. 'suck it and see' a.k.a. 'trial and error'.

 

[Scilly Suffolk]

No problem: call me what you like (as long as you call me, boom boom)!

I seem to remember posting a link to a basic bike fit page on another of your threads; if not here it is again.

Reading the page you'll see that your problems could have more than one cause, so before you go blowing your hard earned on a new stem, you want to be reasonably sure there is no other solution.

Are there any local clubs or a branch of the CTC local? As well as a wealth of experience someone may have a stem you can try before you splash the cash.

Also remember that you are new to the road, so allow time for your body to make adjustments: how much are you riding? A little and often is better (and more realistic in Winter) than tackling a big ride once a month.

Either way, as Colin said, small changes can make a big difference so don't leap from one extreme to another.

 

[Monkspeed]

You are probably right regarding giving my body time to adjust as I've only had the bike a few weeks as the neck pain has progressively been getting better. I'm pretty sure I've got the seat height dialled in nicely now, was about an 1.5-2 inches too low when I first starting riding it and it really tired me out. Since I've had the bike I've been out on it pretty much every day, except the odd day here and there. I did 40km on Wednesday so I'm really happy about that.

I also discovered that whoever put the brifters on the bar put them way to high and was making it really difficult for me to pull the brakes and change gear when on the drops, so I've moved them down a tad and that's also much better. I've angled the handle bars upwards slightly and it seems great, but it's still a slight stretch for me even on the hoods.

The closest local cycling club to me is in Upminster which is about 8km from me. I cycled from my house to their meeting point just to see if I could do it last week, and I ended up doing about 30km that day! I think its just nerves holding me back about actually contacting them to go for a couple of rides...

Actually, yesterday I did take a picture of myself on the hoods from the side and I look very similar to the guy in your link, except he has a nice bend in his elbow and mine has a very very slight bend.

 

[Lozatron]

I had a bike fitting from the bike whisperer in Ealing - the changes he made on the bike were 10mm on the stem and 10mm on the saddle - the change was astounding - my neck and shoulders stopped getting sore and I used to suffer from quite painful feet after 40-50mi, which stopped too.

I think small changes can make a lot of difference - especially if (like me) you're not a natural sportsman and your body easily gets itself into bad habits...

 

[Monkspeed]

It's amazing a 10mm adjustment can make such a difference.

I bought a trainer today, so it gave me time to see how my position is on the bike. Maybe I should have bought a smaller frame and put a longer stem on it but thats water under the bridge now.

I moved my hands in to several different positions on the bar and I still felt the same, but the one thing that seems to make the difference his height. Maybe I should keep the 110mm and get a higher angle one.