Stem lengths

Dusty wrote:

That stem looks longer than 50mm. I thought over 50 was unrideable? Are we seeing a shift in stem length trends again.

Tongue in cheek appreciated; observation noted.


I've never had a 50mm stem on a bike (60-90mm). Maybe my frames are too short? Smash has a 60, feels ideal, but not what the bike is spec'ed for. I got the 60 over the 50 because I felt a tiny bit cramped on the tightest switchies. Would a longer frame and a shorter stem make it a better bike?

What length have you settled on for what bike? Why?

TFPU...

 

My Timberjack came with a 50mm stem. The frame is a little on the big side for me but I bought that size frame on purpose, for better stabilization at speed. I doubt a shorter stem would do much for this bike except make the front end lighter. No thanks.

My Remedy came with a 70mm, which is a little long by today's standards for a 140/140 bike. I have considered trying a shorter stem but I fear that it would mess up the balance and comfort of the bike. This is the most comfortable bike I have ever had where seated positioning is concerned. I think that a shorter stem would make me feel cramped in the cockpit unless I move the saddle back to compensate and that might lighten the front end too much. I certainly do not feel too far forward on this bike as it is now.

 

XC came with a 90. I want a 60-70 but those aren't cheap with the Cannondale OPI system. That's what I'm going with on my next planned bike.

My Enduro came with a 45, it feels good.

 

The trend right now is long top tubes and short stems. 60mm on the wfo.

 

Yup.....they have taken the length out of the stem and put it in the frame.

My Highball had a 90mm stem on it, and it handled just fine.

Tallboy had the same 90mm stem on it. No issues there.

Both large frames, both with almost identical fit geometry.....for me.

Got the Chameleon and knew the TT was going to be longer. Also knew they spec'd a 50mm stem on it. After riding one set up this way, it felt a bit short. So I picked up a 60mm right off the bat. Fits really well.

The tandem with its' 2008 geometry is a 90mm stem, in addition to 800mm bars.

I think in this new day and age, if you gotta run 80mm+ stem, you may be looking at a frame on the small side.

 

I don't notice a huge change between 50mm and 60mm all things being equal (although the change is slight and most noticable on uphill switch backs). However, shorter then 50mm on certain bikes can start to get very twitchy for me. Longer then 60mm starts feeling pretty odd to me as well depending on the bike. It also depends on fork offset and wheelsize for me. I find that I can go down to 45mm on some 275 bikes before things start feeling odd.

Personally, it's all about what fits you best and what is comfortable. The new bikes are indeed designed around shorter stems and longer top tubes. Keep in mind that most of the reach numbers you're seeing are based on an oem stem size. I suggest playing around with the stem length on bikes that are new to you to find the sweet spot.

For example, I would have put money on a 50mm being the perfect size stem on my hightower, but i ended up (much to my surprise) liking a 60mm stem more. Don't get caught up in the number, just do what feels right.

 

50mm on the Chameleon, which is what it came with... No issues. No urge to change, except for weight maybe. The bigger change was ditching the 760mm bars for 800mm.

When I got the highball, I had a 90mm stem on hand, so that's what I went with. I recently changed it out for a 50mm and carbon bars. Feels a lot more playful up front...

 

don't full on cross country blokes run long stems w/ a drop?

My bike.... 50mm stem w/ 6 degree rise on 780 bars w/ 20mm rise.

 

I don't think I have run a stem in the + rise since the mid 2000's

 

I did not like my new bike with a 40mm. changed to 50mm just feels right to me. perhaps that length is just hard wired in my head, in the mid 2000's all 4 bikes I owned I rode with 50mm stems.
But if I was riding a new Santa Cruz in my size I would need a 35mm to fit because the TT have grown so much

 

It's all about fit for me. On my bigger bike I'm running a 50mm stem and 780mm bars while on my shorter travel bike I'm running a 40mm stem w/ a 760mm bar. Top tubes have grown quite a bit in recent years and I've learned that I like the stability they create, but I need to center my body position to be able to weight and un-weight the front wheel to corner efficiently and generally handle the longer wheel bases of today's bikes. In order to center my weight, I use stem, bar and seat adjustments/changes. I have also learned that on my current bikes, I like to size up on the frames and use stem, bar and seat adjustments to customize my fit to my liking.

 

Old school: Short & long

New school: Long & short

 

I'm tall. I have a long torso. The trend towards longer top tubes suits me well. I could never consider a Pivot, Santa Cruz, Ibis or myriad others in the 2008-2015 era due to top tubes being too damn short. I could ride Yeti, and a couple of other brands.

Now - I can get almost any XL. If I go to Mondraker, I have to downsize!

On my Tracer with about 25.5" Effective Top Tube, I run a 70mm stem, 6° rise. I've had 150mm stems in my past. (face palm)

 

I guess wider bars contributes to the need/reason for shorter stems, or vice versa. Causation or symptom. Don’t matter it’s all pref

 

Seems like "modern" trail bikes are designed around a ~50mm stem.

My Banshee come with a 50mm stem on stock builds. I recently went from a 50mm to a 40mm with a 760 bar. Not sure I can really tell much of a difference. My Chiner 29r (XC bike) has a 66mm Flatforce with a 720mm bar.

I'd like to try one of the super Neu Skool bikes (like a Pole Evolink) with a mega long reach and near vertical seat tubes. I just imagine them handling like Jabba's sail barge at low speeds.

 

25mm Stem with special bar

 

All this talk about Stem length got me looking at my own set up once more.
I’d like a little less length than 50mm. But i had a 40mm and i was looping out climbing.

I realized just now that my Enve bars are only 760mm. I don’t know how i missed that when i bought them. I bet i could go to a 40-45mm Stem with wider bars. That and remove 3mm of Stem spacer. I should be 780 to 790mm bars no problem, no wonder my hands end up at the tips of my bars.

 

I'd say that has more to do with the geometry of the mixed wheel size than stem length.

 

Yep there is something to that for sure. Others have said it’s easy to lift the FW. Right now as it sits with a 50mm stem it’s a nice balance and the cockpit feels comfortable. It’d only like a shorter stem for some of the steepest stuff around. For 90%of what i am riding its perfect how it is

 

I think if you go shorter...you can also go lower on the bar height. A lower bar position can help with wheel lift.

You can use this to compare different stems to what you have now: http://yojimg.net/bike/web_tools/stem.php

 

That’s a nice website tool. Thanks for shareing. Makes me want to create one in 3D adding bars with sweep rise length variables

 

I love his trail calc tool as well... http://yojimg.net/bike/web_tools/trailcalc.php
It's fun for comparing wheel/tire changes. Shows a 29X2.25" and a 27.5X3.0" both having the same 744mm diameter!