Stem recommendations

daniel_b

Guys,

My Felt has a 100mm stem, and I am thinking of trying an 80mm, or even a 70mm one to pull it in a touch.

Any specific makes I need to look out for/avoid?

Cheers

Dan

Lucky Luke

I like the brand on my stem to match the one on my bars . In my case ITM . I currently have a Forged Lite Lux stem . Reasonably light and cheap , but if I had say Easton bars then I'd get an Easton stem etc . ...............shallow I know but hey I think it looks better

Mr P

Brain dump....
If you aren't yet sure what size you want to end up with, get on ebay and get a cheap/second hand one. Splurge when you finalise the size.
Remember, angle plays a big part as well as length.
100 down to 70 is more than "pulling it in a touch"!
Folk will tell you that a signifcantly shorter stem will affect the handling as well - but then 100mm is already a little under normal.

Where in Berkshire are you? I've a bit of a stem collection, including an adjustable angle one...I'm just S of Windsor, and you are welcome to borrow.

Sorry if parts of this post read like some sort of pornographic singles advert...... :oops:

daniel_b

Thanks LL and Mr P for your generous offer!

I'm near Newbury, so a little way away from yourself - a while back used to live in Staines, and used to cycle loads round there, Priest Hill, and Tite hill were awesome - Tite Hill being best to go down it!

I think I'm going to take a little while more to decide, and need to get out on the bike some more to try and get a better feel of what is required - haven't been out of late, due to a very recent house move, but that should start to settle down fairly soon.

How accurate is the method of 'putting our elbow on the front of the seat and your fingers should reach the bar'??
Mine comes half way up the stem.

When I'm on the hoods, should my arms still be slighly bent?

I'm going out this morning on my Marin to do a bit lof local off roading :-)
Despite the foggy claggy weather here :?

Cheers

Dan

richardast

I'm a recent returnee to road bikes and have built my bike starting from a Felt frameset. I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but have recent experience of Felt frames and stems.

Following the guidance of a number of books and websites, I used a 120mm stem. This was after several calculations based on various body size ratios compared with the frame sizes and angles. I found that the longish stem stretched me out too much and caused me to spend a lot of time perched on the nose of my saddle (ouch!).

Apparently, Felt frames have a quite "aggressive stance". Maybe that means a 120mm stem would be perfect for a top-flight racing snake, but for me it was a bit uncomfortable.
Just over a week ago I replaced it with a Truvativ XR 75mm stem from Wiggle - http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.aspx?Cat=cycle&ProdID=5360021107&n=Truvativ%20XR%20Oversize%20Stem

It has made a big difference to my comfort and I can still get right over on the drop handlebars without feeling crunched up.

And it's cheap.

Mr P

Dan,
I live halfway up Tite Hill, so have a climb at the end of every commute!
I'd recommend a bike fit to take some of the guesswork out, or if you have a good LBS/club nearby they may be able to comment on your position on the bike...if you go too short, you may feel a bit scrunched up.
I'd prob keep an eye out for a cheap adjustable angle stem to play around with...