Stem length on flat bar road bike

Ngalbrai

Have a question about stem length and related issues.

Got an 06 Spesh Sirrus Elite. Inverted the stem a while ago to give me a more aggressive riding position, like it like that. However, found myself sliding forwards on the seat a bit, have moved the seat as far forwards as it will go.

So my question is:
Will a shorter stem make handling better as bars are closer to the steerer tube (for want of the correct name..?)
Will having the seat more central on the post mean weight is distributed more where it should be?
Do you think the combination of these will stop me sliding forwards so much?

I am pretty sure the bike is the right size for me, was fitted up properly in LBS when I bought it, seat is quite high at right height (if you know what I mean), have enough clearance in the important region - is there a rule of thumb to tell if you are reaching too much?

For the sake of the cost of a stem is it worth just getting one and trying it out?

topdude

You could try a shorter stem, this would obviously shorten the reach and might make the steering feel slightly lighter / twitchy.
I suspect that flipping the stem over and moving the saddle forward has the effect of throwing your weight forward putting too much weight on your arms and a feeling of slipping forward on the saddle.
Try moving the saddle back more central over the seatpost and make sure the saddle is roughly level front to back. If it still feels you are stretching too far to the bars try a shorter stem.

daniel_b

I don't think you want the seat all the way forward on the rails, middleish is the desired position.

Shorter stem, and if that still doesn't work, narrower bars.

I went the narrower bars route on my roadie, and that has done the trick nicely.
Went from 47 - 43cm wide ones.

Dan

geoff_ss

I suffer from relatively short legs and a long back so I tend to have my saddle well back and also use a long handlebar stem (130mm) on my flat bar road bike. I don't find any problem with slipping forward and I think the reason you do is more likely to be caused by seat angle than its fore and aft position.

I use narrow (44cm), flat bars (no rise) with handle bar extensions for climbing and for a different position.

Geoff