shorter stem compensated with a lay-back seatpost?

KnightofCydonia

Just a question really. I kinda like my cockpit but the stem at 100mm ish is a tad long for what I'm hoping to eventually be using. Would going down to 70mm or so be compensated sufficiently with one of these seatposts?

Kinda interested if it would have a 'little' bit of an effect at least and give me more control over the front end.

cheers

CustomReign

I gotmyself a Thomson layback and love it !

TommyEss

Won't the layback change your pedalling dynamics though, and your centre of gravity? Although guess that's more of an issue roadie than mtb?

ride_whenever

stick the shorter stem on and see if you feel cramped... you might find you don't actually need a layback post, particularly if you have plenty of adjustment on the saddle rails still.

KnightofCydonia

TommyEss wrote:

Won't the layback change your pedalling dynamics though, and your centre of gravity? Although guess that's more of an issue roadie than mtb?

I'm not sure, which is why I'm asking. It feels weird standing up to pedal as it is, I dunno if it's cos my stem is so long, or if it's something else. It feels ok at really slow speeds but when I'm trying to do it for long distances, it feels wrong in my knees. I'd have thought (don't know a lot) that the shorter stem will make the handling itself better, and maybe bring my weight into a better position. Not got a clue really :oops: I find anything out of the saddle a bit weird atm, and I do have my saddle as high as I can. Tried doing a mile with it lower today, and fiddled loads and it still felt alien.

supersonic

It will feel different. When seated the front end is going to feel quite a bit lighter, and you may find it wonders on climbs. Also you will be further behind the bottom bracket.

KnightofCydonia

supersonic wrote:

It will feel different. When seated the front end is going to feel quite a bit lighter, and you may find it wonders on climbs. Also you will be further behind the bottom bracket.

is that a 'bad' thing per se? Like will I be putting too much pressure on the crankset, will I need different crank-arm length, or just have to adjust to a new sort of position ?

denmancentral

The feeling you get when standing can only really be related to the bar position (and crank length I guess).

Therefore it's a good idea to try different bar positions before moving the saddle around. You might try flipping the stem to bring the bars lower, rotating the bars, moving spacers around etc. I find having the bars rotated a few degrees out makes the bike feel quite strange.

As stated previously, the saddle position should ideally be set according to where the pedals are in relation to your legs, not where the bars are. In practice though, some movement may be necessary.