Could a shorter and higher rise stem help

gcwebbyuk

I have given up riding for the time being as I am waiting for disc replacement on my neck.

I get a lot of pain across the back of my neck and shoulders even after 10 minutes on the bike.

I have been running a 90mm 0 deg rise stem and a riser bar.

Could swapping to a short and higher rise stem help?

After a quick look, I found a Hope 50mm 25 deg angle.

Will the small difference in length and angle help? Would it mess up the handling of the bike (stumpy HT).

Just wanna get back out on the bike

blister pus

depends what your posture is like on the bike as it is. It'd certainly bring you more upright.

50mm stem is short and probably too short and a 25 degree rise is big (and yes, probably too big) and you'll find it twitchy as hell if you aren't used to that. So you'd be better with 70 with 6 - 10 degree rise and a mid rise bar. ...that would still hoist your posture well up

gcwebbyuk

So a 70mm 10 deg would be a much more noticeable improvent to a 90mm 0 deg, without being twitchy?

lesz42

this helps, need to know a bit about the frame tho ( degrees)

http://alex.phred.org/stemchart/Default.aspx

blister pus

It's certainly less dramatic a change....

going from 90 stem down to a 50 just on it's own will make it feel twitchy if you're not used to riding that way. I use a 60 stem and wide bars and any shorter and I'd really start to notice twitchy steering and I'm used to a short stem.

The rest is about rise which is going to jack you up. What you don't want is overly dramatic adjustments from what you are used to that you'll more than likely hate. Which is why I asked what your posture was like on the bike as it is. Do you have plenty of room in the top tube length as things are? how stretched out are you? Is that really the cause of your problems?

gcwebbyuk

I will get a photo of me on the bike, so you can see my posture - it felt ok before all this pain.

gcwebbyuk

Putting this to bed for the mo...

...got a letter with an appointment for a new MRI Scan, which surgeon said should be about 2 weeks before surgery - so looks like I am getting cut open sometime in October!

blister pus

Bummer. Hope all goes well for you.

gcwebbyuk

Bummer? not at all - been having this problem get slowly worse for a year now - means I wont be able to ride the bike till after, but its a massive relief

Can keep my current Thomson stem on for when I recover!

blister pus

going under the knife is always a bummer even if it is for long term benefit. I always get sh!tty thoughts and start looking up statistics on death by anaesthetic or MRSA contraction. lmfao

gcwebbyuk

yeah been there done that!

its my first ever op - so quite nervous, but cant carry on like I am now - so hopefully it will all go smoothly!

KonaKurt

It completely depends on the geometry of the frame, and also your fork lengths (travel).
I would also say that 50mm is far too short, giving little stability when cornering.

Could you fit bar ends on instead? Would they help?

KK.

NatoED

don't go too short and don't raise it up too much . you need your back straight so having the bars too close will curve your spine . go for a 90 mm with 10 deg up. . you should bend your body from the hip , where as a short stem with high rise will make you bend in the middle of your back putting your spine under load even before you start your ride.