lower bars?

dmch2

I find my bike perfectly comfy on the drops - does this mean I should lower the bars a bit to get some more aero advantage?

It's a 2010 Trek 1.5 and has (what I assume are) 3 spacers which raise the bars by about 1cm each.



(I've raised the saddle 1/4" since the picture)

Mike67

Perfectly comfy sounds good to me

If you want to get more aero then, yes, you could drop the bars down a bit.
Give it a go and see if you lose that comfy feel. It may even feel better.

dmch2

Next question then

How easy is it to remove a spacer to drop things down? Do I just undo the allen bolt on the top, pop a spacer out and do it up again or is it more complex?

I replaced the headset on my hybrid about 5 years ago but I can't really remember what I ended up doing :?

furrag

- Undo headset bolt. Undo the stem bolts.

- Slide the stem over the top of the steerer tube, remove a spacer and replace the stem, placing the removed spacer on top of the stem to ensure no play in the headset.

- Tighten the headset bolt first, and then the stem bolts.

Zachariah

It's dead easy, I did the same thing on mine.

Undo the top cap of your forks. Undo the stem bolts and slide the whole stem off the forks.

Remove spacers as desired.

Replace stem at the new, lower position. Unless you're sawing off the top of the fork steerer, put the spacers on top of the stem and replace the top cap.

You now have lowered handlebars, and a fetching mini-tower over your stem.

Some people don't like that. Ignore them.

dmch2

Really easy then! Thanks I'll try dropping it one and see how I get on.

It also means (I assume) that changing the stem for a shorter one is almost as easy. This is good as I think mine is too long.

I was between a 56 and 58cm frame so got the 58. The result is that on the hoods my hands sit most comfortably 1 or 2 cm short of where it looks like they should. Since the drops are comfy I assume that this means that the bars are too far away (ie stem too long) rather than me being to inflexible to reach for them. Does that make sense / seem reasonable?

I guess this is where I go for a bike fit and the nice man drops my bars and sells me a shorter stem? More fun to DIY though

Mike67

Almost as easy to change the stem. You will need undo the front plate to remove the bars of course.

Dropping the bars will effectivley make the bars 'feel' further away so may make things worse for you if it feels long already.

One tip if you're unsure of stem length and aren't going for a bike fit (I went that way in the end): buy a cheap one off fleabay or somewhere just in case it works out to be the wrong length.
You can always sell it on later and buy a nice shiny new one.

(This is from a man with three stems sitting on a shelf )

dmch2

What if there's someone friendly on bikeradar with a shelf full of stems?

I presume a fiver would be enough for me to buy a cheap 90 stem to try instead of my 110?

And are expensive stems just a bit lighter than cheap ones (for the same length/angle)?

Mike67

120mm 6 degree, 110mm 10 degree and 100mm 10 degree..spot the pattern

Nearer £10 should buy you a reasonable second hand stem...depends on make.

Expensive ones are generally a tad lighter, yes, but will also tend to have better hardware like bolts that don't go rusty and may even be made of that blingy stuff called carbon.

I currently have this one:

http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/STPX3DF/planet-x-superlight-team-3d-forged-stem

Not too pricey, decent quality and light. (Also available in white )

Wheelspinner

A couple of additional things: when you replace the top cap, remember that the purpose of it is to preload the bearings in your headset, NOT to be done up so tight the whole steerer tube is bound solid. You want the torque set so that the fork turns freely, but has no rattle or play in any direction...

THEN do your stem bolts up to the recommended torque.

Also, going to a 90mm stem may be ok, but that's getting a little on the short side for a road bike. If you need that size, then there's a chance your frame is a tad large perhaps. Any smaller than 90mm on most road bikes and the handling starts getting weird because your weight is positioned differently. If you do change the stem to this, make sure your first couple of rides are a bit cautious, especially pointed down steep hills. Worst time to discover your steering is different is halfway round a corner at 60 kay!

Butterd2

dmch2 wrote:

I find my bike perfectly comfy on the drops - does this mean I should lower the bars a bit to get some more aero advantage?

I have been considering doing exactly the same for the same reasons, it's got to be worth as go as it's easy enough to go back so long as you don't cut down the steerer tube.

Chris James

Just a quick note - if you do lower your bars you will have to lean lower to reach them, thereby increasing your reach.

- i.e. your existing stem may be fine.

dmch2

I decided to raise the saddle a bit first rather than dropping the bars. This after speaking to a friend and reading sheldon's thoughts.

The first 1/4" raise felt good on the last ride so I'll try it up another 1/4" and keep going until I get too high and bring it back a step.

Then I'll check the set back and finally see if I still feel the need to drop the bars or not.

Cheers again for the advice on how to move the bars though