New Stem- choices?

glasgowbhoy

Looking for a new stem. Want to switch from a 100mm to a 90mm.
Current stem is a Deda Quattro.
Looking to spend around £50.

So far thought another Deda Zero 100 or a Thomson x2.

Any others you would suggest?

Cheers

Canny Jock

3T ARX Team is worth a go.

flanners1

90mm is a tad short for a roadbike, may make it flighty, or maybe you like a very quick turn in?

Stems, I have 3T arx, Thomson x2, Deda Newton, Deda 100, Easton EA90.

I don't know how the mags test these stems and find flex I never do and they all ride the same to me they hold the bars! It is down to aesthetics and price, the best value is the 3T Arx and the Deda 100, great looking and cheap (relatively).

inseine

One that looks nice with your bars/bike?
None of them should be really flexy at that length.

glasgowbhoy

Flanners1 wrote:

90mm is a tad short for a roadbike, may make it flighty, or maybe you like a very quick turn in?

Stems, I have 3T arx, Thomson x2, Deda Newton, Deda 100, Easton EA90.

I don't know how the mags test these stems and find flex I never do and they all ride the same to me they hold the bars! It is down to aesthetics and price, the best value is the 3T Arx and the Deda 100, great looking and cheap (relatively).

I have a 90mm on my Defy daily commuter/winter trainer and a 100 on my Kuota. The top tube on the Kuota is about 10mm longer than the Defy and think I'm a wee bit over stretched as I like to ride in the drops a lot now. May try the Easton 90 on the Kuota before I go out and buy one.

Cheers the 3T does look a good bet and nice colour scheme for me too.

sonny73

Another vote for 3T arx team and really pleased with it £45 from Probikekit.

amaferanga

Planet X CNC stem.

ugo.santalucia

Stems are all the same.
I've never had one that made the difference, whether in good or bad. Also, weight savings are in the order of a couple of parmesan shavings, so completely irrelevant and below the noticeable threshold. I would go for anything that is on offer and it's not too distasteful.

Also, 1 cm won't make a noticeable difference...

trailstar

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Ritch ... 360024996/

ritchey WCS Alloy, lightweight, strong, cheap and looks good. The wet black versions nice as well

amaferanga

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Also, 1 cm won't make a noticeable difference...

Rubbish. 1cm can make a huge difference.

Lillywhite

Flanners1 wrote:

90mm is a tad short for a roadbike, may make it flighty, or maybe you like a very quick turn in?

I agree. If a 90 cm stem is needed then the OP is riding the wrong sized bike.

glasgowbhoy

Lillywhite wrote:

Flanners1 wrote:

90mm is a tad short for a roadbike, may make it flighty, or maybe you like a very quick turn in?

I agree. If a 90 cm stem is needed then the OP is riding the wrong sized bike.

Don't agree. I have a 90 stem on an M/L Giant bike and a 100mm on a L frame Kuota.
I have particularly long legs compared to my torso, so, my reach isn't that big and can cause me back pain on the longer stem on 55/56 top tubes.

Why are 90mm stems produced then?

ugo.santalucia

amaferanga wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Also, 1 cm won't make a noticeable difference...

Rubbish. 1cm can make a huge difference.

let's put it this way... if I lean on the desk with my hands at X position and then I retract them of 1 cm, I don't notice any difference... I'm numb, clearly

inseine

let's put it this way... if I lean on the desk with my hands at X position and then I retract them of 1 cm, I don't notice any difference... I'm numb, clearly

Same for me, if I lower my office chair a couple of inches I'm still comfortable! :roll:

amaferanga

ugo.santalucia wrote:

amaferanga wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Also, 1 cm won't make a noticeable difference...

Rubbish. 1cm can make a huge difference.

let's put it this way... if I lean on the desk with my hands at X position and then I retract them of 1 cm, I don't notice any difference... I'm numb, clearly

Try doing both positions for 8 hours then and report back.

My Kuota came with a 10cm stem. It wasn't really uncomfortable, but last year when I was doing 300km day rides through the summer I wanted it to be spot on. Changed to 9cm stem and could ride for 13 hours without a hint of back pain. I then rode LEJOG over 5 days on said bike without any comfort issues. Then earlier this year I changed the bars and the new bars had a 1cm shorter reach. Bike was no longer really comfortable. Changed to 10cm stem and bike was spot on again.

So IME 1cm can make a big difference in comfort.

You're desk analogy is just plain stupid.

glasgowbhoy

cheers for that above.

Another question noticed that some stems come with 6 degree or 17 degree angles.
Any idea what the stock bikes come with?

ugo.santalucia

amaferanga wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

amaferanga wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Also, 1 cm won't make a noticeable difference...

Rubbish. 1cm can make a huge difference.

let's put it this way... if I lean on the desk with my hands at X position and then I retract them of 1 cm, I don't notice any difference... I'm numb, clearly

Try doing both positions for 8 hours then and report back.

My Kuota came with a 10cm stem. It wasn't really uncomfortable, but last year when I was doing 300km day rides through the summer I wanted it to be spot on. Changed to 9cm stem and could ride for 13 hours without a hint of back pain. I then rode LEJOG over 5 days on said bike without any comfort issues. Then earlier this year I changed the bars and the new bars had a 1cm shorter reach. Bike was no longer really comfortable. Changed to 10cm stem and bike was spot on again.

So IME 1cm can make a big difference in comfort.

You're desk analogy is just plain stupid.

I've lived in Sheffield for three years and I didn't remember people being so rude...
I can tell you clearly feel passionate about stem length, to the point of not allowing others to have different opinions... good for you!

amaferanga

ugo.santalucia wrote:

amaferanga wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

amaferanga wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Also, 1 cm won't make a noticeable difference...

Rubbish. 1cm can make a huge difference.

let's put it this way... if I lean on the desk with my hands at X position and then I retract them of 1 cm, I don't notice any difference... I'm numb, clearly

Try doing both positions for 8 hours then and report back.

My Kuota came with a 10cm stem. It wasn't really uncomfortable, but last year when I was doing 300km day rides through the summer I wanted it to be spot on. Changed to 9cm stem and could ride for 13 hours without a hint of back pain. I then rode LEJOG over 5 days on said bike without any comfort issues. Then earlier this year I changed the bars and the new bars had a 1cm shorter reach. Bike was no longer really comfortable. Changed to 10cm stem and bike was spot on again.

So IME 1cm can make a big difference in comfort.

You're desk analogy is just plain stupid.

I've lived in Sheffield for three years and I didn't remember people being so rude...
I can tell you clearly feel passionate about stem length, to the point of not allowing others to have different opinions... good for you!

You said it doesn't matter so I gave you some evidence to show that it does. End of. I'm not from Sheffield anyway :P

glasgowbhoy

anyone shed any light on the stem angle differences in real terms?

inseine

Another question noticed that some stems come with 6 degree or 17 degree angles.
Any idea what the stock bikes come with?

Say your bike has 73° of fork rake (pretty normal) then a 0° stem would point upwards at 17°, while a 17° stem will be horizontal (also normal) while a 6° stem will point upwards by 11° (horiible 'sportive' bike position ).

ScottieP

I'd suggest a 3T Arx Pro - they're only about £35 and I've been very pleased with mine (running 3T Ergosum Pro bars with them - it's a really nice combination).

glasgowbhoy

inseine wrote:

Another question noticed that some stems come with 6 degree or 17 degree angles.
Any idea what the stock bikes come with?

Say your bike has 73° of fork rake (pretty normal) then a 0° stem would point upwards at 17°, while a 17° stem will be horizontal (also normal) while a 6° stem will point upwards by 11° (horiible 'sportive' bike position ).

Cheers.

Lillywhite

Glasgowbhoy wrote:

Why are 90mm stems produced then?

You'll find that many suppliers don't bother stocking the 90mm size in a particular model whereas they have plenty of 110mm to 140mm.

Just giving my opinion and the fact that a 90mm stem could make the handling of your bike very twitchy.

neeb

The deda zero 100 and the 3t arx team are both great stems. The choice might come down to what angle you want. The 3t comes in 6 degrees or 17, while the deda is 8 degrees. The difference between 6 and 8 is small but just about significant, it equates to about 4mm of handlebar height, so a 5mm headset spacer approx.

Beware that the recommended torques on the deda are overkill and could cause you to crack your carbon bars or steerer if the torque isn't even on the steerer (e.g. due to position of the bung, not having a spacer above the stem) or if the faceplate isn't straight. I'd use 7 Nm max for the steerer and 6 for the bars, not 8 + 8 as they recommend!

domhopson

Planet X are knocking out the FSA OS115 for £45. RRP is £114.95

http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/STFSOS115/fsa-os115-road-stem

Bozman

Ritchey wc.. all round top stuff ! 3T are good but you need the bars to match. Fsa need to look for a new designer on the lower priced stems, old fashioned and brick like(os csi 99 gets an ok)

Canny Jock

Regarding 90mm stems - a lot of decent bikes have them as standard on the smaller sizes (Bianchi Infinito, Cannondale Six). It's also not true to say it will make a bike twitchy, it depends on a lot of factors, only one of which is the stem.

flanners1

Canny Jock wrote:

Regarding 90mm stems - a lot of decent bikes have them as standard on the smaller sizes (Bianchi Infinito, Cannondale Six). It's also not true to say it will make a bike twitchy, it depends on a lot of factors, only one of which is the stem.

Maybe, but it won't help handling on a roadbike IMO at all, have a look at any pro set-up there aint any running 90mm stems: 130mm seems the average.

ChrisSA

It's about what works for your body, not what the Pros have, or what your mate rides. I've a 90mm on my road bike and it makes it rideable. It was very uncomfortable before.

A 90mm stem with long classic bars may give the same reach to the hoods as say a 110 or 120 with compact bars.
It also depends on the stem stack height. As I have a threaded fork I cannot get the stack height as high as recommended. The 90mm stem puts the bars at roughly the same horizontal reach as the recommended 115mm stem would at the correct stack height.

Just saying "90 will make your bike twitchy" is a bit of an invalid comment.

Go with what feels right.

(Edited to include "to the hoods").

thel33ter

I ride a 90mm stem thats parallel to the ground, no idea what rise. It feels perfect for me, and not twitchy except at really high speed, in heavy winds. All the pro's run long stems cause they are more aero, and at pro race pace a 90mm stem probably would be a bit twitchy.

As Chris said, only you can decide what feels right.

System_1

Flanners1 wrote:

Canny Jock wrote:

Regarding 90mm stems - a lot of decent bikes have them as standard on the smaller sizes (Bianchi Infinito, Cannondale Six). It's also not true to say it will make a bike twitchy, it depends on a lot of factors, only one of which is the stem.

Maybe, but it won't help handling on a roadbike IMO at all, have a look at any pro set-up there aint any running 90mm stems: 130mm seems the average.

That's because most pros ride bikes a size or two smaller than normal. Nothing to do with handling. Advising people on bike sizing and stem length based on what the pros use is going to result in a very uncomfortable ride for 90% of most normal riders.

I used to ride a bike with a 130mm stem and it handled like a shopping trolley. Pros do it because they can gain more benefit from the lighter frame, stiffer front triangle and lower headtube length and therefore more aerodynamic position. Take a look at Hincapies bike here for instance. He's 6ft 3in and riding a frame that IMO is a good 2 sizes too small. He's even gone to the trouble of customising the seatpost just so he can set the saddle far enough back to fit the smaller frame. The long stem is used for a similar purpose, not any benefit in handling.