Shorter stem? dose it improve stearing?

stoychgreyjoy

Dose a shorter stem really improve the reaction/increase steering? I am finding more and more that I my steering isn't as quick and pin point as I like! I feel like my arms are getting tried and feel really stretched! I heard and been told that having a shorter stem sorts out the problem I am having!

Dose anyone have any stems I should look at and any sizing tips I need to know before I buy as wifely will be grumpy

I do a lot of xc/single track/ trails

Chunkers1980

Might help to say what you've got now.

rockmonkeysc

It will speed up the steering but also change your riding position. A short stem with narrow bars would be a bit twitchy.
Get one from ebay a bit shorter that what you currently have, maybe try 20mm less.
What bars and stem do you have now and how many spacers do you have under the stem?

wildc4rd

For trails and singletrack, I'd go with a 50mm stem and 750mm or so bars, it does improve your control when in the attack position.

cooldad

Very fashionable but how the hell can you just assume that will work based on, um, er, nothing.

rockmonkeysc

wildc4rd wrote:

For trails and singletrack, I'd go with a 50mm stem and 750mm or so bars, it does improve your control when in the attack position.

The sizes which work for you and your bike might not be right for everyone.
50mm is too long for me on my bike and 750 is a bit narrow. I have a 35mm stem and 785mm bars, best set up for me after trial and error.

cooldad

Last weekend I had a 110mm stem and 520 bars

The Rookie

My bike's have stems ranging from 80-120mm and bars from 560 upto a whopping 640mm, works nicely for me!

rockmonkeysc

cyd190468 wrote:

Before you buy anything try moving your seat 5-10mm forward. That will encourage you to put weight on the front which will increase front grip and steering responsiveness for free.

But if youre cornering properly you will be out of the saddle anyway. Saddle position should be set to be comfortable for pedaling.

rockmonkeysc

Your saddle position has no effect on cornering. You cannot corner properly in the saddle, your weight is in the wrong place, you have no real control and cannot react to loss of grip or bumps.
If you have a reasonable level of fittness you will be out of the saddle sprinting between corners on flat or gentle climbs because you cant corner well while pedalling.

The Rookie

Both comments are true depending on type of bike and type of riding.....

That said I don't know many people with an XC bike who would compromise the seated peddling position for cornering (at speed), you would come out the saddle if you needed to.

rockmonkeysc

If youre climbing hard enough to be cornering seated youre unlikelt to be pushing the limits of front end grip especially because you cant lean the bike very much before you start getting pedal strikes. There is no difference in cornering techmique whether youre riding xc, trail or enduro. DH is a little bit different though.

Chunkers1980

RockmonkeySC wrote:

xc, trail or enduro.

Is this not essentially because although someone's given them different names they are exactly the same.

rockmonkeysc

Chunkers1980 wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

xc, trail or enduro.

Is this not essentially because although someone's given them different names they are exactly the same.

Enduro is basically what is old farts have been doing for years and calling xc. It didnt need a 160mm bike until last year and a new helmet and some brightly coloured riding kit.

Ferrals

Not quite - enduro is the lazy mans version of what most people have been done for years and called xc.
I might start an anti-gravity enduro series: where you're timed up a bunch of long steep and tech climbs, and then have nice gentle fire road spin back down to the next one! It might make lycra skin suits and bar-ends cool again :-)

rockmonkeysc

Some #enduro races can be quite tough to make the transitions in time. Enduro1 at Greatwood was tough, I was relieved to crash out and break my bike on stage 4 so I didnt have to do two big climbs in a very tight time.

rockmonkeysc

Lowering the bars (possibly by removing spacers from under the stem) is the way to get more weight over the front rather than compromising the saddle position which should be set to the best position for pedaling.

peter413

I've tried moving the saddle before and it makes sod all difference to the control of the bike, definitely not enough to compromise comfort. I've found the angle of the saddle has much more effect. Also I've found that lowering the bars doesn't always help with control. On both my DH bike and Mega I've raised the bars further than I would normally and the control at higher speeds, especially on rough and steep trails, is better. But yes lowering the bars will normally get more weight over the front but as I pointed out that's not always a good thing and you should be able to compensate for this using your body.

A shorter stem doesn't improve the steering, it just changes it. It also changes your body position, how the whole bike feels, how the bike fits and other things. This shorter is better mentality is utter nonsense. I tried a 60mm stem on my Cube and changed it for a 100mm stem after the first ride. Felt much better in every way and I'm using 785mm bars so they're not exactly narrow. I am also running a 40mm stem on my Mega and that also feels good. Different bikes behave differently to different setups.

paul.skibum

On the same bike, comparing one set up to another rather than comparing a rigid 29er to a full suspension 26er, a shorter stem does two things, it changes your balance point on the bike and alters the speed at which a steering input at the bars turns the wheel. A shorter stem is normally associated with widdening the bars which reduces this effect.

I changed from a 70 to a 40 on my Bronson primarily to shorten the effective top tube to allow for my dumpy ass, The shorter stem worked well but made things a little twitchy and the bars closer to hand felt narrower. I added 30mm to the bars (740) which made everything feel better. A wider bar might make it better still, always looking for a cheap option to try.

rockmonkeysc

The point of lowering bars is not to get more weight over the front, it is to lower your body position and centre of gravity. Rotation of the bars also has quite an impact on body position and control.

peter413

The only reason I pointed out both bikes was to highlight that what works on one bike doesn't work on another. I wasn't comparing them in any way.

paul.skibum

peter413 wrote:

The only reason I pointed out both bikes was to highlight that what works on one bike doesn't work on another. I wasn't comparing them in any way.

Sorry fella - I wasnt actually having a go, more aiming to describe the change on a single bike and why going shorter might work for the OP (or not). Definitely doesnt solve problems for all bikes and some bikes need the longer stem. I seem to recall reading a review in Some Bike Mag where a long term test had a shorter stem fitted which turned it to utter junk, so they swapped back - I think a 29er hardtail too actually.