New handlebar stem

In article <1ickbvh.u4eps81jdfqi6N%real-not-anti-spam-address@apple-
juice.co.uk>, D.M. Procida
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

I have a Bianchi C2C via Nirone 7, which is just a bit too long for me,
so I want to fit a shorter handlebar stem.

What does one need to know about stems?

Bar diameter, steerer diameter, length, angle.

Quoted message said:

Does a significantly shorter stem make the bike handle differently?

It will make the steering a bit quicker, and will shift your weight back
a tad thus lightening the front wheel fractionally.

Doubt if you will notice any differance in the handling. More likely to
notice the improvement in comfort though !

SW

"D.M. Procida" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I have a Bianchi C2C via Nirone 7, which is just a bit too long for me,
so I want to fit a shorter handlebar stem.

What does one need to know about stems?

Does a significantly shorter stem make the bike handle differently?

Daniele

In article <[email hidden]>, Steve Watkin
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Doubt if you will notice any differance in the handling. More likely to
notice the improvement in comfort though !

I definitely noticed a handling difference when I switched to a longer
stem on one of my bikes - I think it was something like 100mm to 130mm.

D.M. Procida said:

Does a significantly shorter stem make the bike handle differently?

Yes, quicker steering, but you get used to it in ten minutes flat, then it
just feels normal. Most importantly you will feek more comfortable, if it's
what you need.

~PB

Pete Biggs said:

D.M. Procida said:

Does a significantly shorter stem make the bike handle differently?

Yes, quicker steering, but you get used to it in ten minutes flat, then it
just feels normal. Most importantly you will feek more comfortable, if it's
what you need.

~PB

And I have found that my new style bars and brake hoods reach so far
forward from the stem that I need the shorter stem to get my usual
brake hood position back into the right place. This makes the bar tops
closer to me than on the old bike, but that is fine.As was said the
steering feel is slightly different when on the tops, but fine.
Consider the height when you make the change.I drew a variety of stem
positions on paper with a protractor and ruler and ended up getting
one of these:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280198726322.

TerryJ said:

And I have found that my new style bars and brake hoods reach so far
forward from the stem that I need the shorter stem to get my usual
brake hood position back into the right place. This makes the bar tops
closer to me than on the old bike, but that is fine.As was said the
steering feel is slightly different when on the tops, but fine.
Consider the height when you make the change.I drew a variety of stem
positions on paper with a protractor and ruler and ended up getting
one of these:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280198726322.

That looks very neat.

It is a 25.4 job though. I wouldn't be happy to use it with 25.8 or 26.0mm
bars. Most modern road ones are at least that.

~PB

Pete Biggs said:

TerryJ said:

And I have found that my new style bars and brake hoods reach so far
forward from the stem that I need the shorter stem to get my usual
brake hood position back into the right place. This makes the bar tops
closer to me than on the old bike, but that is fine.As was said the
steering feel is slightly different when on the tops, but fine.
Consider the height when you make the change.I drew a variety of stem
positions on paper with a protractor and ruler and ended up getting
one of these:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280198726322.

That looks very neat.

It is a 25.4 job though. I wouldn't be happy to use it with 25.8 or 26.0mm
bars. Most modern road ones are at least that.

~PB

these are the words of Sheldon Brown:
25.8 mm Unofficial in-between size used by some Italian handlebar
makers for handlebars designed to be usable in either ISO (25.4) or
Italian (26.0) size stems.

and he will not be changing his mind.

Actually it had not occurred to me to worry about it until you brought
it up.My bars are 25.8.
TerryJ

TerryJ said:

Quoted message said:

It is a 25.4 job though. I wouldn't be happy to use it with 25.8 or
26.0mm bars. Most modern road ones are at least that.

~PB

these are the words of Sheldon Brown:
25.8 mm Unofficial in-between size used by some Italian handlebar
makers for handlebars designed to be usable in either ISO (25.4) or
Italian (26.0) size stems.

and he will not be changing his mind.

And sadly we can't discuss it with him any more. Fortunately we can read
past discussion on the subject via Google. A lot of people say they don't
get problems with the combination, but also some say they think it's a bad
idea.

~PB

D.M. Procida said:

I have a Bianchi C2C via Nirone 7, which is just a bit too long for me,
so I want to fit a shorter handlebar stem.

I still haven't worked out exactly what I need to get!

The bike is (or seems to be) this model:

<http://bianchi.com/en/products2007/Road_Y7B44.aspx>

or

<http://bianchi.com/en/products2007/Road_Y7B11.aspx>

Either way, the handlebar is:

"300 SuperOver Alu 6061 420-440-460mm"

and the headset:

"FSA ZS4-CUSTOM"

and the stem:

"DA-32 3D forged alloy Super Over 90-100-110-120-130 black/anodized"

Would something like this do:

<http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.aspx?Cat=cycle&ProdID=5360034053&
N=ITM%20Racer%20Oversize%20Stem> ?

Is a £14.99 stem suitable? Sone of them seem to be made of
spaceship-grade carbon-fibre and priced accordingly.

Thanks for any advice.

Daniele

"D.M. Procida" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

D.M. Procida said:

I have a Bianchi C2C via Nirone 7, which is just a bit too long for me,
so I want to fit a shorter handlebar stem.

..............................

Quoted message said:

Would something like this do:

<http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.aspx?Cat=cycle&ProdID=5360034053&
N=ITM%20Racer%20Oversize%20Stem> ?

Is a £14.99 stem suitable? Sone of them seem to be made of
spaceship-grade carbon-fibre and priced accordingly.

As far as I can see, the ITM handlebars are 31.8mm clamp (bulge) diameter
(oversize), so the model you have selected should be fine.

Wiggle are nice - give them (or just about any other retailer) a ring, and
ask for advice, if you have any concerns at all - it's in their interests to
be nice, cos if they make folk asking queries happy, they're likely to buy
🙂

All the best, and good luck,

pOB

D.M. Procida said:

D.M. Procida said:

I have a Bianchi C2C via Nirone 7, which is just a bit too long for
me, so I want to fit a shorter handlebar stem.

I still haven't worked out exactly what I need to get!

The bike is (or seems to be) this model:

<http://bianchi.com/en/products2007/Road_Y7B44.aspx>

or

<http://bianchi.com/en/products2007/Road_Y7B11.aspx>

Either way, the handlebar is:

"300 SuperOver Alu 6061 420-440-460mm"

and the headset:

"FSA ZS4-CUSTOM"

and the stem:

"DA-32 3D forged alloy Super Over 90-100-110-120-130 black/anodized"

Would something like this do:

<http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.aspx?Cat=cycle&ProdID=5360034053&
N=ITM%20Racer%20Oversize%20Stem> ?

Is a £14.99 stem suitable? Sone of them seem to be made of
spaceship-grade carbon-fibre and priced accordingly.

Yes, a forged aluminium stem from a reputable make like ITM should be fine.
A more expensive one won't be any better - except it may be lighter, and
have four bolts on the front instead of two, for extra insurance.

The "Over" in the bar & stems specs, I suppose, means "oversize". The
angles aren't clear, but they're probably similar. You could look for one
with a steeper angle if you want to raise the bars as well as reduce the
reach.

Length: Measure your existing stem from the centre of the fork steerer tube
to the centre of the handlebar.

~PB