tony R wrote:
> Hi all, I'm contemplating fitting a shorter stem on my tourer. The positives obviously relate to
> the shorter reach. Are there any negatives I should consider?
The steering will be quicker, but this will only be a potential problem if the extension is
/very/ short, say under 80 or 90mm - and you may like the effect anyway (some people manage fine
with extremely stumpy stems) or you may not even notice it (or at least will very quickly get
used to it).
Also, there's a chance you may feel too cramped up if you go too far (particularly in the drops), or
may have a problem getting the bars up high enough (will need to be higher than exsiting bars to
suit the reduced reach) because many stems are rather short vertically. 10mm reach can make a
noticeable difference. I suggest changing by no more than 20mm at a time unless certain.
> I only ask because the 3ttt website recommends certain lengths for certain frame sizes
That should only be taken as a rough guide for middling stems for the certain sizes......
> which suggests to me there may be some reason for not just fitting any old size I want.
The main point of having a choice of stem sizes is to fine tune the bike's reach for you, so don't
worry about that point unless going well outside the "normal" range.
Also consider different bars like the 3T Morphe (if not using them already) with slightly swept back
tops and shorter reach to hoods and drops. Note. I will have 44cm Morphe bars for sale soon-ish if I
will be happy with replacement. I've decided on wider bars - which, incidentally, should also help
with a slightly more comfortable position, I think and hope (think about drops vs typical straights
and further outstretched arms coming towards body, etc).
--
~PB FA: 62cm Ti frame:
http://tinyurl.com/6stt