Stem Questions



Shane422

New Member
Feb 19, 2005
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I'm trying to fine tune the fit of a new bike. But I'm having a lot a discomfort in my hands and neck. Would another 10 degree rise in the stem make sense for fixing that? It seems to be the right length (i.e. bars are in line with the hub.)

Also how do you measure stem length? From middle of the fork to middle of handlebars ?
 
Could answer your questions better if you gave some dimensions of yourself and your bike and what size stem you have on with what rise. You may want to move your seat back to get your weight more off the bars that may promote needing a shorter stem. For recreational riders stem rise is a good thing at the detriment of aerodynamics but maybe the trade off you are willing to accept as riding with pain kills the fun. Stem reach is from centerline of steerer tube to centerline of handle bars. As stem rise increases from 0/90 degrees to the steerer, reach decreases by the sin of the angle...a good thing to take weight off.
Post more information is you want a more solid answer and or a picture of you riding the bike.
George
 
biker7 said:
Could answer your questions better if you gave some dimensions of yourself and your bike and what size stem you have on with what rise. You may want to move your seat back to get your weight more off the bars that may promote needing a shorter stem. For recreational riders stem rise is a good thing at the detriment of aerodynamics but maybe the trade off you are willing to accept as riding with pain kills the fun. Stem reach is from centerline of steerer tube to centerline of handle bars. As stem rise increases from 0/90 degrees to the steerer, reach decreases by the sin of the angle...a good thing to take weight off.
Post more information is you want a more solid answer and or a picture of you riding the bike.
George
What a load of nonsense. Saddle position is for knee to pedal relationship.Nothing more! :rolleyes: Tig welded quill and all threadless stems are measured center of steerer clamp to center of bar clamp, along the side of the extension! :rolleyes:
 
Back at ya B. Saddle fore-aft tilt is one of the most important wrist-aiding adjustments. Speaking as a reccurrent carpal tunnel sufferer, I am quite sensitive to ergonomics. To take wieght off your hands, tilt back. There is of course a limit to how much tilt you can do, but you may be surprised.
 
bore-troll every once in a while you wane into a state of civility but then lose your mind again...lol. Connie is correct of course...saddle position not only affects fore/aft weight distribution and weight on your hands but reach as well. As to measuring stem length...ding ding ding.
1 for 2 is pretty good for you.
George
 
The bore troll is right in that saddle position fore/aft (not talking rotation here) being used to adjust for incorrect reach is a crutch, an improper band-aid on an ill-fitting bike. :rolleyes:

Fore/aft should position the rider correctly over the pedals. Then the bikes geometry/TT length should put the bars in the right neighborhood for comfortable reach (more or less streched out depending on how agressive a position the rider wants, etc). If the above is correct, then the stem length and angle, along with how high it is positioned on the steerer, should be used to position the bars.
 
Conniebiker said:
Back at ya B. Saddle fore-aft tilt is one of the most important wrist-aiding adjustments. Speaking as a reccurrent carpal tunnel sufferer, I am quite sensitive to ergonomics. To take wieght off your hands, tilt back. There is of course a limit to how much tilt you can do, but you may be surprised.
The idiot said move it back, not tilt it up. Turn on the comprehension switch. :rolleyes:
 
biker7 said:
bore-troll every once in a while you wane into a state of civility but then lose your mind again...lol. Connie is correct of course...saddle position not only affects fore/aft weight distribution and weight on your hands but reach as well. As to measuring stem length...ding ding ding.
1 for 2 is pretty good for you.
George
So now we have 2 confirmed idiots. :rolleyes: There is a big difference between for and aft and saddle tilt . You both need to have a go with the comprehension switch.
 
boudreaux said:
So now we have 2 confirmed idiots. :rolleyes: There is a big difference between for and aft and saddle tilt . You both need to have a go with the comprehension switch.
And you need some lessons in manners, but that is another topic entirely...

Fore-aft has an influence as well, just not as dramatic. It has a correlation to the wieght distribution in relation to feet and power, but also reach. As was stated, stem and top-tube fit are the ideal way to go about reach, but that is not always the option.
 
Well, I see I've lit some sort of fuse.

I have a 2004 62CM Jamis Quest with a 120mm Stem with 7 degree rise before accounting for the head tube angle. The seat is all the way back at the moment with only a slight downward tilt. I am 6'3" (~34" inseam). I happened to measure the distance on my old bike (2001 64cm Fuji Ace) from the nose of the seat to the bars, and I'm currently set up with a little more than an inch more reach than the old setup. But I know the old setup was a bit short, but coomfortable. The bar heights seem to be about the same.

I think I'll start by moving the seat forward a bit and recheck my knee alignment with the peddles to make sure the fore/aft position is correct.
 
Shane422 said:
Well, I see I've lit some sort of fuse...
:D ...not necessarily 'lit a fuse' as much as you've stumbled upon the sato masochistic, thank-you-may-I-have-another? nature of much of what is discussed in this forum. ;)

Ya know, what's probably been missed here, the best advise is to take your bike into a LBS with a good tech to get a real fitting.
 
have to say RC, I am surprised by your intial post as fore/aft seat adjustment is the first thing any fitter does to ensure proper weight distribution and moving the seat forward or back affects reach to the handlebar and utimately stem selection...what Shane is trying to tune. Shane, every once in a while the board troll incites a thread which is more comedy than anything else. Connie, you know biking and are keenly aware of ergonomics having suffered with hand pain. Defense of what you wrote doesn't even deserve your time. Many forums have trolls. It depending on the guardianship of the board sponsors and sadly the policy here is laissez-faire which taints an overall friendly group of enthusiasts...his objective BTW...to spread the hate he feels for himself which is too big a burden to shoulder for a coward.

Shane, by the sound of it, to put your mind at ease, you bought the right size bike. From here, its a matter of adjustment and getting your body conditioned through long road miles. As mentioned, the first thing you want to establish is KOPS...not an absolute but a good reference point for establishing your reach to the bar. KOPS is a guideline only and largely determined by your cycling intensity. Leisurely riders typically prefer 1 cm or so behind pedal spindle to promote their weight back a bit and more aggressive riders like knee position even or a bit in front of pedal spindle. This will establish your CG intially of that big body of yours on the bike. Then you dial in stem reach and rise presuming you are on the right size bike which you are. A comment about your proportions. Sounds as though you provided your pant inseam at 34". I am 2 inches shorter than you at 6'1" and have a 35" cycling inseam, i.e. PB to ground and ride almost the same size bike with a shorter reach stem with a bit of rise. You may have an inordinantly long torso, but suspect you didn't state your PB to ground measurement, as 34'" though not impossible, would be short legged for your height. In any event you should have no problem with your top tube length and subsequent dialing in of aggragate top tube and stem length on a 62cm bike with your size, in particular if you are mostly torso but even if you aren't. Keep in mind you will stretch out as you accumulate road miles. PM me if you want freedom from any further inane chatter.
HTH,
George
 
biker7 said:
have to say RC, I am surprised by your intial post as fore/aft seat adjustment is the first thing any fitter does to ensure proper weight distribution .....

Shane, by the sound of it, to put your mind at ease, you bought the right size bike.
What a fool. Saddle for and aft is about knee to pedal relationship. Nothing more. and how could you possiblyknow the bike is the right size with out seeing him on it? :rolleyes:
 
RC2 said:
:D ...

Ya know, what's probably been missed here, the best advise is to take your bike into a LBS with a good tech to get a real fitting.
What a novel idea.But ya know don't ya that would cut out all the internet bike fit experts...LOL. Maybe not such a bad thing....Eh? ;) :D
 
biker7 said:
have to say RC, I am surprised by your intial post as fore/aft seat adjustment is the first thing any fitter does to ensure proper weight distribution

The first thing is getting the rider on the right bike, with the right basic geometry, the right size TT, etc.