Stem Length???

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by ALAN OBRIEN
HOW DO YOU DETERMINE THE LENGTH OF STEM ON A ROAD BIKE? MY BIKE IS A 57 CM COLNAGO.

Stem length is measured along the stem extension from the center of the steerer tube to the center of the handlebar clamp. It's usually expressed in millimeters (90, 100, 110, etc.). If you measure in inches you can convert to millimeters by multiplying by: 25.4

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by ALAN OBRIEN
HOW DO YOU DETERMINE THE LENGTH OF STEM ON A ROAD BIKE? MY BIKE IS A 57 CM COLNAGO.

this is somewhat a question that depnds on your personal fit, if you'd already know what it is. Some prefers a little longer and some prefer a little shorter. The shorter stems mostly because their top tube is too long and thus they have to push their saddle forward and/or also use a shorter stem to achieve a comfortable reach.
But as a general rule, usually a stem length of 100mm and 110mm will give you a neutral handling for your bike. Assuming that you know that the 57CM is your perfect size, either one of these stem size would do well for you.
If your current bike or another bike that you've ridden feels most comfortable for you, then measure it from the tip of the saddle to the center of the stem. Then do some math and determine the sum of your top tube and length of your stem from your Colnago to come up with a stem length you would require.
Hope that helps.

Any idea how stem length impacts handling?
For example if your overall reach was the same on two different frames but one had a 80mm stem and the other had a 120mm stem, how would handleing be affected?
Or put another way, if you are between sizes are you better off with larger fame / short stem or smaller frame / longer stem?

A shorter stem will quicken the handling and make the steering more 'twitchy'.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by chris_gr
Any idea how stem length impacts handling?
For example if your overall reach was the same on two different frames but one had a 80mm stem and the other had a 120mm stem, how would handleing be affected?
Or put another way, if you are between sizes are you better off with larger fame / short stem or smaller frame / longer stem?

you're changing a lot of variables. usually the different frame sizes will have different head-tube angles and probably the wheelbase will be slightly different as well.

more turns at speed are created by body lean vs. big changes in handlebar angles. the smaller frame can have a shorter wheelbase, but then this is usually offset by a shallower head-tube angle. generally, i'd say smaller frames are slightly quicker handling.

that said, given equivalent geometries, though, the longer stem will slow up handling slightly. think of a longer lever vs. shorter lever. the same distance input will create less rotation of the fork with the longer stem.

i'd be surprised if the top-tube length difference between two consecutive frame sizes of the same model was 4cm needing a 8cm vs 12cm stem, but if possible, ride both combinations and see what feels better to you.

that probably muddied the waters more than clearing things up! good luck!

🙂

Chris_gr, drewski just gave you some good points there and I agree with him.

which bike and bike size are you considering? without knowing these factors, I usually would tend to go with the 120 mm stem over the 80mm. That's just my personal preference though. My TT frame size is around a 52cm and my road is 53 or 54 cm.

Hope that helps.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by chris_gr
Any idea how stem length impacts handling?
For example if your overall reach was the same on two different frames but one had a 80mm stem and the other had a 120mm stem, how would handleing be affected?
Or put another way, if you are between sizes are you better off with larger fame / short stem or smaller frame / longer stem?

If you are looking at that range of stem length you might well be looking at the wrong size bikes.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by meehs
Stem length is measured along the stem extension from the center of the steerer tube to the center of the handlebar clamp. It's usually expressed in millimeters (90, 100, 110, etc.). If you measure in inches you can convert to millimeters by multiplying by: 25.4

Center of stem clamp (center of quill),to center of bar clamp ALONG THE SIDE OF THE EXTENSION, works for threadless and almost all welded quill types.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Rudy
this is somewhat a question that depnds on your personal fit, if you'd already know what it is. Some prefers a little longer and some prefer a little shorter. The shorter stems mostly because their top tube is too long and thus they have to push their saddle forward and/or also use a shorter stem to achieve a comfortable reach.
But as a general rule, usually a stem length of 100mm and 110mm will give you a neutral handling for your bike. Assuming that you know that the 57CM is your perfect size, either one of these stem size would do well for you.
If your current bike or another bike that you've ridden feels most comfortable for you, then measure it from the tip of the saddle to the center of the stem. Then do some math and determine the sum of your top tube and length of your stem from your Colnago to come up with a stem length you would require.
Hope that helps.

oops!! center of the handlebar...typo 😄

I WOULD LIKE TO THANK EVERYONE WHO REPLIED TO MY QUERY CONCERNING STEM LENGTH, ALL INFORMATION RECEIVED WAS GREATLY APPRECIATED.