Flipping stem...

Bikelyst said:

I have been looking around, and have realized that you can flip your stem.

i.e. if it is up at an angle, you can turn it upside down in order to be more aero, and visa versa.

Is this possible? If it is, can I do it with simple tools (allen wrech) by myself.

And also, if I do flip my stem, will this cause my previously fitted bike to not fit me correctly anymore? Because of the difference in geometry caused by the lower stem.

Help Wanted.

It certainly will change the fit of your bike (unless of course you have a stem of 0° rise angle, in which case flipping it is a moot point🙄 ) Whether this will be of any benefit or detriment to you depends entirely on your current fit and desired riding style; and for what reason you want to change it.

The change in your reach and vertical rise of your bars is going to depend on a combination your stem angle, stem length and headtube angle. The following MS Excel spreadsheet will give you a quick & dirty way of comparing your proposed changes.

hammerheadbikes.comstemcalculator.xlsOpen ↗

[quote="serenaslu"]It certainly will change the fit of your bike (unless of course you have a stem of 0° rise angle, in which case flipping it is a moot point🙄 ) Whether this will be of any benefit or detriment to you depends entirely on your current fit and desired riding style; and for what reason you want to change it.

The change in your reach and vertical rise of your bars is going to depend on a combination your stem angle, stem length and headtube angle. The following MS Excel spreadsheet will give you a quick & dirty way of comparing your proposed changes.

[b]hammerheadbikes.comstemcalculator.xlsOpen ↗[/b][/QUOTE]
there are stems that are purely horizontal right?

Bikelyst said:

there are stems that are purely horizontal right?

Since the head tube of your bike isn't perfectly vertical, a stem with about a 71 or 72 degree angle will usually be pretty nearly horizontal (depends on the angle of your head tube). Most threadless stems don't have quite that much angle 80 (or 100) degree stems are probably about the most common.