When you talk "longer stem" what part are you talking about?

Scott'sTrek1000 said:

When you talk "longer stem" what part of the stem are you talking about....the part that runs horizontal or vertical to the ground?

Horizontal.

If people suggest getting a "longer stem" if somebody thinks their frame is a bit too small, has short arms, and a longer torso, how can this help? Won't it just make you stretch out further, adding to the discomfort?

Scott'sTrek1000 said:

If people suggest getting a "longer stem" if somebody thinks their frame is a bit too small, has short arms, and a longer torso, how can this help? Won't it just make you stretch out further, adding to the discomfort?

If you frame is a bit too small, then that would indicate that you are cramped and can't stretch out enough. But yes, the longer stem would allow you more reach.

I feel like my handlebars aren't high enough...like the neck needs raised up. What to do about that?

What you are describing as the neck is what I call the stem. The stem is what the handlebars are attached to. On some bikes the stem can be raised by moving spacers on the headset (best done by your LBS). Also stems come in different angles, e.g. a 90 degree stem sits at 90 degrees to the headset. If you have a 110 degree stem it may sit higher or lower than 90 degrees depending on how it is installed. Stems that are not 90 degrees can be flipped to make the handlebars sit higher or lower in relation to the top of the headset.

Hope that's not too confusing.

There are stems in differant lengths and angles. You can also flip most stems around, like a typical 7 degree stem can angle up or down depending on your needs. When I was fitted for my new Madone, they had to change the stem on my bike to a slightly shorter one, I had the proper leg length for a 58 cm frame, just not the arm length quite. 🙂

http://www.bontrager.com/stems/

I think you need a stem raiser, Sheldon Brown sells them http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/stems.html#raisers that will make it easier to reach the bars.

gruppo said:

What you are describing as the neck is what I call the stem. The stem is what the handlebars are attached to. On some bikes the stem can be raised by moving spacers on the headset (best done by your LBS). Also stems come in different angles, e.g. a 90 degree stem sits at 90 degrees to the headset. If you have a 110 degree stem it may sit higher or lower than 90 degrees depending on how it is installed. Stems that are not 90 degrees can be flipped to make the handlebars sit higher or lower in relation to the top of the headset.

Hope that's not too confusing.

A traditional quill sten has the quill that secures into the steerer and can be long or short,and can be raised or lowered. The extension is the part the bars attach to and the extension can have various angles relative to the qulll and various lengths......On newer threadless stuff, the stem is just 'the stem'. The stem has various angles relative to the steerer and various lengths.A threadless stem may have varying amounts of spacers on top of or under it,and switching spacers around can also raise or lower the bars.