I’m going from a Soloist Team to a P3C. Right now, I’m riding the Soloist with about 2mm worth of spacers with the seat in the forward position. Would using an adjustable stem be a wise long term investment to one day achieve a steeper position?
Check out the Giant EXT Pro stems. The newer style don’t look as nice as the older quill stem type, but the do work very well. Othewise the double jointed LOOK ones are good too, but pricey.
Well worth the price to try out positions prior to buying the final stem.
Yeah, I was looking into the Look Ergo stem. I’ll look into the Giant EXT Pro stems as well. I’m fairly new to cycling to begin with, so I figure more time on the bike will allow me to use the bike for its intended use of steeper riding.
The Giant EXT only pivots at one point, so up and down.
I’m not sure if the cycling rule of thum about stem length suits steep angled bikes,Slowman might know.
When on the bars, in a relativley normal position, simply look down. The centreline of the bars should line up with the front hub, plus or minus a little bit. It’s not perfect, but a good rule of thumb.
If this is correct for your case, then you can get the single pivot EXT style at the same length you already have (or adjust length to suit any correction you need to make, then you can adjust the EXT height to suit.
I’m not sure if the cycling rule of thum about stem length suits steep angled bikes,Slowman might know.
When on the bars, in a relativley normal position, simply look down. The centreline of the bars should line up with the front hub, plus or minus a little bit. It’s not perfect, but a good rule of thumb.
This rule of thumb is definitely not valid for riding in the aero position. Niether is the “front of kneecap over pedal spindle” rule of thumb.
Steve
they are good to work out what lenght/angle stem you need then bin it and get a fixed one.
look ergo’s weight about 6tons and remember, if somethings capable of moving it proberly will at some point you dont want it to
If you’re currently riding a Soloist with essentially no spacers and plan to move to a P3, then I am not sure you’re going to need an adjustable stem to ride step unless you plan on riding you’re P3 wth 4 or 5 cm more drop than you currently have. The head tubes on the P3’s are about 25 - 35mm shorter than on the Soloist (except in the 48cm frame).
The Ritchey adjustable stem works well. The pivot point is splined, so will never slip. Mine has been rock solid. Relatively cheap, too. Won’t adjust for length, only for height.
The Ritchey adjustable stem works well. The pivot point is splined, so will never slip. Mine has been rock solid. Relatively cheap, too. Won’t adjust for length, only for height.
would trust that, i had an ITM one that had a bolt go through the pivot so even if it came loose it wouldnt drop (just creaked all the time). If that comes loose youre in trouble
I’m not sure why you think you need an adjustable stem to ride steeper. You can get stems up to -17deg stock, so a custom stem assumes you need to get lower than having the stem parallel to the ground. Steep is related to your saddle angle, not your bar height. Yes, riding steeper will usuaully allow you get lower up front, but it’s not a requirement. I’m just not sure I understand why you want an adjustable stem? Most road bikes come with +/-6deg stems. So a -17deg stem would drop you a fair bit. Probably as much as you’d want. And I’m also confused about how you have 2mm of spacers. 2mm is nothing. I didn’t even know they made a 2mm spacer. Do you mean 2cm?
I used to ride a Soloist as my Tri bike, and I used an Oval Concepts adjustable stem to get my front end lower. I decided to get an adjustable stem because I didn’t know how low I could comfortable go. It was a great stem and did the trick. One thing to consider is that the distance from the seat to the centre of the handlebar clamp changes as the stem is rotated up or down. Now that I recently switched to a P3SL, I am able to use the stock Vision Sizemore stem.
Adrian
I guess I should have clarified the stem length rule of thumb thing.
I don’t use it when on the aerobars, I check it when riding on the base bars only.