I have a bike that has a stack of 527 and a reach of 410. The dimensions are surely very different from everything else on the market today. I have felt that the bike is perhaps too big for me since I bought it. I am 5’8" with a 30.5" inseam. Unfortunately at the time I really wanted to get into the sport but couldn’t afford a bike that cost thousands of dollars. After riding 2,600 miles this year I fear I may need to bite the bullet and buy a new bike. I decided today to measure stack and reach as those numbers where not specified by the company selling the bike, they only gave useless numbers like stand over height and top tube length.
I find myself stretched out on the bike. It’s clear now that the reach is likely the issue, as most bikes in this size would have a reach closer to 385. Right now I have a 100mm stem on the bike, its space up about 20mm setup -6* … I feel like a 70mm-80mm stem would get me a lot closer to where I need to be. Would this negatively impact the handling dramatically? I think a 70mm stem would even allow me to push the seat back a bit, right now its slammed as far forward as it can go on a setback post. I appreciate any advice in the matter. Thanks
I have a bike that has a stack of 527 and a reach of 410. The dimensions are surely very different from everything else on the market today. I have felt that the bike is perhaps too big for me since I bought it. I am 5’8" with a 30.5" inseam. Unfortunately at the time I really wanted to get into the sport but couldn’t afford a bike that cost thousands of dollars. After riding 2,600 miles this year I fear I may need to bite the bullet and buy a new bike. I decided today to measure stack and reach as those numbers where not specified by the company selling the bike, they only gave useless numbers like stand over height and top tube length.
I find myself stretched out on the bike. It’s clear now that the reach is likely the issue, as most bikes in this size would have a reach closer to 385. Right now I have a 100mm stem on the bike, its space up about 20mm setup -6* … I feel like a 70mm-80mm stem would get me a lot closer to where I need to be. Would this negatively impact the handling dramatically? I think a 70mm stem would even allow me to push the seat back a bit, right now its slammed as far forward as it can go on a setback post. I appreciate any advice in the matter. Thanks
Sounds like there are a few issues with your fit. Adjusting seat forward or back will change your position relative to the crank, not just the head tube, so if it’s currently too far forward you’re probably losing some efficiency, but there’s no way for us to tell. A photo of you on the bike could help. Everyone here will recommend a fitting – rightfully so. It can help a lot.
A short stem will make the handling more shaky; every turn will be “exaggerated” relative to the longer stem. 70 is short. 90 is as short as I’ve gone, and it was on an aero bike, so it didn’t matter as much. 100/110 are ideal stem lengths for road bikes. I ride a 120 on my road bike and like the longer length.
My recommendation: 1) start saving for a new bike. 2) use eBay or Nashbar, get a cheap & good-looking 80 mm stem, and swap it out for what you have.
changing stem will impact the handling. it will give your bike a ‘‘different personality’’ That said, all this isnt a problem. I have riden my TT bike with a 60mm stem. it s very nervous of a bike… it s fun…react quick…turn sharp…
on a longer stem…110 and more…all those characteristic become slower…less nervous…slower to reach etc.
nothing is bad or good… it only take 1 or 2 ride to get use to the new behavior of your bike and after that, you will be comfortable on it. so…get a good fit…get on the road and learn to handle that bike.
100mm is the “typical” road stem, and anything in the 80-120mm range is “normal”.
A 70mm stem will be a bit twitchy, but isn’t too radical or undoable (per above, get a cheap on on ebay ~$10).
If you are using drop bars, those also vary widely in the reach from the stem clamping section, out to the levers. Getting a bar with shorter reach is another way to dial things back (same handling issues though).
I’ve ridden 80mm stem and to me on that bike it felt the same as a 90-100. On that same bike I also rode a 70mm and it felt twitchy, although the 70mm I had was upturned quite a bit. I was trying to correct similar fit issue as you 9 years ago. I was slammed forward because top tube was too long. Thinking back, if my 70mm stem was a -10 or -17 degree, that might have worked. In the end, I rode the 70mm for a few months then bought a new bike, still riding it today.
I agree with advice above; buy a cheap 80mm and see how it feels. If your bars have adjustable arm pads, moving those back might help. Profile Design makes clip on bars with rear adjustment as much as 50mm+ back.
If all this experimentation fails, a good fitter could optimize your fit using tools, methodology and expertise.
Rich
Here’s the only handy picture I have… (note it is hard for me to keep this arm bend for long periods of time, I find myself sitting more upright as time goes on and I have to force myself to get lower again.)
Forgot I had a video I sent to my chiropractor/ART specialist who Ironmans and is very knowledgeable about bike fit. Note that my upper body is very upright, and my cadence is super low. I was just trying to get an idea of lower body position and leg angles. The link is here…
This is where having a good LBS can be a great thing. I wanted to play with various stem lengths last summer. My bike shop let me borrow a few sizes and try them out. When i figured out which I wanted, they ordered me the right part. Heck they even took a stem off a floor model bike to let me try it out. The only condition was I could get it all scratched up, which is generally not hard with stems.
Its not so black and white as some of the replys. It may affect your handling. I went from 100 to 70 with no noticable handling issues. Give a try before you buy a new bike
