I’m in the market for a new stem. Just curious as to how companies measure. I’m assuming that when they say a stem is a given length, that they’re measuring it end to end and not for the mounted length given its particular rise? If they measure end to end, a stem with a steep rise can potentially end up creating an overall shorter effective top tube length and I want to make sure that I don’t shoot myself in the foot when I place my order.
Thanks.
drinyth,
stems are like saddles you’ll have a lot. it’s kind of a trial and error to find the right one for you. the best is to get fitted with everything taken into account for your body position. finding the right length and height for your position. good luck
I’m not really seeing the corelation. Saddles choices would seemingly differ based on comfort to that individual, but stems seem strictly to that riders setup and overall position?
Unless one manufacturers 90mm 10 degree rise stem is different from another manufactuers (like one manufacturer’s size 54 frame might not be the same as another)?
I believe most manufactures measure their stems center to center (steerer tube to handle bar) along the length of the stem. The further a stem is angled up or down (relative to parallel with the ground) the shorter the “effective” length.
Thanks Azby. That’s what I was looking for.
If my geometry skills are right (and it’s been a while), the difference in actual length of a 90mm stem at 10 vs 6 degrees (flipped down) with a head tube angle of 72.5 is 1 mm. Certainly not worth jumping to the next size up.
Thanks for the info.