Stem length. How much to make a difference?

Iwasgoodonce

Old School Grand Master
I'm old. Also, never having been properly fitted on a bike beyond the builder saying I needed a long top tube I think I need to revisit my position.

I did 70 miles yesterday and towards the end of the ride my neck was hurting. It was quite a noticable 'hurt' as I could feel it above the whole multitude of other hurts I was experiencing at the time.

A shorter stem would help? As the bike needs to go into the LBS to have new bar tape fitted, (I know, but I just can't do it) I figure now is a good time to look at the stem situation.

We are talking quill stems here by the way. On the geared bike, which is the one to be changed, stem length is 135mm centre to centre. The fixed stem is 150mm but has a shorter top tube.

How much should I bee looking at taking off? Or, should I man up? Cipollini would never reduce his after all!
 
70 miles is more than 4 hours on the bike... your neck will hurt no matter which stem length you use.... this thing that the perfect bike setup will allow you to ride 300 miles with no pain is a bit of a myth.
I have a range of bikes of different sizes and they all hurt in the same way after 4 hours or more...

If you train harder, you can push the boundary to 5 or even 6 hours, but then your neck will hurt...
 
135 and 150 are both pretty long stems! The old adage is that when riding in your normal position 'on the hoods' if you look down to the front hub it should be aligned with your handlebars. At 6'2" I ride a 56 c-t-c top tube with a 120mm stem. Previously it was a 100mm stem and that was too short, the extra 20mm has made all the difference. The neck pain might also stem from having the stem too low, so you end up with your neck in a bad position...
 
Blimey those are longer than the stems I ride and I'm a shade over 6'1 LOL

One option is to raise the stem a tad and spin the bars upwards a bit like modern bikes to bring the hoods a bit nearer.

Shaun
 
It would suggest that either your frame top tube is way too short, or that your position is badly set up. At 150mm on a well fitting frame I can't imagine feeling anything other than really stretched out, like medieval torture.

Also you should give taping your bars a go, it's one of the most satisfying things in the world, providing the tape goes on well of course...
 
Thanks guys. When on the hoods my front hub is indeed hidden by the bars. I am exactly six feet tall. Top tube is 58cm on one and 56.5cm on the fixed. I have stumpy legs and a reach of just over 6'6"

By rights I should be swinging around in the trees. I thought about it yesterday and I spend most of my time on the hoods as a mountain bike accident fubared both shoulders.

Because of this accident, my hands tend to get pins and needles and then go numb. Madly swinging them around brings the life back to them but does look odd when on a bike!
 
grilla":3dw3ogp5 said:
How did you calculate your reach?

Arm span. I have been told that your arm held out at maximum reach equals your height. I tested this with people at work and indeed, it seemed to be true for just about all of them to within a cm! Not me though.
 
Also numb hands are a pretty usual sign of the bars being too far from you, it might be worth trying a shorter stem :)
 

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