How do I know what size stem I need?

When purchasing a stem, you should consider several factors. First you must look at the steerer type (threaded or not). Then you must match it to a steerer tube diameter and a handlebar diameter. Finally, you must decide what length and how much rise or drop you want your stem to give you.

What size stem does my road bike need?

As a rule of thumb, on a road bike you shouldn’t run a stem much shorter than 90mm or much longer than 130mm. If you need a stem length beyond those extremes, your bike frame is the wrong size.

How do you find the angle of a stem?

To measure the angle of a stem, we place the stem on a horizontal surface and measure the angle that the stem rises above the horizontal. Because most treadless stems are reversible, a stem with a 10° rise could be flipped around to serve as a stem with a 10° drop.

How long should my stem be?

Ideally, the stem should be long enough to place some of the rider’s weight over the front wheel to stabilise the steering and improve grip on the road. At the same time, the stem should provide a steering arc that complements the head angle and trail of the bike.

Is 80mm stem too short?

The sweet spot is generally accepted as being 100mm to 120mm, but not everyone agrees. ‘It’s a bit of a cliché that a too-short stem will over-quicken the handling. ‘Needing a 70mm-80mm stem probably means bike sizing needs to be reviewed, but many riders are happy to ride a 70 or 80 or 90mm stem without difficulty.

Is a 70mm stem too short?

A short stem will effect handling by making your bike feel twitchier. 70mm is quite short but unless you’re riding a technical course, it is doable. Having a short torso, I ofetn have to resort to 70 and 80 cm stems. The bike can handle well with a short stem, but it takes practice.

Is 80mm stem too short for road bike?

How do I know if my stem is too short?

If the stem length is correct, the handlebars should completely hide the front hub. If you can see the hub in front of the handlebar, the stem is too short.

Is 70mm stem too short for road bike?

How can I find the stem length of my bike?

Unfortunately there are no reliable ways to determine stem length by a bike stem calculator. If you are moving your position from one bike to another, this can be done by measuring your old position from the tip of the saddle to the center of the handlebar. Also make sure you measure the drop from the saddle to the handlebar.

How does the F.I.S.T stem calculator work?

The calculator above is designed to help fitters trained in the F.I.S.T. tri bike fit protocol to generate geometries for custom triathlon bikes. Note that the inputs required to use this calculator include “stack” and “reach.”

What does stem rise mean on a bike?

The stem rise or the stem angle is basically the rise between handlebars and stem. It is usually measured in degrees. Stem rise affects the bike positioning and your reach to the handlebars. The higher degree of rise, the more upright your position will be.

Do you need a stem fitter for a bike?

You must have the tools to accurately find the stack and reach of the bike that fits under the rider. The fitter is required to account for the stem length, stem pitch, height of the stem clamp, headset upper stack, spacers under the stem if any, and of course the choice of aerobar.