Pint-Sized Gnar Shredder
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Somewhere between heaven and hell
Posts: 3,549
Bikes: '09 Jamis Komodo, '09 Mirraco Blend One, '08 Cervelo P2C, '08 Specialized Ruby Elite, '07 Yeti AS-R SL, '07 DMR Drone
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I ran a flipped stem for a little while on a hardtail XC bike. Here's what I noticed:
1) Uphills were a lot easier. The hill could be steeper and I could stay seated, whereas I'd have to stand up for a similar hill to avoid looping out with the stem up.
2) Picking up the front of the bike was harder. I could still pop it up, but not as far. Doing wheelies was also quite a bit harder.
3) Downhills felt sketchier. I would still keep my weight over the BB the same way as with the stem up, but I just felt like I was going to go over the bars more often.
Those were my observations anyway. I eventually decided that for my style of riding, I was better off with the stem flipped up. I enjoyed downhills enough that I didn't want to sacrifice that confidence for the uphill advantage. Also, of the people I rode with, I was already a fairly strong climber, and didn't need the edge there...rather, it was more useful for me to have the edge on the tech-y stuff that I found was easier with the stem up. Depending on how you ride, you may find the opposite, that flipping the stem works to your advantage. Play around with it, see what you like, and whatever you do, if you play with spacers, don't cut the steering tube until you're absolutely sure that's how you want to keep it.