Road Cycling - Stem Length

I've been riding my new(first) road bike for about a month now with my seat slowly getting higher & higher as I get used to it and I am really finding that the reach to the bars and my weight on the handle bars is getting more, to the point that I dont feel safe taking a hand off the bars to grab a drink from the water bottles.

So I was thinking of getting a shorter stem, ie. 90mm to replace my current stem which is 110mm.

As I already think the stearing on my bike(Bianchi SL lite alloy) is very twitchy will a shorter stem have any effect on this, ie. more or less twitchy.


Thanks

Steve

Originally posted by Steven Buglass
will a shorter stem have any effect on this, ie. more or less twitchy.


hmmm. instinct would make me think more twitchy.

but this is not good . . .

to the point that I dont feel safe taking a hand off the bars to grab a drink from the water bottles.


Perhaps you've raised the seat too high? perhaps the bike is not a good fit, and the raising of the seat is an attempt to achieve a better fit? If this is possibly the case, consider longer cranks to get your foot further away from the seat.

Also if the bike is very new, but a tad small, could you take it back to the shop and get a bigger size.

Stew

ps what is the bike like when you ride with no hands? does it wobble or pull to one side? could be twisted front fork. (even on a new bike)

Also if the bike is very new, but a tad small, could you take it back to the shop and get a bigger size.

I was thinking if anything it was to big as I'm 5'10" and the frame is 57"



ps what is the bike like when you ride with no hands? does it wobble or pull to one side? could be twisted front fork. (even on a new bike) [/B][/QUOTE]

:D NO HANDS I havent even thought of that yet, I 'm still nervous with my clipless peddles and besides that were I ride I can't imagine even 20 seconds without a car over taking me, thats how busy the roads are were I ride.

Hey Steve.

First things first:

A: More twitchy. This probably isn't what you want.
It sounds as if you might benefit from raising the bars a little if the height distance between saddle & stem gets too great.

BUT, if I were you I wouldn't worry about it, and here's why....

You've had you're first road bike for only a month. When my partner bought her first road bike (an OCR2) around 4 months ago, she didn't feel able to take a bottle out on the move either. She was used to the more upright riding position of a MTB, and found the more stretched position of her new bike a problem. She also found the steering alarming, because she was used to wider, flat bars.

Well, what do you know if she isn't drinking from the bottle like an old pro these days, and has adapted to the steering too. I don't think that riding no hands is ever going to happen with her though....

I don't know whether Bianchi measure their frames centre-centre or centre-top, do you? See what the length of the top tube is, & if you want some peace of mind, put all of your measurements into the fit guide at www.wrenchscience.com. This will give you the reach measurement you should be looking for (top-tube length + stem). Approximately.
With a bit of luck, this could show you that you have the right size bike, and that would be one less thing to worry about.

So, your body is in a new position with different weight distribution.

Give yourself more time to adjust to it.
Try not to worry.
Enjoy your new bike.
Have a happy weekend.
Hope the sun shines in Essex.

So,why don't you just stop to take a drink rather than being a hazard to yourself and others. It is not the Tour you know.Give it time.More saddle time helps.The frame may be a bit big.A 2cm shorter stem is not unreasonable but will make it twitchier and is not the way to get proper if if indeed that is the issue rather than conditioning and flexibility.

A good road bike will feel twitchy until you get used to it. It's like driving a sports car after being used to a big sedan. As others have said, give it some time. It can take weeks just to adjust to a small change in position. You've made a big one. I went the other way, gradually converting a comfort hybrid to a road type commuter over the course of nearly a year. So I had time to adjust to each change.

Originally posted by Steven Buglass
I was thinking if anything it was to big as I'm 5'10" and the frame is 57"

:D NO HANDS I havent even thought of that yet, I 'm still nervous with my clipless peddles and besides that were I ride I can't imagine even 20 seconds without a car over taking me, thats how busy the roads are were I ride.

it could be too large a frame, but if it was you would feel more like you are stretching to the end of your limits to reach the handle bars. what is your favorite position to ride? tops? hoods? drops? if riding on the hoods feels like it is too far away then perhaps a new stem will help.

You said it feels like more pressure on your hands? please be more specific, is this due to never riding a road bike before or are your hands hurting? if there is pain the your seat is probably tilted too far forward creatinf pressure, also make sure you have a nice pair of road cycling gloves on when you ride to reduce pressure on the hands.

When you raise your seat you are trying to attain the maxium power out of each stroke on your pedals, if you raise it too high you will lock your knee and actually lose power in your pedaling. try different seat heights and see how it feels, don't just think your seat needs to keep going up.

if you are not used to clipless, that is ok, keep riding and get the feel for them first, otherwise you could have a wreck while trying to do somethinf unfamiliar to you. Give it time you will probably get used to the pedals and be able to get your bottle. Also riding with no hands depends a lot on your balance, most people do not understand that not only do you have to balance side to side, you must leanback far enough to put correct weight on the rear wheel. When I first started riding I could not ride with clipless let alone no hands, now I can ride no hands with clipless. In other words give it time and it will come to you.

and finally, I assume that you fitted the bike before you bought it, was this a bike that the LBS recommened or one you choose because it felt good? at your height you could fit into a 56 cm frame, but it all depends on how it feels to you. Good luck Bianchi's are very nice rides :)

Originally posted by VegasCyclist

what is your favorite position to ride? rops? hoods? drops? if riding on the hoods feels like it is too far away then perhaps a new stem will help.


Riding with my hands hooked round the brakes




Originally posted by VegasCyclist


You said it feels like more pressure on your hands? please be more specific, is this due to never riding a road bike before or are your hands hurting?


What I mean is I feel that there is enough weight on the bars that I wouldn't like to take one arm off




Originally posted by VegasCyclist


When you raise your seat you are trying to attain the maxium power out of each stroke on your pedals, if you raise it too high you will lock your knee and actually lose power in your pedaling.


No, I still have about an inch or 2 to go before I get close to full leg extention.




Originally posted by VegasCyclist

When I first started riding I could not ride with clipless let alone no hands, now I can ride no hands with clipless. In other words give it time and it will come to you.


I hope its just that I haven't got used to it yet, as I have never had any bike that comes close to the speed/easy/weight of this bike. I still cant believe that I can go out and ride about 8 miles at a go on it without to much effort. Although from what I've been seeing on this group so far I have a lot more miles to look forward too.




Originally posted by VegasCyclist

and finally, I assume that you fitted the bike before you bought it, was this a bike that the LBS recommened or one you choose because it felt good? at your height you could fit into a 56 cm frame, but it all depends on how it feels to you. Good luck Bianchi's are very nice rides :)


Well I was sort off fitted...

I tried sitting on a few bikes, he asked which felt most confortable I chose the one I thought and that was that.....

I also ride a Bianchi Chromo Lite SL frame.....Veloce to be exact.

I have encountered a similar problem, I am 5'11 mine is also a 57 inch.



I switched to a 90 mm stem myself and now my reach is near perfect. Also if you have a layback post, try doing the plumb line test to make sure your fore/aft is correct...if you are sitting to far back, it will only help to move your seat forward, assuming correct KOPS position is not altered.

As others have stated, it just may take some time to acclimate to the new position. I bought my first road bike this year also. For the first 10 rides or so, I felt out of place on the bike due to this new position. Now, the bike is beginning to come to me, and I feel much better. I'd give it a bit longer before you begin swapping out components.

I've read that the proper stem length is achieved (after all other adjustments such as seat height/fore-aft are done) when you look down and the front hub is completely blocked from view from your bars. However, I'm not sure if this is from the drops, tops or hoods?? Anyone?

Originally posted by Steven Buglass

Riding with my hands hooked round the brakes


this is what is refered to riding on the hoods, because you are actually holding the brake hood (rubbery cover on the brake). if you feel comfortable there, (the farthest extension you can be on the bike) then I would think you just need to get used to the bike. I would say at least ride the bike for another week, and see how you feel before making any changes.

The higher you raise your saddle the longer the reach to the bars will feel. By raising the saddle a little at a time you can easily raise it too far and not really notice it.

Shorter stem will make the steering faster (twitchy) as the other guy said.

Try raising the stem a little or flipping it over if you don't have enough steerer tube. That will bring your weight back and take some pressure off your arms.

Also try turning your bars up slightly so that the ends are angled down to the ground a bit- just lower than horizontal when looking from the side (hop thats not too confusing).

Sounds like you just need saddle time to adjust and really settle in. Everything feels strange when you do something new like this.

Originally posted by RacerX

Try raising the stem a little or flipping it over if you don't have enough steerer tube. That will bring your weight back and take some pressure off your arms.

Also try turning your bars up slightly so that the ends are angled down to the ground a bit- just lower than horizontal when looking from the side (hop thats not too confusing).


Thanks for that, I've now turned the stem over and turned the bars up a but and it feel like a whole different bike.

It doesn't feel as twitchy now, so I am now reaching for that water bottle with no trouble at all..........

I even managed a 12 mile run this weekend... which I'm please with even though it looks like I've got a long way to go yet.....

Thanks for all your suggestions