Commuting - Old Guy Stems.

Had to ruin the look of my Marin Muirwoods recently.:( Had to put what i call a old guy stem on. Shortened up from 120 to a 100mm and from a 6 degree to a 30 degree. Really helped my neck and back and really quickened up the handling which i like. The Muirwoods has real long chain stays etc. so was quite slow handling before. But not so appealing to look at now. But better to be able to ride comfortable than not at all i guess.
Put those little stick on protecters on, to stop cables from rubbing on paint. Getting old and nothing better to do but worry about my paint:lol:. How many of you use these little sticky things?

I'm new to this board but even I know that you've gotta post a picture to go with your post :p

On topic: looks be damned, unless you plan to commute to a fashion show. Good on ye for fixing it up to make life easier.

I'm new to this board but even I know that you've gotta post a picture to go with your post :p

On topic: looks be damned, unless you plan to commute to a fashion show. Good on ye for fixing it up to make life easier.

+1

I did a bike fit and they gave me an old guy stem. I decided the answer is to spend your time riding the bike. You can't really see how the stem looks while riding...

The Fred is strong in this one.

The Fred is strong in this one.
Stronger yet,he will get.

Just ride your bike.

I bet half the people on this forum who make fun of "old guy stems" are riding with an old guy stem. The other half would probably be fitted with an old guy stem if they bothered to get a proper fit :-) Every one requires a different geometry to have a proper bike fit. I like seeing people on bikes no matter what they ride or wear. I've been passed on my road bike by a dude on a mountain bike, smoking a cigarette and talking on a cell phone. Embarrassing? Yes. Did I stop riding? No.

Have to admit that I never even heard this term before. Also have to admit that I've been riding with that kind of stem ever since I was a young guy.

I suspect that in some places outside of the US (& Canada?) where a lot more people ride bikes, including commuters, most of those bikes have "old guy stems," except that the riders are all ages and genders. I know that's the case in Japan, where I recently lived for a year. I also know that there are various reasons why fewer people ride here, but maybe if more of our bikes came with more comfortable geometry, especially the stems, there might be some more people riding...

Perhaps "regular people stems" might be a more suitable label? :rolleyes:

I enjoyed all the replies. Good stuff. I feel a bit better now, im over it.:).

Had to put what i call a old guy stem on.
The technical term for these stems in some parts of the country is a "non-hipster stem." As in "I took off my hipster stem and put on a non-hipster stem and it is much more comfortable."

In other parts of the country, the technical term for this stem is a "man's stem." As in "I took off my boy's stem and put on a man's stem and it is much more comfortable."

[Adjust for gender...]

:-)

Aren't those what you use when the frame is too small? :p

In other parts of the country, the technical term for this stem is a "man's stem." As in "I took off my boy's stem and put on a man's stem and it is much more comfortable."

Interesting term.
My bikes have hit puberty!