Herbie53

Extremely short stems (relative to frame size) are usually a sign of a bike that is too big… or a person who thinks sitting upright on a road bike is a better way to ride.

I say get a bike that fits in the first case, and buy a flat bar bike in the second.

lsberrios1 

I had to shorten the stem on my Roubaix to 100. 110 was a little too big. I have flexibility problems. I think the bike looks good with the 100mm since it has a sloped TT. Otherwise maybe a 110 would have been better.

bobones

I've never seen a prettier bike get so many negative comments. It's beautiful, understated, demure, possibly even staid, but classy and hot nonetheless. The only faults I can pick are that the wheels look big against the small frame and I've never been a fan of zero-setback posts. The more I see this bike, the more I appreciate its quiet magnificence. Good job, change nothing.

furiousferret

Meh, I like my bike. Maybe I should have posted it with my Jet 50's and Vector's, but regardless it was obviously not bought at a garage sale; you just wanted to get a reaction. Typically saying someone needs 'thick skin' is just an excuse for being a **** which is pretty easy posting from a seat hundreds of miles away.

I'm not really mad that you don't like my bike, just that you thought I was an easy target for insults.

cycledogg

Looks good to me, but I'm not a "anti decal-ist". Maybe a zero off set post would help.

Ghost Ryder

This is the "Hot or Not" thread where its expected.




"Internet tough guys"...
Can't live with them... Can't live without...

This thread is famous for this so we learn really quick not to take it personal.
Don't let a few peoples opinion get in he way of how you ride/enjoy your bike.
Its all about looks in this thread.
Think "The Miss Universe/American Idol of bike porn".

Grambo

Lots of fodder on this page supporting my previous post. Making generalizations on appropriate stem lengths, seat set back, seat to bar drop, blah blah blah without seeing the rider on the bike in several different positions is just ridiculous. I'm perfectly fine with staging bikes for aesthetic reasons and making a call on whether the bike looks hot but making any inference on what may or may not be a good fit (like a stem length less than 110mm or 100mm is indicative of a poor fit) without seeing the rider or having a clue on his / her body dimensions is moronic. If you want to get a good fit visit a qualified / experienced fitter at an LBS but most definitely don't make a change to your rig purely based on a comment in this thread.

RollCNY

This post doesn't make much sense to me. Someone with long legs for their height will always have a shorter than normal stem, as their torso and arms will be short for their height. To have the "right" stem length, they could only buy endurance road bike frames (to get the shorter TT and taller HT to mach too much post extension) or buy a custom frame.

And the flatbar comment is also not universally true. My flatbar setup had 5.5" of saddle to bar drop, a 130mm flipped and slammed stem, and was lower than most folks dawdling around on their hoods.

Herbie53

It's not meant to be all that complicated. Buy a bike that fits you and how you want to ride and you will not have to put odd looking parts on it.

That's all.

slowride454

these last few guys don't have a clue. this thread has nothing to with how the bike fits or even if the owner is able to ride it. All that matters is if it looks hot to a select few experts on the seldom agreed upon definition of hotness. Now get out there and flip that stem and cut down those steerer tubes...

lsberrios1 

HOT OR NOT! (the panasonic)

rjones28 

not

Square Wheels

I like it, it looks happy.

Fiery

That's the point - if you need an unusually short stem for proper fit, you are making a compromise and you would most likely be better served with a different frame geometry. Whether or not that's a financially viable option doesn't make it any less true. The same goes for exceptionally long stems, extreme setback seat posts or saddles slammed forward on zero-setback posts.

ethan.g75

if only we could learn not to tinker with things that are fine. Guess that is part of the rider requirements for the sport; OCD.

RollCNY

So the frame, the most expensive variable, should be changed so that the least expensive variable, the stem, can match a norm, and in fact not be a variable?

Fiery

Nope. The frame, the most expensive variable, should be changed so that fit and handling, the most important variables, are both optimal. As I said in a previous post that you may have skipped, road bicycles tend to handle and track best with a certain front to back balance that typically cannot be achieved with a short stem. That's why, as you may have noticed, I wrote "if you need an unusually short stem for proper fit..." - the meaning being that while it's certainly possible to ride a, say, 58-60cm frame with a, say, 90-100mm stem, such a combination points to a fit problem that would most likely be best solved with a different geometry frame.

Speaking of frame price, I did also write "Whether or not that's a financially viable option..." Come to think of it, all that's needed to understand what I meant to say is right there in the original post, but I guess that's not always enough.

Herbie53

Spend the time to learn what frame fits (size and riding style) before buying the frame. If you still go out a buy something that does not fit and then put stupid looking sub optimal parts on it to make it work, do not post it in here and be offended when the stupid is pointed out.

RollCNY

Sorry, but this is wrong. Stem length is only one part of handling, and where your hands are is what matters. Short and shallow bars put your hands in different positions than traditional bars, so to say you can tell fit is wrong by looking solely at stem length is obtuse.

I did read that in your first post. To say a frame should be designed around stem length and seat post set back is wrong, regardless of financial viability.

RollCNY

Herbie, I agree with you, and I am by no means offended (nor have I posted any of my bikes ), and I think I have told you often that your Guru is the best looking bike on the forum, IMO. All I have been trying to say is that there is no way to know if a short stem is sub optimal or not when people don't fall into the traditional body mold. That doesn't seem like a hard point to grasp, but apparently I should stop trying to make it. Got it.

Herbie53

No worries, I get a little excited about bike fit I suppose. Getting a good fit made a big difference for me. Finding a frame that fits can be hard for some people and custom is $$$. There are things out there that let you search for stock frames that will work best for a given fit.

https://www.bicyclefitguru.com/featur...inder-service/

Fiery

Oh, come on. Cherry picking and quote mining, woo-hoo!

Of course handlebar reach would be taken into account when looking at stem length, as well as shifter hood shape and position on the handlebar. I guess I have to explicitly state every little detail and then hope you won't try to take it out of context. When I said, repeated and then underlined the key word - "unusually", in "unusually short" - this should, for someone not trying to rip apart every technicality in order to "win" in an argument, mean that the stem is unusually short for the bicycle at hand, including frame size, handlebar reach, hood shape, etc, etc.

No, I did not say a frame should be designed around a particular stem and seat post and nothing else taken into account. The whole bicycle should be looked at as a system. You can't just ignore the effect that stem length, among other factors, has on the whole system and then just use whatever parts are necessary to get the contact points into a good ergonomic position. Yes, the contact points should be in the good ergonomic position, but the whole system should also be set up to function as close to optimal as possible. Proper frame size and geometry is a part of this and it cannot be ignored. Extreme adjustments needed to get a proper position on a particular frame are a sign of said frame's size and geometry not being optimal for the person. BTW, Eddy Merckx insisted his frames be designed to fit right with a 130mm stem - not because he thought it looked cool, but because he felt that provided the best overall performance. This is not to say that 130mm is the perfect stem length because Eddy said so, but to point that there is such thing as optimal stem length for a particular frame geometry.

People who need a short stem to ride a particular frame would in most cases be better served with a different frame geometry. Their whole riding experience would be better and that has nothing to do with what the bicycle looks like. That statement will stay true no matter what shape you try to bend it into.

RollCNY

@Fiery, I am neither "cherry picking" or "quote mining", nor do I care to "win" an argument.

When you say an "unusually short" stem belies poor fit, I can see the point and don't disagree. When you further say 90-100mm on 58-60 cm frame is "unusually short", I do disagree. By this definition, would 110-120mm be "short", and 130mm the only appropriate "normal" stem length? The combination of 100 mm and traditional bars may be perfectly valid, depending on whether someone is optimizing their fit in the drops, or on the hoods. But your definition says this is a poor frame selection and "unusually short". If you had said an MTB stem, or a 70mm, or a riser stem, I would have not said a word, as I would agree.

I will also say that I have never seen an adjustable angle stem used in any manner other than to mangle any sense of normal in a fit.

iamtim

This is the first time I've owned a bike that I think is worthy of posting in the Hot r Not thread.



This is my new (to me) 2000 Trek 5200 USPS team colored bike. It has Ultegra shift/brake levers, brake calipers, standard double cranks, 9 speed cassette, and front derailleur; a Dura Ace rear derailleur; Look Keo Classic pedals; Mavic Ksyrium Elite wheels, Bontrager Race X Lite CF Blade bars, Race Lite stem, and Race Lite CF seat post; and a Specialized saddle.

The pic was taken using Instagram.

redlude97

Not.