Originally Posted by
cny-bikeman
My experience has been that a very large proportion of bikes come with stems that are likely to be too long for the average person who would fit the bike. It may be due to the fact that a short stem does not look as "cool" or "racy."
When we carried Speciaized, I found the stems their bikes came with to be pretty spot-on for the majority of customers. Treks fit a little closer in and a bit lower in front because of shorter top and head tubes, and last year they started coming with stems about a centimeter shorter and an extra centimeter of spacer. Scott and Bianchi, perhaps trying to maintain a sportier or more Italian image, tend to come with longer stems, but Bianchi has been coming in with an extra 1cm spacer.
In observing what recreational riders are riding around here on Saturday mornings, I see most on bikes that are too small, but they're using spacers and riser stems to achieve a very upright, close-in posture.