Originally Posted by
ericm979
The steering will be a little quicker due to the shorter lever.
Your weight distribution will change and that will affect handling a bit. You may find that you need to bend your elbows more to get the weight on the front wheel so the bike feels balanced.
If you are not moving your saddle or the position of your body on your saddle the stem length will have litlle effect on weight distribution and therefre handling. If the long reach caused you to sit way forward on your saddle and the shorter stem lets you move back on the saddle there will be a more significant change in weight distribution then you may have an effect on handling depending on where you were at. Stem length alone in my experience, as I have posted before has virtually no effect on handling. If you ride with no hands what is the effect of the stem lenght on how the bike handles?