Originally Posted by
12strings
yes, 7 will be almost a right angle to the steerer...17 will be slightly less of a right angle, ei, more angled up or down, depending which way you flip the stem.
In many cases, the 17 degree stem (NOT WHAT YOU BOUGHT) will, because of it's steeper angle, end up being more or less parallel with the ground, which is often a nice look...IF if feels good to ride it there!
but no, 7 and 17 are different numbers. :-)
7 degree is fairly sloped up regardless of the flip position. I have a 10 degree and while it looks horizontal on first glance it is still slightly angled upwards. 17 will probably slope downwards but I never owned one so can't say for sure.