Just wondering if anyone has any thoughts on the ideal stem length for a gravel bike, and whether this differs to the "standard" values for road and CX bikes in any given frame size.

My CX bike (medium frame) came with a 90mm stem, which I found quite twitchy on the road. In an experiment to reduce upper back pain, I tried a 120mm stem, which fixed the back & neck pain, but was very stretched out. It also made it harder to manoeuvre at slow speeds, but felt stable on fast descents.

I'm now trying to find a happy medium and have gone back to a 100mm stem, but a little bit lower (so that I can drop my shoulders and "relax" into the bars).

So far, it feels pretty good on paved roads (commuting) and the steering is noticeably quicker than with the 120mm stem.

I'm wondering what steering characteristics (& hence which stem length) is most suitable for a range of gravel riding.

My gut feeling is that one is more likely to need to react quickly to an obstacle on a gravel ride, and that faster steering might be preferable, at the cost of slightly less front wheel stability on faster descents.

Any ideas?