Thread: Stem Length
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Old 02-23-18 | 02:06 PM
  #29  
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79pmooney
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Joined: Oct 2014
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From: Portland, OR

Bikes: (2) ti TiCycles, 2007 w/ triple and 2011 fixed, 1979 Peter Mooney, ~1983 Trek 420 now fixed and ~1973 Raleigh Carlton Competition gravel grinder

I'm a believer that body dimensions, even knowing all of them, isn't a great predictor of frame fit. I have long legs and a short torso. So you would be thinking long seatpost, shortish top tube, medium stem. I ride bikes with healthy top tubes on steep seattubes and long to very long stems. I learned a long time ago that if I want to go anywhere upwind, I need my back very low and aero. I have no big muscles. Racing, I always looked in store windows to check that I was riding with my back horizontal. Now, I had to bend my arms 90 degrees to get there. That was fine as a 25 yo pure racer. I could do that for hours. As I got older, I started thinking "I want my bars where I can keep my arms relatively straight with that same back position. It's a lot easier". So my stems starting getting far longer. I started seeking out bikes that could get me there using production stems. Having custom bikes built. Writing computer programs and CAD drafting my bikes so I can quickly see what I need to make any bike I am interested in work, stem-wise.

I get thanked by my body and legs for this work on a regular basis.

Ben
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