Forgot to mention issues with "wrong" sized stems.
Short definitely leads to twitchy steering. Not as big a deal for general commuting or light-loaded touring (why you might see short, high rise stems on many commuters and tourers), but definitely an issue for criteriums, pacelines, track racing, etc...
Long stems make steering sluggish. IMHO too long is better than too short, but can still be bad.
Originally Posted by deez
When you ride those albatross bars, how is your body position different? In my mind it would be very upright almost like sitting on a chair like you had mentioned earlier. I've never ridden albatross bars so I don't know firsthand.
Thanks for all the info you've given us on this its much appreciated.
deez, yes, I am bolt upright like Yehuda Moon
www.yehudamoon.com
I have a 140mm stem on there to compensate, but I'm still very upright with a sprung saddle. Like I said, I have an aggressive road bike in the garage, but riding every day makes me lust more for comfort than speed.
As for my 140mm stem, while 90-120 is what I consider an ok range for road bikes, the gap increases for mountain bikes or upright bikes to 80-140. For me this is because less weight is typically placed as far forward, so it doesn't effect the steering as much. That and the fact that on a flat bar and a 140mm stem your hands are about the same distance as they would be on the hoods of a drop bar and a 100mm stem.