Your case is not cut and dry. You are riding an XL hybrid frame and the bars feel too close. In addition to wanting to move the bars further away, you also want to raise them.

It might be worth your while to talk to a good fitter since a Trek hybrid shouldn’t feel twitchy and I don’t think just swapping a stem is going to be the cure.

John

That statement doesn't make any sense. No matter how many twists are in the bar/stem, your hands are still a fixed radius from the head tube. That means they turn in a circle.

My bullhorns are pretty wide, wider than the drop bars that were on it. Slight left-right input cause pretty big swings. I have to be very deliberate which my hands when I come out of the saddle.

This link describing tiller effect seems to agree with what I said

https://crosscountrycycle.wordpress....0towards%20you.

Interesting the weight shift aspect. That probably explains what instinctively control with my stretched out handle bars.

Changing the diameter of the wheels/tires unquestionably changes the stability of the bike. Know this from swapping between 650b and 700c wheels on my gravel bike. Trail is definitely affected.

Wider tires on the same rim are generally bigger in diameter as well

Thanks for the feedback, John. To elaborate on my comment about the "twitchiness", What I was asking for was "Is a stem of the proportions I suggested going to exacerbate the "twitchiness", or introduce other control problems that weren't present before?

I can certainly take my bike to a fitter to get a better opinion. I was hoping somebody on BF had a similar experience, perhaps. Thank you for the feedback.

I’m not fond of the term twitchiness as much as faster or slower steering. Twitchiness makes me think of elements of design such as head angle and trail/rake.

Speaking in generalities, a longer stem technically slows the steering, while a shorter stem speeds it up. Handlebar width also effects steering as narrower speeds up and wider slows it down. But you probably will not notice small changes.

However, in real life it is dependent on the bike as I have put a flat bar on a road bike and it “felt” more lively than with the narrower road bars.

John

I would change on thing at a time. It makes wonder about your choice of frame. For my road bikes, I've used 100 or 110mm length, -6 or -17 stems and no spacers to get an 8-10cm drop from the saddle to the top of the bars. 10 degrees is a lot of rise. Try 10mm longer at a time, without increasing the rise. Too much length causes an uncomfortable arm angle. Try flipping that 10 degree stem to -10.

Changing stems can definitely change how a bike handles because it affects weight distribution and how your hands interact with the steering.

However, for the change the OP is looking at, I don’t think it would be noticeable. What would be noticable is the feel of the fit.

It is true that a stem change will not affect how the bike steers no-handed. So if you don’t ride with hands on the bars, it will not make a difference.

No, the way a bike handles, or turns, is controlled by the head tube angle and fork offset. I'm sure you've heard of 'trail', that is what defines how a bike handles. You're not changing either of those when a stem is changed. What does change is the perception of what it takes to make the bike lean, and thus turn. Narrow bars and/or short stems take less movement at the hands to achieve the same rotational movement of the fork. That seems less stable/quicker but the bike is still make the same turn. It has not turned any faster because the trail has remained constant.

Uh, no.

Head angle and trail are PART of what makes up .how a bike handles.

Handling is an interactive process and setup of bars and stem affect how your inputs are translated into bike lean and steering orientation. It also affect the feedback you get from the bike.

If the handing SEEMS twitchy or slow, die to stem and bar changes, then it IS twitchy or slow.

You seem to be wanting to re-define what handling means.

To talk about “handling“ without talking about how the bike interacts with the rider who is doing the handling is utterly pointless.

All righty then.

My thoughts exactly.

No, you will not have to change or readjust the existing cables, provided they are long enough to accommodate the new handlebar location,