Short stem on large frame
 

I'm adjusting the fit on my 58cm steel road frame. I've used 100-110 stems in the past but have struggled to get the fit comfortable, leading to back pain and a feeling of being too stretched out. I'm just over 6' tall with 35 inch inside leg, so quite long in the leg and short in the torso. This means that a 58cm frame is right for me in terms of head and seat tube length, but leaves me with a top tube that's longer than ideal. I've tried a 90mm stem which helped and I now have an 80mm stem on order. I'm aware this is towards the more extreme end of stem length for a large frame and I was wondering if others with similar body dimensions have the same setup?

I'm on a 61cm frame with a 605mm effective top tube, and I run an 80mm stem. The bike came with a 110mm, and was swapped out with a 100mm, then a 90mm, and now finally to the 80mm. It feels pretty good now, but I'm not saying there isn't the possibility of a 70mm stem in my future.

Thanks for the reply, so are you also of the longer legged shorter torso variety?

I used to think I had a longer torso, because every time I lift my arms over my head, my shirt does the Britney Spears thing and 3" of my stomach shows. Turns out that's just wide shoulders. So yeah, long legs, long arms, short-ish torso. Saddle-to-pedal is like 40" for me.

I'm in the SE situation, Im 6' 34" inseam ad just bought my first drop bar road bike. I have been riding a flat bar road bike. My New Synapse Carbon is 58 and I have been trying to get it dialed in with stem ride and length. Right now I'm using a 7° up 100mm stem.
I tried the 7° down but keeped getting sore/tight muscles between my shoulder blades. Might be just getting used to the drop bar or too long of reach.. Which it feels like to me....To stretched out. Time will tell.

Short stems will affect handling. If possible, you may want to try more of an "endurance" type frame, which usually have a shorter top tube.

Long stems will also affect handling, so should the guys running 140 and 160 stems be worried as well?

I've run 80, 90, 100, 110, and 120 stems on the same frame to accommodate different handlebars, as well as fine tune the reach. I've never noticed any handling differences.

I'm an inch taller than you with the same inseam, but I'm on a larger frame, 60cm. (60cm top tube with 100mm stem.) I was having the same issues as you, dealing with lower back pain. At first I thought it was a result of being too stretched out, but raising and/or shortening the reach did not help. I also realized that when sitting on the bike just coasting, I didn't feel too stretched, but the back pain persisted even on short rides. What finally worked for me was moving the saddle forward. A LOT. Something like 2cm or more. Note that I did not do this to shorten the reach, I did it to change my position in relation to the pedals. I'm no expert, but I feel like before with the saddle where it was, when I pushed on the pedals, I had to push my legs forward, which rolled my hips back, and arched my back. I used to have to consciously think about rolling my hips forward and keeping my back straight/flat. With the new forward position, my hips and back naturally fall in to this position, and I have NO pain in my back. Plus, I'm actually thinking I need to now buy a longer stem since I shortened the reach quite a bit when I moved the saddle.

I hope you find something that works, I know how frustrating it is to deal with fit issues.

Thanks for the reply. I guess it depends a lot on the frame geometry, a forward saddle didn't work for me so I've been moving the saddle back to get weight off my hands. Rode with an 80mm stem today and all felt good. Part of me would prefer to be riding a 130mm stem mounted nice and low, but I guess comfort comes before vanity!

I have a used a 80mm (adjustable stem on a bike). It didn't hurt the bikes handling at all. But I think a 90mm would have been fine. What would have improved the fit/feel, in my case, would have 42cm handlebars. The large bike came with 44cm wide bars which (in MY case)... made me feel too stretched out.

I think the handlebar size issue is interesting. It seems a lot of people (probably including me!) get very concerned about stem length e.g.: "10cm is fine but 8cm will affect handling" whilst handlebar reach can easily vary from 7 to 13 cm and it rarely gets mentioned. I bet everyone on this forum can tell you what stem length they are running but I wonder how many know what their handlebar reach is?

Yeah, I went from a typical 44cm "compact" bar, to a 43cm Easton Equipe, which has almost 30mm more reach-- so it sits at the exact same reach with an 80mm stem as the old bar did with a 110mm. Recently, I just changed STIs, and the reach feels different yet again. The stem is only one part of the reach, along with the bar and the STIs.

Just for another datapoint, I'm just a hair shy of 6', and have a 35.25" inseam. (So, long legs and arms, not much torso.) I typically ride 58-60 cm vintage bikes, but with top tubes in the ~57cm range, and usually 70-80mm stems in conjunction with period correct bars with ~10 cm of reach on the bars. While it's true that a shorter stem will quicken the steering, it's not night and day. Trail, head angle, tire size all play a large role in handling. Also, you can get used to quite a lot. Something that feels "dead" or "twitchy" to one rider, may feel perfectly normal to someone that rides it regularly. Just take a look at some of the mustache or albatross bars that put the riders hands almost even with the stem, or even behind it. They seem to handle just fine by all accounts.

Riders with our body type will usually do best trying to find frames with shorter top tubes in relation to frame height. Seat tube length is almost irrelevant. When looking at a potential frame, it's top tube length I care about most, with the caveat that the seat tube, or at least the top of the head tube needs to be tall enough that I don't need to use a massively tall stem to get the bars up to within an inch or two of the saddle height. Also keep in mind that your acceptable fit has a lot to do with your flexibility and core strength. This will change over time as well, so what's comfortable as a beginner, will almost certainly be too upright after several years of riding / working on core strength. I'm riding with the bars about 3-4 cm lower, and about 2 cm further out now, then when I started riding a few years ago. I'm sure with more work and time on the bike I could be comfortable even lower.

This is very helpful to me as newby looking at bikes that feel like too much reach. Now I'm thinking paying for a fitting with the ability to change the stem length over the first year will probably prove a worthwhile investment..

I also move my saddle forward by using a zero-offset seatpost and moving the saddle forward on the rails. It's comfortable and helps maintain power, IMO. I'm 5, 11" and use a 61cm frame with on 60cm top-tube with a 110mm stem and FSA compact handlebars.

Considering using compact handlebars, they shorten the reach considerably.

OK, Its not a road frame, ... I have a Touring frame with a long top tube, on it I put a Short extension, tall stem..

my road frame is smaller. I have been a cyclist for a long time..



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I'll just pop in to say I'm 5'11.5" with a 34.25" inseam. Ride a 58cm CAAD10, and had a bike fitting three days ago because I as well always felt stretched out and uncomfortable...for 10K miles. I've alternated between the stock 110 stem and an 80, and always felt most comfortable with the 80. When I left the fitting, I went from a 45cm drop bar width to a 40 (recommended a 38 but that just felt too extreme), my saddle raised and moved back to a 9cm setback, and the 80mm stem. Because of weather, I've only managed to put 5 miles on this new set up. I've had a tendency to slam my saddle as far forward as possible. This will take some getting used to, but I'm anxious to see if these changes set well with me for longer rides. In the times I've used the 80 in the past, I never felt like the bike was twitchy or unstable.

The big changes are the saddle height and set back.

I went from 100mm to 70mm, the difference is noticable. the bike is twitchier and faster in response.

Right..that's one of the reasons the pro's will run a smaller frame with longer stems. With a longer stem rider input will be lessoned.