RadBike

I am still relatively new to road cycling, but after all this "flip the stem" talk, I decided I would give it a try and see how it felt. As you can see from the thread title, it was sheer agony. I took a good half-hour ride in all, with a few hours of adjusting, and that was enough for me. My wrists and neck just weren't having it. (Bike was a Trek 1200, for what it's worth)

I figure this thread can join the countless others waging war over UP vs DOWN. Figured I'd throw in my two cents.

55/Rad

Flipping the stem seriously affects the way your body fits on the bike. While we joke about it here on the forum, there isn't a member that I know of that would recommend it to someone unless the symptons they described truly called for it.

Go with what is comfortable and ignore the calls to "flip it".

55/Rad

sogood

I think part of the problem for the OP is that he is new to road cycling and haven't developed the muscle tone necessary for a roadie. Ride lots with an upturned stem and then give it another try when the body is fitter for the adaptation.

urodacus

you have to flip the stem relative to the rest of the bike, not just turn the bike upside down. it gets seriously hard to ride that way.



OK, seriously now, if you have spacers to spare underneath the stem, you can edge slowly to the same position rather than hitting a big change all at once. put it back the way it was, but moved down by one spacer. get used to that position, then go down one lower, etc. finally flip it but put the spacers back underneath.


of course, if its a straight stem, there's no difference. if it's a really rad stem angle, then there's lots of difference... not all stems are equally bent. also depends a lot on your head tube angle.

roadwarrior

It's not about whether your stem is up or down. It's about the differential between where you sit and the bars (the drop). There is a sweet spot where you are most comfortable and powerful. That's the amount of drop that's best for you, and each individual is different. That's why there are so many stems with different lengths and levels of rise. When we fit a rider, we use an adjustable stem.

It has absolutely nothing to do with looks.

calfee5

try flipping one of the "old style" quill stems - talk about agony!

ryanspeer

+1. Anybody who says otherwise is an ignoramus.

Just kidding (about the "ignoramus" part).

Maybe.

MONGO!

Flip it back!

shabbasuraj

This thread should be locked and deleted and the OP and anyone who responded (except for me) should be banned.








..j.kidding