After the first couple of rides with my new roadie, I have come to realize that the distance between saddle and bars is way too long with my current setup.

So I was planning to swap my current 120 mm stem for a shorter 60 mm version.

My question is if this will have very negative effects on the handling of the bicycle?

Any input appreciated

Benjamin

Are you sure you need to shorten the reach that much?

When I got my bike the stem was 120 and reaching that distance was not comfortable. The bike shop swapped it for a 100 and now I'm comfortable.

How did you determine that you need a 60 mm stem?
Sounds like too big of a change, but then I don't know anything about your size or the bike.

I am 1.86 m and my bike has a 60 cm frame.

In an article about bike fitting I read that the distance between saddle and bar on a road bike was right if you could just touch the bar with your fingers when your elbow was placed at the front edge of the saddle.

When using this as a guideline my fingers were still about 11 cm away from the bar, so I figured using a 60mm stem would help somewhat.

Mixing long top tubes and short stems makes the bike look very strange, and can affect the steering, making it too reactive.
It may be that the frame is just too big for you.
I ride a pretty standard old fashioned road bike with a 54cm top tube and 8cm stem. I prefer to ride a short bike, and my fingertips reach to the centre of the bars.

You riding position is for you to decide, whether you prefer long and low, or shorter and more upright.

Have you ridden a roadie long? I ask because I just got my first road bike (well since my Swhinn Varsity was stolen back in '80) after riding a MTB for years. It's a whole different postition you're in when on a roadie and takes getting used to. I've never heard of the saddle to stem elbow trick, I'd bet most riders come up short too.

"Have you ridden a roadie long?"

Not exactly, This is my first road bike (bought last week) after years of more or less casual riding on a pretty cheap mountain bike. I realize that on a roadie the position is going to be different, but in my case, even when not riding in the drops, my body is very much bent forward.

I tried swapping stems about on my MTB and after buying two new stems finally got it perfect, but it wasn't a cheap process. If you're lbs won't let you try stems before you buy its probably worth trying to borrow a couple of friends stems to try different lengths/rises. Give it a reasonable trial though, it takes a while to get used to a stem. A shorter stem does slightly reduce leverage on climbing but did give very quick steering. Personally my back appreciates a short (75mm) 17 degree rise, but it wouldn't be a lot of peoples choice.

Richard