Longer Stems?
 

recently I found a great deal on Craigslist for a pair of Trek road bikes.

Both 54cm

I ride 56-58cm

I see the problem that I keep the handlebars level with the seat, and my seat is above the handlebars about 5cm.

So can a higher stem help me with this? The stem is pretty short on the bike and is already far past the "Recommended" height. I'm not too sure about the size of the stem.

btw, will take to LBS for opinions, but the closest LBS is expensive, the one across town is the good one.

It sounds like you have a quill stem? If so, you can get one that has a longer quill or a higher rise. You probably want it to be longer too.

Yes sorry about that, if it was thread-less headset, it would be easier to raise it.

Does any roadbike stem fit to any bar/headset?

No, but almost every quill stem is a 1" steer tube. The more important thing to match up in that case is the handlebar diameter, although it was fairly standard at 26.0mm during the 90's.

Alright thanks

Check out: http://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...m.aspx?sc=FRGL

hmm.. kinda pricey

They sell adapters that are a quill on the bottom and just a bar on top with a cap that mimics a steer tube/cap. You can then put any threadless stem on it.
http://www.performancebike.com/bikes...3_20000_400204

I was just researching that, how does the system work?

I understand that:

Handlebars
to
Threadless stem
to adapter stem
bolted to inside of headset.

Then I would need a threadless stem, correct?

The bottom of the adapter is a quill and it wedges inside your bike's steer tube just like a quill stem would. The top part is just a pole the same diameter as a steering tube would be if you had a threadless headset/fork. The threadless stem just clamps on the top part of the adapter the same as it would a steer tube. You likely need a 1" quill and 1 1/8" adapter part as most threadless stems clamp to a 1 1/8 steerer tube.

You can also clamp a 1 1/8 stem to a 1" tube by using a shim/adapter which are quite ubiqitious it is just a split tube and a lot of threadless stems come with them.

Thanks,

Now I'm split between a quill stem for $55

and a threadless quill stem and a theadless stem for $50

Threadless sounds better because I can adjust it more and angle the stem however I please.

Thanks everyone!

I would personally get the adapter. Then you can buy a cheap or secondhand stem again if you still need a different length or angle.