I'm relatively new to the whole FG/SS community and thought that I should come here for some suggestions on a new stem. I received my IRO Mark V complete just over two weeks ago and love it with just one exception. I didn't realize that the TT was going to be quite a bit longer than my 1986 Fuji road bike that I road all last summer and fall. On the Fuji I could ride the drops and it wasn't a stretch at all. With my new Mark V it's quite a stretch to ride the drops and it has resulted in me riding the tops most of the time. I'd like to re-gain a comfortable ride while riding the drops and I think that a shorter stem will help my situation.

I'm currently using the stock 100mm generic black stem that IRO offers and I really do like the plain and simple look of it. I have it as it came (angled up) and assume that this is ideal for my situation (since I believe angling it down would just increase the stretch to the drops, right?)

Basically I'm looking for some suggestions of a very similar looking stem, that comes in shorter sizes (for example 90mm, 80mm, 70mm, whatever but I'm guessing 70mm would have a much more significant affect than just a 90mm). I hear the name Thomson being thrown around quite a bit and assume that this is probably the gold-standard brand for stems but I don't know if this would be overkill for me.

Any suggestions on decently priced, quality, shorter stems that look similar to the stock IRO stem ( https://dl.getdropbox.com/u/144670/IMG_5722.JPG - I apologize for the blurry photo, I can't keep the camera still if my life depended on it) would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

What you are trying to do is equivalent to getting fitted for a custom suit via an internet message board.

Why not go down to a bike shop and get a proper fitting? If you don't know what you are doing and don't know what sizes you need, there are people that do. It may cost a few bucks, but it will be less than buying a bunch of the wrong stems till you luck up and get the right one.

BTW, "quite a bit longer" makes it sound like you may have bought the wrong sized bike, too. This wouldn't have happened if you tried it on before you bought.

Sorry, man. I'm just calling it like it is.

I agree with Carleton. If you need to run a 70mm stem to get the proper fit, chances are you purchased the wrong size bike. Take the money you're willing to spend on a 70mm Thomson and go to the LBS (bring your bike) and see if they can fit you to your frame.

I actually did a great deal of research before purchasing the Mark V (basically researched it all Fall and Winter before placing my purchase in late April). One of the biggest things I researched was sizes/geometries. I did my best to get something as close to my old Fuji road bike (which fits me like a glove) as much as possible but without actually being able to test ride it before I purchased (decided to go with the IRO complete because of the poor selection of LBSes here in Iowa and only after exhaustively researching all other choices) it. Like I said in my initial post, the bike fits me nearly perfectly, the 50cm would have been way too small for me and with the 56cm this would have been even more of a problem, I think for you guys to say I purchased the wrong size bike is a little outlandish. It's merely a problem of me being inbetween sizes. I didn't know that the longer TT would have this much of an affect. It's not that my bike is not ride-able, it's actually near perfect, and to make it perfect, I'm willing to look into buying a slightly shorter stem.

I'm in no way "getting fitted for a custom suit via an internet message board", I know what needs to be done and I'm simply asking for similar looking stems at a decent price because you guys have a lot more knowledge in these type of things that I do. Like I said I'm new to all of this and this was actually my first bicycle purchase so give me a break. At least I'm not trying to put a quill (threaded) stem on a threadless Kilo TT...

Check out Pricepoint.com they have stems starting at $10.00.

Measure your old Fuji's nose of saddle to bar length. get whatever stem you need to replicate this.

Hey thanks for the link, I'll definitely check that out.


*hit's self in the head* Why didn't I think of that! Sounds simple enough, thanks much for the suggestion, I'm going to go measure it now.

Well I did some measuring and found out some interesting information. The TT on both my Fuji and the IRO are very similar. The stems seem to be the culprit. When I was researching new bikes I must have just failed to think about a difference in size between a threadless stem such as the 100mm that comes with the IRO and the incredibly short quill stem that is currently on the Fuji.

The Fuji's Stem measures at roughly 2.687 inches (or 68.25mm) whereas the IRO's Stem measures in at around 3.937 inches (or 100mm), a difference of 1.25 inches (or 31.75mm).

I then measured the nose to the tops of the Fuji bars and it came in at 19 inches, whereas the IRO came in at 20.5 inches, a difference of 1.5 inches (or 38.1mm). This is pretty darn close to the 1.25 inch difference in the stems, and since my measurments are forming sort of a triangle, I didn't expect these differences to be the same based on the pythagorean theorem.

So turns out I spoke too soon. The TT's on both of the bikes appear to be almost identical. I don't know why I thought the TT on the IRO was "much" longer. I guess the fact that I was stretching more to get to the bars, I just assumed that it was the TT but, as it turns out, it's more the difference in stem sizes. It doesn't sound like much of a difference, but it must be enough for me to notice (plus the differences between the Nitto B111's on the Fuji and the IRO drop bars).

Based on the differences I've calculated, it looks like I want to shoot for either a 60mm (if they even make this size) or a 70mm stem. So this takes me back to my initial question, anyone know of some simple looking (almost identical to the stock IRO) stem that comes in either 60mm or 70mm that'd be a good deal. Like I said I have very little knowledge as to what is good and what is not. Should I try and get a 4-bolt clamp or will 2-bolt be sufficient? The stock IRO is 2-bolt and the bars haven't moved at all that I can tell.

if you're in the market for a short threadless stem, there're alot of mtb stems <100mm... they tend to be overbuilt, big +/-'s, and 31.8 clamp though. google

what he said.

Even the cheapest, threadless stem will be more than fine for road duty, as the design is very strong and simple. Probably tye best thing to do is to get the cheapest you can find in the size you think and sew how it goes. If you want to try a little longer or shorter you still have plenty of cash. Or if it perfect, get a sweet stem in the same size. Also think about how much rise or drop you would like too, you can buy a few cheap stems working out what is best. Then you have spare stems for the future, or you can sell them.

Or you can go with your measurements, get a thomson and hope you are right.