Took the Explosif HT out round Stanmer Park in B’ton last night and compared to blundering about on’t full suss, I made a lash of things.

As a roadie, I ride flat bars and a longish stem. In this case a Thomson 0′ 11cm stem and 560mm flat bars.

How much of a steering difference would say a 90cm 10′ stem and some low rise bars make to the handling?

The bike’s effective top tube is 59cm and I’m 5′ 10″ with a slightly short torso for my height.

Mike, I’m of a similar height and proportions to you and my bike has the same ETT length. I’m riding with 670mm riser bars, 60mm stem, straight seatpost and saddle most of the way forward on the rails, and it handles really well round Stanmer. The way I see it I can bend my arms when climbing but I can’t change how the steering feels with a long stem. I had a 100mm stem before and really liked the change. It’s quite a personal and complex thing though:

http://www.leelikesbikes.com/stem-lengthrise-for-a-trail-bike.html