I’m thinking about getting a new stem and bars, currently have 90mm one.

I read that shorter stems are better so I was wondering what would the benefits of getting a 70mm one? I can’t try one beforehand to get the feel, so is it worth doing?

It will bring the bike more alive, you’ll be able to pop up the front end easier – jump hop easier etc, down side is it may feel more twitchy – give it a try, but try a 70 or 80mm nothing shorter, I replaced a 100 with a 60 and the bike wouldn’t climb well, using a 70 (or is it 80?) anyway – perfect now!

shorter stem may also knock the “fit” of the bike out and make the front end wander/hard to keep down on climbs …..

the ammount of times ive seen people be unable to ride a steep climb because they have stuck on a stem because they read about it being”better” in a mag ….

im pretty sure my 120 thomson doesnt hold me back on descents …. (and i do regularly race to prove that )

I agree with both of the above, which is contrary I know.

However I fitted a shorter stem and found it great. A decent LBS will let you try a stem even if it’s just a cheap one to try for length.

I went from 100mm to 65mm stem and loved it. Hasn’t made any difference on the climbs and cornering is now fantatsic. Bike handles alot better now, has a real confident feel now with the shorter stem.

Yep, changing the stem will make a huge difference but changing it by 10 mm won’t be as radical as 25 or 30mm. Obviously.

I now size bikes with a smaller than stock stem in mind 99% of the time, such is the difference it makes, personally I’d happily sacrifice climbing performance for snappier handling.

Doesn’t stem length depend on the head angle? Steep ie 70’plus longer and 68’minus shorter.