70mm stem on 140mm bike, with 720mm bars. If I go to a 50mm stem what will I notice ?

As always, thanks guys

I went from a 680 bar and a 75mm stem to 750 bar and a 50 stem , transformed my down hill confidence and speed and didn’t make my climbing much worse . Made bike more ” chuck able “
If that makes sense ???

bigdan6 – Member
70mm stem on 140mm bike, with 720mm bars. If I go to a 50mm stem what will I notice ?

That your hands are 20mm closer to your knees.

Seriously, I’d say not much. Would suggest you go 50mm stem and 740+mm bars to feel a difference. Would get you a little more weight over the front to give you more confidence in the corners and a bit more slow speed manoeuvrability.

If I go to a 50mm stem what will I notice ?

Your stem is shorter.

it’ll make a difference, but not necessarily for the better.

i wouldn’t be surprised if it made manuals a teeny bit easier, and climbing a teeny bit harder.

Would it speed up steering?

Would it allow my arms to be more relaxed for increased manoverabilitity (Christ the wines speaking for me now)

More confidence on the downs?

Conversely, wheel wandering on the ups?

What you say?…

bigdan6 – Member

Would it speed up steering?

no idea, mostly i steer by leaning, i don’t even know if faster/slower steering would be a good/bad thing..

Would it allow my arms to be more relaxed for increased manoverabilitity (Christ the wines speaking for me now)

er…

More confidence on the downs?

not necessarily.

Conversely, wheel wandering on the ups?

a good guess – you won’t know unless you try it.

What you say?…

give it a go? – stems aren’t expensive – i’ve got a 50mm/31.8 stem you can have for postage + a fiver to your choice of charity.

🙂

It depends on what you want to achieve. Right up until this weekend, I’ve been running a 65mm, 10 degree rise stem on my Wolf ridge (with Wotans and 760mm bars). I’ve not quite gelled with the setup, the bike seems to lack feel and feedback. I managed to compensate for the lack of grip by fitting a soft compound front tyre, but there was still little or no dialogue going on between my hands and the contact patch at the front, even though it seemed to be gripping okay.

Anyway, I invested in a 50mm zero degree rise stem. Fifteen millimetres isn’t much, but in moving the bars further toward the centre of gravity, I seem to be able to lean the bike through the corners more effectively. The front end feels like it has more “bite”, plus the rear tyre doesn’t spit traction quite as readily because I’m able to aid traction with my body weight more effectively.

If you are going that short with your stem, I’d suggest that you go up a size on the bars to 750/760mm at least…you won’t cut into breathing room too much. Besides, you can always cut down a bar that’s too wide.

Only good things will come of it. I personally disregard any comments about climbing ability being hindered.

You can pick up stems quite cheap and sell-on if you don’t like the feel, so why not just try it?

If I go to a 50mm stem what will I notice ?

You will notice that your steering is a bit quicker and the front end has a slight tendency to lift if you’re in the habit of pulling on the bars when climbing.

You will also notice you are sitting slightly more upright and will need some gnar-tastic 740mm bars to compensate.

I once tried going from 710 / 50mm stem to 780/50 but it just felt too wide. Settled on 740 / 50mm and then started feeling I wanted more width, currently trying out 780 / 50mm again and it feels great now!

you’ll get quicker and more responsive steering. however you may experience more front wheel lift when climbing and the front wheel may wander a little more.
wider bars will help but all this will also depend on the amount of rise your current stem has and what the new stem will have.

Do it. The climbing thing is solved by leaning forward a little more (20mm to be precise 😉 ) but other things feel better IME. It’s not going to be a huge difference, there are too many variables involved. However it gives you a bit more range to manipulate the bike.

Try popping an extra spacer (5mm or so) under the stem when you change it too, many riders go a little higher as they bring the bars closer. Equally many don’t, but it’s worth a try. Again, this will affect the climbing marginally.

The real question is really how are you going to coordinate it with the rest of the build?

Depends on your kind if riding, but for trail riding I have found it one of the best improvements I ever made (and made instant leaps in Strava times on descents). It does make the cockpit smaller for climbing, but this can easily be adapted to by bending your elbows and learning forward. If the front wheel is tracking around too much on climbs, widen bars. Everyone will have their perfect setup, I went from stock 670/110mm stem (!) to 710/70 to 740/60 which now feels perfect. Also agree that if you go shorter and are trying to replicate the same hand positioning, go for a higher rise stem or add spacers. As a bonus it will also make your front wheel far easier to loft off jumps.

ryancti – i think what you have mentioned is pretty much spot on.
by the way the image you’ve added may be a bit misleading as it doesn’t demonstrate that the varying positions of the handlebars/stems are also due to the changes in head angle as a result of longer travel forks. 🙂

Thanks guys.

Love the pic ^^^^

🙂

it doesn’t demonstrate that the varying positions of the handlebars/stems are also due to the changes in head angle as a result of longer travel forks.

Why are the bars on the Enduro higher as well as the ghost of the frame having a higher front end then?

Why do people seem to think you need to get wider bars when you get a shorter stem? That surely negates some of the benefits of a shorter stem. I use 695mm bars and a 50mm stem on my AM bike and it feels perfect for me (6ft). What are 760mm bars all about?

Why do people seem to think you need to get wider bars when you get a shorter stem?

I reckon it’s more the other way around: a shorter stem helps compensate for the increased reach and slower steering caused by running a wider bar.

I use 695mm bars and a 50mm stem on my AM bike and it feels perfect for me (6ft).

That’s for you on your bike. A bike and rider with different geometry will be different. I run 710mm/70mm on one bike and 710mm/90mm on the other.

What are 760mm bars all about?

Leverage. And Awesomeness 😀

On a trail bike I find if I go too wide and too short it’s more the out of the saddle pedally singletrack that suffers, rather than the ups.

Also reckon there’s loads of variables to consider when evaluating what it’ll do. E.g. the geometry of the bike and how it’s been set up, your riding position, and the type of riding you do and how you ride.

Still as someone else on here has said, bars and stems can be had for not much cash so worth an experiment.

Edit: worth chatting to your LBS, they often have stems lying about in the workshop and may lend you a couple to try if it looks like there’s a sale in it for them.

35mm is short.

The bloke explains about bars/stems in here, just bear with it for a bit…
An informed source

What are 760mm bars all about?

give them a go (a proper go, at least a few good rides), then go back to your 690’s.

I Ache – i stand corrected!! must have had a blonde moment when i was typing!! 😆