Hello, one of daughters has moved to 29ers and at 5ft 3 ish the handlebars could do with being lower, currently running a flat Easton 720mm bar on a el cort/gaupo 45mm stem 0 degree so,,

can we flip a stem to have a drop of 6 degree? IF so will this end in structural failure and dental work?

Are there any low stack stems…funn ones on CRC look lower?

or any other options?

Thanks

Flipping the stem is fine – I’ve even seen Jared Graves does that on his SB5C EWS race bike and there aren’t many stronger or more aggressive riders than him!

Syntace have just the fella

Buy her a bike that fits properly 😉

Flipping is fine. You can get stems with a greater “drop” if you need to, plus there’s that Syntace thing shown above.

The Ragley Stubbing stem is very low stack, but 0 degrees.

I flip most of my stems. Only thing to check is they don’t hit the top tube. If the bars spin they probably will hit it, but will not do much damage (a few turns of electrical tape or silicone tape should protect it). A stem will possibly go straight through it with the added leverage.

Buy her a bike that fits properly

Because a ‘normal’ stem pointing up in the air at 30deg is an indication of good fit.

A low stack stem isnt really going to significantly affect the bar height. So a negative rise stem is what you need.

Thanks for the responses and suggestions.

-17 rides great on mine.

Syntace Megaforce is 6º and is flippable – do a quick search, someone has them on special offer right now. Super light stem with 10 year warranty too.

syntace is ideal in theory just want to try out first

Consider stem length and bar width if you are changing. She may find a lower stem is more of a stretch and modern wide bars may be a bit overkill for a 5.3″ girl.

The wider bars are something that she is not happy with, other daughters ride them without thought but they are taller, so yes on the lit to go back to less wide bars and possibly 25.4 bars

A cheap way to try might be to pick up a Kalloy -17 on evilbay. The logos come off with Acetone very easily and they are nice and light too (under 100g for my 80mm one). Ritchey do -17 and -25 stems fairly cheaply but maybe not a short as your daughter is currently using

As others have said I wouldn’t bother with a low stack stem- not much height to be lost there.

If you use the right hand spreadsheet here then you can have a play around with the effect of different stems/ spacers/ etc so long as you know the frame’s stack, reach and HTA

I got a Syntace Megaforce with the intention of flipping it when I go 27.5 on the front. Great stem – lighter than Thomson it replaced but not overly cheap.

DanW – Member

(under 100g for my 80mm one).

*raises eyebrow*

5’3″ is a 29er the correct choice ?

*raises eyebrow*

It’s a WW favourite. 89g with Ti bolts to be precise 8) Check it out

5’3″ is a 29er the correct choice ?

That is what we are going to find out – rather than length or standover height it is a 140 fork that is the concern, after she rode yesterday with her mum it was a case of ‘ it is bit quick downhill’, but is probably just to high at the front fractionally and the wide handlebars maybe throwing things out.

got a nice 3T MTB stem off Wiggle for £25 with a +10/-10 for my new Giant XTC 29’er

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/3t-pro-mtb-stem/

also got some 3T 740mm flat bars, its allowed a good aggressive position as the head tube on the XTC was a little taller than the Stumpjumper I previously had

DanW – Member

It’s a WW favourite. 89g with Ti bolts to be precise Check it out

That’s impressive. Although I’d wonder how tough it is…. even Enve don’t get close to that with their carbon ones. Not sure I’d be sticking a set of 800 bars in it and then perching my big lump on top.

esher cheers looks a good option