I have a trek fuel ex 8 2009. Sometimes the front end can be a bit skittish and the handling doesn't feel quite right. Would swapping the stem for a shorter one help? and what length would you reccommend?
The standard stem is a Bontrager Race Lite with 7 degree rise. Not sure what the official length is but it measures 100mm from centre to centre.
Cheers
try letting a bit of air out of the front tyre and the forks if it feels skittish. A 70mm stem could help matters but you will have less reach and more weight on the back wheel.
Wierd you posted this - Thinking the same today but for slightly different reasons.
I too have and EX 8 and after am thinking of shortening the stem on mine for when I am predominantly riding descents to the (or rather to my ) max!
As a norm on normal XC and well defined trails I have never found a problem with the stem length -
Its normally the tyres that seem to make the biggest difference!
Everything you've read about fitting shorter stems, wider bars and having a lower front end to improve handling is all true! I've swapped off the original stem and bars on my EX and taken 10mm of headset spacer out. It feels a lot better/or like my hardtail with 'new school' geometry. It did take me a few months riding to first really appreciate this style of set up on my hardtail, but I liked it so much I changed the set up of my Trek.