[Closed] Stem length?

whatever you feel comfortable with. Short = better control, long = more comfort for me.
buy some cheapos of some sizes on ebay for a couple of quid and once you get a length you're happy with buy a thomson. 🙂

Is there some sort of equation to define optimal stem length?

I suppose an experiment will have to do..

if you're in a club ask around for a loan of differing sizes. I have an 80mm, 50 felt too short.

Bike fit for a mountian bike is great to get the stem someone else thinks is right.

If you want the stem that [i]you[/i] think is right, it's a trial and error job really, it can be unintuitive and bar length and your shape and the shapes you throw when riding all influence it

(I expected to put a 40mm on my remedy frinstance but ended up on 50mm, and my fatbike I thought would get something more XC but also ended up on 50mm).

But you don't have to pay much for a good stem, a Pro FRS frinstance comes in a good range of sizes and costs about £22. I just kept an assortment of stems so I can experiment

When I treated my Wazoo to an upgrade to carbon chewy 747mm Knuckleball bars from the default 720mm alloys, I felt I was going to need a shorter stem. Not just to prevent a reduction in steering responce from the wider bars, but also I wanted reduce the risk of my lower back playing up (I had already swapped the default 75mm 7 degree rise to an 80mm 35 degree rise to raise the front end and reduce the reach).

It was a bit of a gamble, but in the end I chanced a 35mm 0 degree El Guapo Corto, worked out fine depsite being less than half the length of any stem I've ever owned before. 😆