Thinking of fitting a shorter stem to my Rockhopper, still fitted with the original 100mm.
Reason for fitting is to help me “manual” /generally lift the front end on rougher trails. I noticed in the latest MBr, no I didnt buy it just flicked through in Tescos, that they are fitting 50mm stems to the current 09 range.

Any opinions?

70mm on most of my mountain bikes.

I’ve gone to a 50mm from around 90mm. It certainly livens things up and makes chucking the front around a lot easier, but I’m not sure I like it overall. I might creep back up to 70mm.

🙂

How does a shorter stem affect climbing? Does it make it harder to keep the front end down?

Yup as you’re further off the front end of the bike, it just requires a little shift of your weight towards the forks

100mm to 50mm is a big change. If you can, I would get a 70mm stem (borrow one ideally) and see how you get on with it.

I was quite surprised how different a 70mm stem felt on my bike vs a 100mm one.

What jfeb said – try before you buy or buy 2nd hand.

A shorter stem should improve handling but may make things a bit sketchy on steep climbs. I’d go with a 70mm first and see how it goes.

fbk

may make things a bit sketchy on steep climbs

Imagine the terror……get a 50mm one by hook or by crook, preferably by crook just to try it. It’ll make a much more noticeable difference and you’ll be able to asses whether you like the feel or not. If you go to a 70 it’s not a radical change, and you’ll probably still be curious about going shorter.

65mm is optimal for most riding that can’t be classed as pure xc or dh imo. You know, ****ing about.

I prefer a 130mm stem.
That way you can get shifting up the hills and really woop those fat lads, then stand at the top a point and laugh at them.

glenh – Member

I prefer a 130mm stem.
I’ve given up on actually learning to ride a bike so I specced mine to climb as well as possible to the detriment of handling. I can also use this as an excuse as to why I am so slow on descents. I don’t care, I have no skill, just cardio so I’ll glean what little pleasure I can from being the obnoxious **** who races to the top of each hill like anyone gave a sh*t.

Fair enough.

My choice would be to try a 70mm stem. You don’t say what age your bike is but the frame may also have been altered to make best use of a shorter stem. Spesh have moved away from making their bikes XC orientated to being more Trail in the last couple of years.

I’ve gone from 100mm to 70, to 90, down to 50 currently on a 130mm forked hardtail. Puts me in a great position for most riding but I may go back to 70 as it felt like the sweet spot for the bike. 50mm can be a bit scary and quick to lose the front on gravel surface.

MisterGnar, trolling? Who’d have thought! 😯

I have ran a few differnt length stems, tried longer, tried shorter, running something about in the middle now, really depends on what your riding and where, and I have never felt it make or break a bike to be honest, certainly not the monumental changes some seem to sugest it makes.

Give it a go and see what you like..

Would imagine the Rockhopper isnt too far off the mark at 100mm and 50mm does sound like a big drop, if you could borrow a couple of stems it might help, or buy something very cheap, bought a great 40mm stem to shorten up a bike for my girl the other week for a £12 off ebay brand new. Light, ally and 4 bolt.

VRO VRO VRO VRO VRO VRO VRO VRO
mine is ‘short’ but still means i can swing it about anywhere between 50mm-110mm

many may laugh. they may also wish they could change the length of their stem mid-ride.

im at 90mm, i tried shorter, but it just didnt feel right.

You’ll probably find it better if you swap frames to keep the the reach the same, im looking at trying out a frame 60mm longer with slacker angles, and putting a 50mm stem on it, should lengthen the cockpit a bit, keep the handling neutral, but make it a bit more stable at speed.

I had a 75mm stem to start with, then went down to a 60 and now 40 – love it. Tis a bit more ‘wandery’ on climbs but not horribly so. I put big silly wide bars on at the same time (getting it alpified for the Mega) and it feels great on descents.

many may laugh. they may also wish they could change the length of their stem mid-ride.

many are laughing, and I suspect not many are wishing they could change the length of their stem…

Alpin, now that is what I call a stem!!

Where was you on my “guady anodizing” thread the other day, I got slaughtered!

Alpin’s stem belongs on Barryboys.co.uk 😉

Alpin, …………………..my eyes, my eyes WTF is that!? 😯

Changing stem lengths mid ride would be good Alpin but it would have to be push button easy and not weigh much more….and not look gopping 🙂

100-50 is a big jump, maybe try a 70mm, wiggle have some truvativ ones at about £12 if you cant borrow. Bear in mind if your 100mm stem has a lot of rise you may need to raise the stem to compensate, not always an option if your steerer is cut down.
Have a look here to compare current stem and intended purchase

F#ck you, f#ck you all….. 😉

can position it anywhere between the two extremes. loosen two allen key bolts and push the bars into new position. re-tighten bolts. job done.

have a look at the website

248g bars (680mm)
70g clamps
130g stem

i don’t think that is too heavy.

infact there is more adjustment than that shown but would then prehaps be somewhat extreme.

Alpin, have you no shame?

Good ride ruined that stem … i cant think of a SINGLE situation where ive wished i could have changed my stem position mid ride….

and i run 120mm stem atop 80mm of travel on a race hardtail….i wont say where ive taken it but lets just say it handled the descents we were hitting better than some Freeridey bikes 😉 – got my ass handed to me by greig mind on his 5 spot 😉

That wacky stem comes as standard on these:

Says it all really. 🙂

oh yeah.

niche = 8) , no?

Try a Truvativ XR stem for a cheap way to see if you like it shorter and and be able to take your time over it. Oversize and available in 75mm & 60mm for around £10. I went from 90mm to 60mm and you can’t fail to notice the difference IME.

FWIW I bought one to try out the length before tacking the plunge on a Hope or Thomson but can’t see the point of spending the extra now. It ticks all the performance boxes, weighs around 150g (60mm length) and even looks OK, at this length.