Shortening Stem Length

[Sean B.]

For awhile I've been riding my 2018 51cm AHH on a 9cm stem with the Nitto Noodles. Last summer I decided over the winter I wanted to shorten the reach a bit. I feel slightly stretched out when riding in the hoods, so I tend to ride on the ramps/tops. Shortening it 1cm is too little. So should I go for a 2cm or 3cm change? It's hard to see without actually riding on them, but my guess is the 2cm change might be the best for me (I realize this is super subjective). Does anyone else have experience with this issue? 

[Elisabeth Sherwood]

I'm a small female, so all my stems are, say, 6 or 7cm in length; have never had an issue.

That said, aren't Noodles super long-reach in-and-of themselves?  What about using a shorter-reach bar?  I'm not sure if aesthetics are an issue, but the front set-up might look more proportional if you did that.  (I'm a big fan of the Soma Hwy 1 bars, which are available in a silver finish and with a 26.0 or 31.8 clamp size.)

Liz Sherwood

Washington, DC 

[John Bokman]

I originally had a 10 cm Nitto technomic on my Sam. That was definitely too long for me. I swapped to a 7cm stem and have been much happier. For what it's worth, I ride a 58cm Sam, have long legs relative to my torso, and ride with bars below saddle height. Rivs tend to have long top tubes, so what you might use on a different frame may not work well on the Riv.  I'd try to measure when sitting on the bike, in your riding position (have someone else to help do the measurement). What does 2cm (1") shorter feel like? 

John Bokman

Portland OR

[James / Analog Cycles]

Have someone take 3 pictures of you riding from the side.  Hands on the Hoods, Ramps and Tops.   If you have natural elbow bend in the ramps, go 3cm shorter.  If you only have natural bend on the tops, you need shorter reach bars and a shorter stem.  Something on the order of an 80mm reach bar and 60mm stem would be my guess without looking at your fit.  

Short stems don't make high or mid trail bikes squirrely.  I rode a 30mm stem on my Hillborne for a while, no issues.  I could have ridden a 0mm and it would have felt fine.

Best, james / Bike Fitter for 15+. years / Analog Cycles / Tanglefoot Cycles / Discord Components / Fifth Season Canvas