GCN Tech Asks The Pros | How Do You Choose Your Stem Length?

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6 жыл бұрын

Pros always seem to have super long stems on their bikes, but how do they choose which length to go for? Do they just choose the smallest frame with the longest stem they can handle? Or do they get a proper bike fit? Jon talked to some pros in Dubai to find out.
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Do you go as long and as low as possible? Or are you a bike fit believer? Let us know in the comments down below 👇
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Why do Pros slam their stems? gcntech.co/slamstems 📹
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Пікірлер: 293

@gcntech 6 жыл бұрын

Let us know your thoughts on stem length in the comments below 👇

@NielsHeldens 6 жыл бұрын

Bram Tankink - living legend

@TheWaxChainFanClub 6 жыл бұрын

I think it is clear that JC is an excellent addition to the GCN team.

@PhilipSijbrandi 6 жыл бұрын

Bram Tankink, what a legend

@PatrickPierceBateman 3 жыл бұрын

Just bought a 500mm stem and can't wait to try it out.

@James_taylor810 6 жыл бұрын

I went 20mm shorter last week and can’t believe how much more comfortable it is.

@chiefrocker12 6 жыл бұрын

How bout' the dude in the back ground doing hand stands on the cross bars (

@kenhunt 4 жыл бұрын

Is that Connor at

@douglaspate9314 6 жыл бұрын

I have used 130mm. I have looong arms. Then at the end of last year I got bought a Madone 9.9 built for someone else which has a 110mm equivalent (integrated handlebar/stem). It made up to 10% difference in increased average speed and I felt so much more comfortable. I have changed stem length on my other bikes and would not go back to that stretched-out position, Bram (a legend!) made a very valid comment in that I too have also moved my saddle forward meaning my top arms are closer to vertical. I get back in after a long (+4 hrs) ride and my shoulders do not ache as they did before.

@13inverse89 6 жыл бұрын

Handlebar reach can also affect stem length. My current handlebar has quite a long reach, so I'm using a stem 1 cm shorter in order to get the same position. Like Bram, I too prefer my seat slightly forward rather than pushed way back on the rails. Great vid!

@ckcycles7624 6 жыл бұрын

Bram! great response

@tonyy5482 5 жыл бұрын

My 56cm/22" bike came with a 110cm stem. The bike felt small to me (used to ride a 23" frame as a teenager) but the flat cross bar felt an inch too high (oversize aluminium tubes), owch. The seat tube is steeper than normal, so the top tube is shorter than normal; designed for American criteron racing perhaps? In the 1990s I used it for Triathlon, with clip-on aerobars, grip-shift and seat forward, I ended up fitting a 140mm long stem to make it more comfortable and aero. Now (c. 2017-2019), 25 years later, I use the same bike for recreational riding: I moved the new, longer railed seat back, moved the grip-shift to the handlebar end, removed the aerobars and, later, reduced the stem length to 120mm to ease acute neck pain (it worked). I might move back to the standard 110mm stem one day, as closer seems more comfortable to the older me and it feels like I am bringing the bike back into the balance the designer intended.

@indonesiaamerica7050 5 жыл бұрын

that stem length chart assumes that your top tube has been optimized for the rider. With today's "molded" frames the stem length is used to compensate for lack of top tube length choices.

@drewcama5481 6 жыл бұрын

Two years ago I shortened my crank length and found it made a big positive difference when spinning fast, more comfort and less bobbing up and down. Last year I shortened my stem length and found myself for the first time riding more and comfortably in the drops. I think less flexibility or my bigger belly as I get older may have had something to do with it or it may have just been a better fit over all.

@theSubscriber32 6 жыл бұрын

I couldn't help but notice the guy exercising in the background during Bram's interview. That upper body strength is superb.

@richardmannion2779 6 жыл бұрын

only been riding about 11 years but new road bikes do seem to be getting a higher stack so that most club and recreational riders don't have loads of spacers. Consequently even non-pro riders who want to get the front low have to size down and go for a longer stem. Not all brands and models but definitely quite a few.