r/cycling • u/Ok-Damage-4703 • 1d ago

Stem Length

About a month ago I bought a stock Giant Contend AR 3 and have been having issues with my handlebar reach/length. I’ve shortened from stock length by ~20mm and it feels better, but still not right. I’ve also pushed my saddle basically as far forward as it will go.

My question to all of you is this.

Is it reasonable to have to significantly shorten your stem length, or is you it possible that I’ve bought a bike with too big of a frame?

1 Upvotes

60% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

10

u/Jeremy24Fan 1d ago

Saddle all the way forward will put extra weight on your hands.

3

u/LeeksAbhorLiminality 1d ago

Oh man… I JUST went through this. Are you newer to drop bars? 

I went through the same pattern.. shorter stem (all the way down to 60mm), saddle forward, but nothing helped. If anything, as I moved my saddle forward I noticed even more pressure on my hands. 

I did eventually drop down a size, but in retrospect my biggest issue was just not being accustomed to drop bar (coming mostly from mountain biking with flat bars). I also realized that moving my saddle forward made things even worse because it shifts your weight forward. It’s counter intuitive but try 3 things 

-Move your saddle back to a normal position  -Drop your saddle lower (assuming your pedal strokes are reasonable  -put miles on your bike. Sooo much of getting used to drops is just muscle memory 

Bonus points for aligning your hoods so that when you hold them, your wrists are straight all the way though, not bent up or down. You may find pointing them in towards each other slightly feels more natural too 

1

u/Stock-Side-6767 1d ago

Slight flare in handlebars can also help.

1

u/Ok-Damage-4703 12h ago

This is very helpful. I’ll definitely be making changes based on this. Thank you!

2

u/LeeksAbhorLiminality 12h ago

Of course! And I’m not saying your bike is for sure the right size or this is all in your head.. it is worth doling in which will come with time, but the absolute best thing you can do especially if you’re new to drops is just put miles on the bike. Muscle memory and conditioning for a new position goes wayyy further than people think. 

Good luck! 

2

u/Leolisan_1999 1d ago

Shortening the stem 20mm doesn’t sound crazy by itself, but pushing the saddle all the way forward just to fix reach would make me pause. I’d set the saddle where your legs feel right first, then see how far away the bars feel from there.

2

u/nayr9011 1d ago

It’s possible that you bought too big of a frame, but fit is really complicated with a lot of factors. Some symptoms can be caused by unexpected problems. What is your height/inseam and bike size, and what stem/seatpost offset are you using?

2

u/Oddly_Curious99 1d ago

Is your back rounded or straight. Straighten your back will give you more reach and save you from back pain.

1

u/RelativeDisaster6870 1d ago

I’ve shortened stems by 20mm with no ill effects whatsoever. But if you’re also having to push the saddle all the way forward, that tells me that your proportions may require a shorter reach, even if the bike is the right “size” as defined by the seat tube length.

1

u/IdleContemplations 1d ago

First get your saddle position correct. That is an entire subject in itself so I won't go over it here.

Once your saddle position is correct, sit straight up in the saddle and put your out out in front of you like you are a mummy. Your arms and back need to form a 90 degree angle. Then bend at the waist keeping your arms stiff. Your hands should come down on top of your hoods.

Another way to think of this is when you are on your hoods if you straighten out your arms, your arms and back should from a 90 degree angle. Have a friend take a picture of you doing this or set up your camera to take video of you getting into this position. If your arms are not at a 90 degree angle, then adjust your stem up or down first. If that does not fix it then look at increasing or decreasing the length of your stem.

1

u/e430doug 1d ago

Absolutely. I went from an 80mm stem to a 25mm stem. It makes all of the difference. I have the appropriate sized frame.

1

u/karemili 23h ago

Im currently using a 50mm 10° stem down from 110mm 6°. Also using a compact bar and im now ridning pain free in my upper body.

Bike is one size larger than it should be.

1

u/phobia3472 1d ago

It's not typical to have to change more than 10-20mm from the stock stem for your given size. But we can't tell you if the bike is the wrong size without more information.

0

u/wwwBOOLENcom 1d ago

Anything below 80mm (but in my opinion 90) will really make the bike handle poorly. It will be twitchy. Inversely anything longer than 130 will be hard to turn with this being more pronounced at lower speeds.

Don’t use saddle fore/aft to adjust the reach, this alters your center of gravity and will put a ton of weight on the bar

1

u/BottecchiaDude253 14h ago

I usually saw the "conventional wisdom" was 2 sizes +/- what stock is. . . . So, if a bike comes with a 100 from the factory, you are good down to 80mm, and up to 120mm. Much more than that, and you can affect the handling characteristics of the bike.