New Stem?

[SouthernBelle]

Mine is a medium. Though I'm just a shade over 5'5". I'm very leggy. Probably part of the problem.

Maybe a good way to think about it is when you are on the hoods, how far out in front should your hands be in relation to your shoulders? Of course, I'm talking in the saddle. I feel like my hands are way out there. Probably isn't as extreme as I feel.

The guys at my LBS are very nice and when I want something, they jump on it. Of course I've got the want to do it myself bug too.

[DebW]

If you ever climb out of the saddle or think you may someday, also consider your out-of-saddle position when chosing a stem length. If you get the stem too short, you'll feel cramped out of the saddle. Your knees may come within striking distance of the bars. You may be climbing with your shoulders almost in front of your hands, resulting in poor balance and control.

Also, make sure your bottom bracket to saddle setback is right before thinking about changing your stem. If you get that right, you should be able to hold your upper body in balance on a trainer while padaling if you let go with your hands (at least briefly).

[xeney]

SouthernBelle, my husband rides a medium, and I am 5'6" with long legs, and I would definitely a 5-7 cm stem to even think about being able to ride that bike. With the seat up high enough it fits me okay in the legs, but my upper body is just way too short for that reach.

[SouthernBelle]

Thanks Deb, I just swapped out the seat, but haven't been riding because I have had the rambling crud in my head and chest AND a yeast infection. The WTB I replaced that pretty Selle Italia with should get me out of the saddle. The nose is shorter. Just got to double check the placement on it on my next ride.

If I measured correctly, the current stem is 10 cm.

I'll probably play with it a little Saturday, straighten the bars back to where they should be and see how I ride.

Xeney, thanks for the point of comparison!

[DarcyInOregon]

I recently purchased a Trek Pilot 5.2 WSD. When I first took the bike out I loved everything about it except that I felt I didn't have the bike under control. I finally figured out it was the stem and handlebars, that the strech was too long for me. I have arthritis in my back, and a few ruptured disks, so I will never have a normal stretch. I called the LBS. He ordered a new stem for me, and new handlebars. The LBS made the stem shorter to bring the handlebars closer. However, he decided the WSD bars were too big for me, as strange as that may seem, because I am 5'9" and 50 pounds overweight. He said the drops should be in line with my shoulders, but the drops on the original handlebars were too far out to the sides. We scrapped the original handlebars and the LBS ordered smaller bars. Don't ask me for sizes because I don't remember. I requested additional brake levers in the front, which is how I rode decades ago. Once the new bars and stem arrived and were installed and I was out on the road again, the riding was awesome. Oh, and I had the bars wrapped in pink. I really love having the additional brake levers.

[SouthernBelle]

Thanks Darcy. Hadn't really thought about the bars being too wide for me, But I will look at that too. Of course pink would clash with my orange trimmed bike.

[xeney]

I just remembered that my husband -- who is a little over 5'8, maybe 5'9 -- had to swap out the stem on his Giant to a 9 cm because he was getting backaches. You guys have the exact same bike, I think -- a medium 2005 OCR C3. It's just on the verge of being too big for him so I'm not at all surprised that you feel like you need to swap out the stem.

His other bikes are 54 cm and 56 cm and they fit him fine; he had a lot of problems with the geometry of that Giant.