[Alpenglow]

I am a 6 pack front traingle for my 5 spot. I currently ride a large spot with a 90mm stem. The pack front triangle is about a 1/2 inch longer. I like my stem lenth for trail riding but it is kinda long for FR. I am 6', 32" inseam. I am considering a 40-60mm stem. I am leaning towards the 60 because I think climbing will be awful in the 40. Anyone else using this 40-60 mm stem. The pack data base showed most using 90mms with a few 70mm out there. Thanks

 

[Roy]

I ride a 50mm stem on my Pack and am pretty much the same height/inseam as you. I like it a lot and can climb well with it. The slacker angle and A/C of the fork affect climbing more than stem length IMO.

 

[El Chingon]

I run a Thomson 70 on mine, and it makes for a great trail/FR stem.

 

[.Danno.]

I'm 5'11" w/34" inseam riding a medium Pack and I run a 45mm DH stem. The only time it bothers me on climbs is when it's really, really steep. So steep you're basically riding a wheelie. There's no way I'd compromise the handling of the bike by putting a longer stem on it for the sake of those few ups.

 

[MK_]

I am a 6 pack front traingle for my 5 spot. I currently ride a large spot with a 90mm stem. The pack front triangle is about a 1/2 inch longer. I like my stem lenth for trail riding but it is kinda long for FR. I am 6', 32" inseam. I am considering a 40-60mm stem. I am leaning towards the 60 because I think climbing will be awful in the 40. Anyone else using this 40-60 mm stem. The pack data base showed most using 90mms with a few 70mm out there. Thanks

The difference is 0.4", which is roughly 10mm. Since you've got a Pack front with Spot everything else, the angles steepen by a degree (if memory serves me right) contrasted with a pure Pack, therefore your effective top tube is shorter than on a standard Pack (the slacker the seattube, the longer the effective top tube for a given seat post extension and vice versa). I would venture a guess that you'll be fine with your current stem. You could get a 70mm to see how that works, but it might be completely unnecessary.

_MK

 

[FM]

keep in mind the longer top tube length is really only due to the slacker angles. If you move your seat forward (or go to an in-line seatpost if you haven't already), you will get the exact same fit as you do on your spot.

FWIW, I run 70mm stems on both my RFX and FR hardtail. It feels just right, not horrible on climbs, awesome on descents.....

 

[Alpenglow]

Thanks fellas

I guess I'm gonna try the 60mm. Truvativ Holzfeller stems are on sale for $30 from Greenfish. Will go nicely with my cranks

 

[tscheezy]

What FM said. The slack angles actually move the bars closer to the cranks, and move the saddle farther back relative to the cranks. The upshot is that seated the bike feels similar in length to the Spot, but when you stand up the bars are seemingly closer (because the crank to bar distance is shorter). You are going to add to this effect with a very short stem. It took me a looong time to come up with my first long-term stem for the Pack, and even that one got swapped out recently (to a Easton Vice 80mm*). I would suggest you buy a very cheap stem for the first few weeks and experiment. Some of those Sette and Weyless stems are well under $20 and will let you dial your position without wasting $$ on a nice Thomson which turns out to be the wrong size.

*XC-Weenie edition

 

[Tracerboy]

I tried a 45mm stem and found it way too short. You lose traction in corners with the shorter the stem. It felt good for jumps, but that's it.

I think 60-80 is ideal for the pack for someone looking to do more freeride than XC-AM.

I wouldn't go any shorter than 80-100 for XC and AM.

Just going 20mm longer on a stem can have a dramatic effect on increasing traction in corners.

Another thing, wide handle bars are underated. Most people think skinny handle bars are great because they don't clip trees and can steer quicker. On the other hand though, skinny bars make your bike incredibly unstable in corners and rough terrain at high speeds. They are especially bad for drops. Wide handle bars will help keep your bike going where you want it, thus much better at holding a line in corners and drops. Wide bars also give you much more control over the chamber of your bike. Landing sideways with skinny bars is going to be hard because you have no leverage over the yaw and chamber of the bike when you impact the ground. Wide bars will help force the bike to realign to your body's trajectory, not the other way around.

I run 700mm wide DH bars, never once hit a tree with them. Cornering is vastly improved over the 630mm bars.

 

[Alpenglow]

I got a 60mm stem for $30

I found a decent stem for $30, so I figured it was worth the risk. If the length is too short I'll dial it in with a 70-80mm thompson. Thanks for the info. Do you ever run into any browns when you ride? I saw two when I was fishing on the Kenai Penisula this fall.

I would suggest you buy a very cheap stem for the first few weeks and experiment. Some of those Sette and Weyless stems are well under $20 and will let you dial your position without wasting $$ on a nice Thomson which turns out to be the wrong size.

 

[Tracerboy]

I found a decent stem for $30, so I figured it was worth the risk. If the length is too short I'll dial it in with a 70-80mm thompson. Thanks for the info. Do you ever run into any browns when you ride? I saw two when I was fishing on the Kenai Penisula this fall.

I think supergo is still selling the cheaper DH 45-60-80mm stems for under $25. I bought mine for $10 at the store. They are nice, strong too.

edit: never mind. they stopped selling them