I've got an 06 Rockhopper Pro, and I've been thinking of putting a new stem on it, just so that its not "stock", and I really don't know how to pick one out....I basically use my bike for causual riding, to and from work, and light trails...but I really like the looks of the Race Face Diabolus, but its made for DH/Freeride....would that affect comfort for my style of riding? Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.
Question about Stems
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so is there anything wrong with your current stem? too long, too short? too much or not enough rise? if its fine, why change it?
Switching to a short DH stem will severely affect your bikes handling. especially on a trail, turning, and so on. It will make your bike super sensitive to rider input on the handle bars.
Switching to a short DH stem will severely affect your bikes handling. especially on a trail, turning, and so on. It will make your bike super sensitive to rider input on the handle bars.
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actually I was wrong, its the feb issue of MBA. its gold with a Cannondale on the cover.
Basically, they had a lot of handeling issues with super short & the super long stems.
the middle of the road lenght, most riders felt really comfortable with, and the bike handled the best.
If you just want to ditch the spec. stock stem, stick with something close in length (I think stock is either 110mm or 120mm). the average rise is probably between 5° or 10°.
Race face makes a great stem, nice and lite, and their carbon stems are great. Personally I like thompson stems. Their clamp system really holds the fork well, and does zero damage to the steerer tube. And they come in black or chrome.
Basically, they had a lot of handeling issues with super short & the super long stems.
the middle of the road lenght, most riders felt really comfortable with, and the bike handled the best.
If you just want to ditch the spec. stock stem, stick with something close in length (I think stock is either 110mm or 120mm). the average rise is probably between 5° or 10°.
Race face makes a great stem, nice and lite, and their carbon stems are great. Personally I like thompson stems. Their clamp system really holds the fork well, and does zero damage to the steerer tube. And they come in black or chrome.
I like the looks of the Race Face stems, don't know much about Thompson, i'm just getting back into biking, its been about 10 yrs since I had my last bike, I was big into it in the mid 90's. Whatever happened to Kore products, are they still a decent componant...I had a Kore stem on my old Giant and I really liked it. I'll look into the Thompson stems...I appreciate the info man.
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thomson elite stems are really becoming industry standard for many road, XC, & trail riders. I like them a lot. They are pretty lightweight, solid feeling, and sexy.
http://www.lhthomson.com/elite_stems.htm
Kore is now a pretty cheap stem, and mainly focuses on nice BMX & DH stems. Their Trail / XC stems are usually under $20.
http://www.lhthomson.com/elite_stems.htm
Kore is now a pretty cheap stem, and mainly focuses on nice BMX & DH stems. Their Trail / XC stems are usually under $20.
Here is a little stem calculator that you can play around with:
http://www.zinncycles.com/stemFit.aspx
There are heaps of good stems to choose from
I've got the Thomson X4 on my bike but I'm running 31.8mm diameter bars too.
Offhand I like the following:
Thomson Elite
Race Face
Truvativ Team
alot of people really like Easton stems too.
The Thomson really has a good strenght to weight ratio (their seatposts are the best!). I wouldn't go for a Downhill type stem unless you do some scary big drops & alot of jumping with the bike. Otherwise the extra weight & strenght is probably unwarranted.
What lenght you get depends how comfortable you are reach wise, if you go too short then you'll get too cramped and probably find you're getting sore hands if you mainly do xc type rides. For xc I wouldn't go much below 80mm, if you're into more freeride or do alot of techy or downhill then you could try a 60mm & see how you like it. I had a 60mm truvativ hussefelt on my bike for a while & loved the quick handling but it was just too short reach wise for the xc type rides. For me 90mm seems perfect reach, handling & comfort wise for the riding I do.
I've known some all mountain type riders to be pretty happy with 70mm stems. Most people buy cheaper stems while experimenting with lenght and then get a Thomson once they know their ideal set up.
http://www.zinncycles.com/stemFit.aspx
There are heaps of good stems to choose from
I've got the Thomson X4 on my bike but I'm running 31.8mm diameter bars too.
Offhand I like the following:
Thomson Elite
Race Face
Truvativ Team
alot of people really like Easton stems too.
The Thomson really has a good strenght to weight ratio (their seatposts are the best!). I wouldn't go for a Downhill type stem unless you do some scary big drops & alot of jumping with the bike. Otherwise the extra weight & strenght is probably unwarranted.
What lenght you get depends how comfortable you are reach wise, if you go too short then you'll get too cramped and probably find you're getting sore hands if you mainly do xc type rides. For xc I wouldn't go much below 80mm, if you're into more freeride or do alot of techy or downhill then you could try a 60mm & see how you like it. I had a 60mm truvativ hussefelt on my bike for a while & loved the quick handling but it was just too short reach wise for the xc type rides. For me 90mm seems perfect reach, handling & comfort wise for the riding I do.
I've known some all mountain type riders to be pretty happy with 70mm stems. Most people buy cheaper stems while experimenting with lenght and then get a Thomson once they know their ideal set up.
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i also used to have a bontrager XXX lite stem. By far the lightest stem I have ever owned. I think it was lighter than most carbon stems.
Wow that calculator is way too detailed for me. if you like the way your stem feels, go with the same. if you want a longer or shorter reach, change it up.
A good bike shop would usually allow you to try a few stems, and return the ones you dont use (assuming they are in mint condition).
Wow that calculator is way too detailed for me. if you like the way your stem feels, go with the same. if you want a longer or shorter reach, change it up.
A good bike shop would usually allow you to try a few stems, and return the ones you dont use (assuming they are in mint condition).
The stem calculator isn't that technical.
You can look up the head angle from your bike specs - around 70.5 or similar.
The stem angle is basically what rise stem you have.
Stem lenght - just that measured from centre of clamp to centre of steer tube.
Stem Clamp height is the one most people never worry about - is basically how high your stem clamp is (the bit that bolts to the steerer tube) from to p to bottom.
All these measurements punched in will give you your actual reach - the straight distance from the steerer tube to the centre of the stem - usually this figure is somewhere close to the actual stem lenght, but punch in different rise options and you will see how the reach is affected.
It will also tell you the total rise from horizontal which can be used to help you determine wether you want a 1" riser bar in combination with a high rise stem or 2" riser bar with a lo rise stem etc so that you can have your hands in the same position with different set ups.
Yeah sorry - it's probably a bit too technical for what most people want, great for those who love their spreadsheets and figures!
You can look up the head angle from your bike specs - around 70.5 or similar.
The stem angle is basically what rise stem you have.
Stem lenght - just that measured from centre of clamp to centre of steer tube.
Stem Clamp height is the one most people never worry about - is basically how high your stem clamp is (the bit that bolts to the steerer tube) from to p to bottom.
All these measurements punched in will give you your actual reach - the straight distance from the steerer tube to the centre of the stem - usually this figure is somewhere close to the actual stem lenght, but punch in different rise options and you will see how the reach is affected.
It will also tell you the total rise from horizontal which can be used to help you determine wether you want a 1" riser bar in combination with a high rise stem or 2" riser bar with a lo rise stem etc so that you can have your hands in the same position with different set ups.
Yeah sorry - it's probably a bit too technical for what most people want, great for those who love their spreadsheets and figures!
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