[GT5050]

I've seen many people talk about removing the spacers under the stem to lower it on the Trance X, but I haven't seen a discussion about it. First off, any theories on why Giant puts the stem so high? Secondly, when/if you lower the stem, how low do you guys like it. Is there any rule of thumb on where it should be in relation to the seat, and why? I understand lower will weight the front more, and vice versa, but again is this just a matter of personal preference or based on some rule of thumb?

As far as I'm concerned, when I got my Medium X1 it came with a 100mm stem. I felt too stretched out, so I changed to a 90, which made things a ton better, especially on steep drops. This is with the stem being high. I'm going to play around with lowering it, but will going lower make the cockpit more cramped, like I'll need to go back to the 100? My thinking is it won't, when I picture in my head the effect should be to move the bar slightly further, but what are your experiences. Stay with the same stem for the first try or go longer?

 

[AZ]

Its all personel preference , lowering the stem will stretch you out a bit , stick with same stem and see if you want to make changes .

 

[d365]

it's all about what body position feels comfortable to you, and what you want the handling to be like, or where you think it needs improvement.

IMO. you have to find the sweet spot, where you get the maximum steering/climbing potential, but still stable and balanced coming down, and your hands don't go numb from too much pressure on them.

It takes some trial and error, to find it. I tried 3 different stem lengths. Spent a couple of days riding trails, and changing and flipping stems/spacers. Once you find the sweet spot, everything just feels right with the world, going up and down. comfortable.