150mm road stem

[timtak]

Funny, since you say you use the hoods 90% of the time ergo your drops are useless.

I use my drops about 10% of the time going downhill and into winds. And a change is as good as a rest. I could bend my elbows and do without them into winds, but the extra leverage you get on the brake levers in the drop position is good for going downhill, especially if you don't want to go over about 50kmh like me, so I would not want to chop them off, but the thought has occurred to me.

Post a picture or video of you riding this under a hard effort. If anything, just for laughs.

Ha. I don't have a treadmill/trainer but one of these days I will ask my wife.

[AGW]

My bike is great and I am grateful to Felt and not blaming thm for anything(?!)

Your caption in the flickr link specifically bemoans the tall headtubes of bikes these days. Seems funny coming from someone on a relaxed geometry bike is all. You realize that you'd be able to achieve a far racier aero position on an F-series frame without having to resort to an improperly angled SMP and bogus stem?

Your last few posts are a strange blend of slamthatstem dogmatism about how bikes these days are built with headtubes too long for a flat back, followed immediately by the retrogrouch tenet of bars these days being too low.

[timtak]

I got my Z5 online for $1500. Alas, I did not have a lot of choice. Is there a lot of choice? Is Cobb wrong? I don't know.

I would like to be upbeat not grouch. I love my Z5, I love its long stem, (it adds vertical suspension too) and I am recommending it to others.
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Climbing ... 41976.html
You will also need to cut a spacers at a 60 degree angle
http://www.amazon.com/Carbon-Cycling-Mo ... nk20253-20
I will be getting my next frame from Velobuild or directly from China though. But the TT frames are expensive and I have not been able to find any roadbike frame with a short head tube.

This is my comparison of all the velobuild frames
R-016 no 54cm model 53cm 140cm 55cm 155mm top tube slopes up. seat post angle 72 72
R-018 54 130 horizontal top tube but again, that squiggly look. seat post angle 73.7
R-021 54 130 horizontal top tube but again, that squiggly look. seat post angle 73.7
VB-R-022 54 145 almost level top tube. seat post angle 73.5
VB-R-023 54 135 upwards sloping top tube. seat post angle 72.5
VB-R-024 no geometry. Pretty level curved top tube. seat post angle 73
VB-R-025 54 155 upwards sloping top tube. seat post angle 73.5
VB-R-027 54 170 upwards sloping top tube. seat post angle 73.5
VB-R-028 54 130 level top tube but again, that squiggly look. seat post angle 73.7
VB-R-041 54 140 upwards sloping top tube. seat post angle 74
VB-R-045 no 54 53 130 55 145 slight upwards slope. seat post angle 71.5-72.5
VB-R-049 no 54 545 150 slight upwards slope. seat post angle seat angle 74
VB-R-053 54 148 slight upwards slope seat angle. seat post angle 73
VB-R-055 54 148 slight upwards slope seat angle. seat post angle 73
VB-R-061 no geometry. Shape rings a bell the M of the big T? or the Big S?

In the end I decided to go with the R-022 because it is similar to the bikes I am on and I like their big stem ride. Cavendish rides a 49cm bike at my height (5'10" ish).

[Briscoelab]

That bike is jacked. That's all I'm sayin'.

If you can somehow make it work... good on you. I bet it handles like $hit though.

[KWalker]

Seriously jacked.

Another troll?

And do you even race Mr. Aggro Stem?

[ScuderiaDouroux]

And do you even race Mr. Aggro Stem?

I just knew that was coming from you. I'm surprised you don't have a "U RACE BRO?" meme already made for these situations.

[timtak]

I Strava a bit and these are my Strava Segments
http://www.strava.com/segments/6981848
http://www.strava.com/segments/6982295
http://www.strava.com/segments/6988753
http://www.strava.com/segments/6988957
http://www.strava.com/segments/6992765
http://www.strava.com/segments/6992828
http://www.strava.com/segments/7060907
http://www.strava.com/segments/7060923
http://www.strava.com/segments/7060937
http://www.strava.com/segments/7060945
http://www.strava.com/segments/7062322
http://www.strava.com/segments/7461323
http://www.strava.com/segments/7470491
http://www.strava.com/segments/7470512
http://www.strava.com/segments/7576505
http://www.strava.com/segments/7576532
http://www.strava.com/segments/7875148

This next one surprised me
http://www.strava.com/segments/7783891
This is the segment where the lBS riders go
http://www.strava.com/segments/2519531
> I just knew that was coming from you. I'm surprised you don't have a "U RACE BRO?" meme already made for these situations.
ha ha

The bike seems to handle fine.
Quite a lot of professionals seem to be using similar length stems.
It may not bee too good for downhill but then I don't go fast down hills hitting the brakes at 55kmh
because I am an old fart (rather than any noticeable steering disability)
http://www.strava.com/activities/211316 ... /1409/1566

[Briscoelab]

I wasn't commenting that the length of the stem would cause the bike to handle poorly. I've used a 150mm in the past as well. That bike handled brilliantly.

However, your weight distribution on a bike setup like that is so far from ideal it hurts me to look at it. That is what is going to make it handle like a turd.

If it works for you and you're happy, I'm glad. I just think that you might be really surprised if you were on a properly sized and setup bike.

Again, I'm not against long stems. Here's a shot of one of my old rigs with a 150mm Deda Newton. I have short legs and a long torso/arms... so in the past it was hard for me to find frames with short enough head tubes that also had adequate reach. This frame needed the zero offset post not because I was making up for the long stem, but becuase the STA was slacker than I could use with an offset. Still, it's well proportioned and rode well. My position has evolved a bit, with adding more setback to my road bikes (about 10mm) from this image, over the years.

[timtak]

Cool bike.

It seems to me that my position is very similar to that in the video that inspired me to use the stem in the first place.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cz-VlJj ... be&t=5m23s
Except that "Robbie" has a bike with a longer top tube, presumably because he knew he was going to use a short
-70 degree (or thereabouts) variable stem.

[kulivontot]

Tl;dr,
150mm is too long and means your frame is wrong. I ride 90mm, which I think means its too short and frame is also wrong. What is the acceptable stem range? 110-130?

[timtak]

Kulivontot
I have ridden a variety and it makes surprisingly little difference. Short is slightly more dynamic quick and twitchy -- good for downhill mountain biking where you need to make instant direction and balance adjustments at high speed. Long is more like steering a lorry, you can be precise but it takes longer to get there. For a road biker the disadvantages of a long stem are few, except perhaps in a peleton (where again you need quick responses when the guy in front wobbles) and in fast downhill where it helps to move your centre of gravity rearwards but I have even heard that a long stem may be more stable. Cavendish and many other pros ride long 140 some 150 stems. I am not sure of the average but 90 does not mean your frame is too short. 90 is fine too and comes as standard on some 54cm bikes.

[Tillquist]

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[timtak]

I use this cheap trial bike stem but it has the disadvntage that you have to make a 60 degree spacer (unless you use it as a riser)

[shadwell]

I'd love for you to go to a reputable bike fitter....
I guarantee your set up would look nothing like you currently have, and in all likelihood
You'd come away with a far better fit with greater stability under power, better balance
For climbing and descending and probably make more power....
You'd Probably be comfortable above 55kmh too....

I'm an old fart too, and at our age we deserve well sorted bikes...
And no dollars does not equate uniquely to good set up.... Knowledge does...

Suggest you reset your vision of what an efficient and effective body position is on a bike...
And the intent of the various positions on the bars... Ie 90% on the hoods usually means the bars are too low... Try 40% drops, 40%hoods And 20% tops... Ie when pottering or climbing...
This alone may allow you to think different about what your optimum position is...

Also a saddle tilted that much cannot support your body weight correctly... At least in as much as the design intent of the saddle etc....

As such you really are in a position where you need to start from scratch ....

May i suggest your read all the bike fit articles available on steve Hoggs web site...
With this you'll know what it is you are aiming to achieve (in principal )
And from the cleats up you can reasses a balanced fit...

Anyway, all the best with whatever you elect..

[thridez]

Looking for a 150 mm length stem , 31.8 handlebar clamp. I can't seem to find one. The Deda or 3T would be perfect. Aanyone want to sell theirs?