Jeco

Hi! What's the shortest stem you've used with drop bars and how was it? Are super short stems really super twitchy, unstable, or unsafe?

I'm young but I don't like riding bikes with high saddle drops. So, I've bought the largest bike that I could stand over which is the largest road bike from Trek with a 62cm seat tube and 59.5cm top tube. But because I'm only 5'11", while I no longer need to hunch down, I am quite stretched out forwards.

I'm currently using a 80mm stem with my 380mm drop bars and I still get upper back pain after around a constant hour on the saddle. I plan on getting a 60mm stem. Anyone here use a 60mm stem with narrow drop bars?

Pizzaiolo Americano 

At your height, that bike is never going to fit you properly but, it won't explode with a 60mm stem either. Can't hurt to try it...I am mainly a mountain biker but still ride the road some. You get used to a properly sized road bike after putting some miles on them. If it were me and the 60mm stem doesn't get you to a comfortable position, I'd sell it and get another. Just make sure you have a line on a new one before you get rid of this one. Selling bikes is easy right now. Buying, not so much...

Atlas Shrugged

No problem enjoy the bike. The trend is toward shorter stems for endurance riders due to the increased comfort.

PeteHski

Yep, just have to try it and see how it feels. I can't help thinking you've made a big mistake on the frame size though. Which Trek model is this? As some models have a higher stack than others for the same frame size.

datlas 

This bike is too large for you.

A short stem is going to help, but it’s still not a good solution.

If you have comfort issues better to find a good fitter. I am concerned the bike will not handle as well as a properly sized/fit bike.

Jeco

Yeah, I may have made a mistake. I bought the frame used from some guy. Not sure what model it is but it's from the early 2000s and has a horizontal top tube.

Here in the Philippines, where the average male height is like 5'5", frames built for my height are extremely rare. So, when I saw this bike for sale on FB Marketplace, I bought it without thinking twice. The seller actually said that the frame had a 57cm top tube but, turns out, he measured it wrong. It was too late when I found out so I just kept the bike.

PeteHski

Ah okay fair enough. You may as well try the shorter stem anyway. It's not going to be ideal, but probably an improvement. Have you pushed the saddle forward on the rails too? Again not an ideal solution, but will help to shorten your reach a little. Might also be able to tweak the bar angle and hood positions in your favour.

Jeco

I'm kind of in an unlucky situation. Because of my weird body proportions (really long legs, short torso), I believe that the only bike that would actually fit me properly would be a custom built bike, which is beyond my budget.

I have to make a compromise. If I get a say, 58cm bike, which according to charts, would be perfect for my height, there would be a considerable saddle drop, which I'm trying to avoid. It also doesn't help that I'm not able to buy a 58cm bike anyway because of their rarity where I'm from.

Edit: Yeah, I'm also worried about the handling.


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Jeco

Thanks for the idea on the bar angle and hood positions! I'll try that.
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CliffordK

Does this bike use a threadless fork (1 1/8" or 1")? Or is it a threaded fork (with quill stem)?

You can find even shorter stems. 40mm. They should even pop up on Alibaba or Aliexpress.

Jeco

It takes a quill stem. I can use a quill stem adapter though.

I think I'll try a 60mm stem first, 40mm seems way too short.

datlas 

I have similar proportions. Play the hand you have, it’s not ideal but life is full of compromises. Use a 50 or 60mm stem.

But honestly I suspect you would do better with a 58cm frame and maybe a flipped up 100mm stem. That’s what I use.

CliffordK

There are also variable angle quills. So, you could set it to short and tall.

ofajen

Sounds like you need the tall frame to work with your leg length and a tall stem to get your bars about level with the saddle.

You could get a long quill stem adapter or a tall quill stem, like a dirt drop stem. Nitto has great versions of both.

With the right height for the bars, you may even find that a stem of 60-80 mm is ok.

Otto

Caliper

I've used a 30mm stem on a drop bar fatbike setup I ran for a while. It worked with no issues, but that's not exactly the fastest handling frame out there to begin with.

May I ask what is your leg length? I'm 6'0" with a 36" leg length and own bikes with very similar geometry to the frame you've got so might be able to relate a bit.

Moisture

I've used a 40mm stem with a 580mm top tube before. Drop bars will have different reach lengths. 380mm width bars sound to be too narrow for you. Maybe something like 420 will feel better.

Maybe go for 40-50mm, since sticking with your current bike sounds to be the most feasible option given the situation with bikes where you live.

I am 6ft3, longer legs in proportion to torso. Very long arms. I wouldn't want to go longer than 50mm with a 590mm top tube.

Kimmo 

Get a proper fit done, or at least measure yourself and do some research about the different fit systems to come up with your ideal geometry, then you can work from there towards it. Short reach bars are also a thing, but not sure how much choice you have to fit an old school stem.

Lazyass

I like long stems because it puts me more forward over the front tire when I'm out of the saddle climbing and sprinting. But like the OP I do like a shallow 2in saddle/bar drop without a whole mess of stem spacers. If I had a custom frame build it would have a 56ST and 53 or 54TT.

Jeco

I've heard that those things flex too much much though.

Pretty much. I'll try to find a tall stem. Thanks for the advice!

​​I'm 5'11" and have a ~35" inseam. What stem length do you use for those frames?

Yeah. That's true. I also don't want to sell the bike.

mstateglfr 

- dont adjust the saddle position in an effort to shorten reach. that isnt how fit works. saddle position is for where your body is in relation to the bottom bracket. stem length and angle is for where your body is in terms of reach.
- i put a 60mm stem on one of my kid's road bikes when she first transitioned to it since it was big for her at the time. Its perfectly fine to do that on a typical geometry road bike.
- as mentioned many times already, that bike sounds way too big for you. but hopefully you can make it work.

Chandne

As short as 70mm and 80mm, but I use 60-70 on mountain bikes (which is long in that discipline) and gravel bikes and am very used to that. I prefer short stems in general though on road bikes with 73 degree head angles, I prefer 100...at least initially till I get used to it.

Iride01 

I'm 5' 11". I've been there and done that. Even the 25" (64 cm) bike I rode for 35 plus years was comfortable for the riding I was doing with it. Eventually I started sizing down to 59 cm and 60 cm frames that were also comfortable. But as I rode longer, further and faster I found out what being more aero with my position did for me by allowing me to have more energy left near the end of the ride. So now I ride a 56 cm frame with a lower stack than all my previous bikes and I'm in a much more aero position. Wondering if a 54 cm frame might have been better for me.

But right now, the 56 cm bike is the most fun bike I've ever ridden and I can stay on it forever. I'm also getting a shorter stem, should be here today. Going from 100mm to 70mm. I don't expect the differences in handling to be anything more than something I'll get use to after a hand full of rides.

Moisture

The ideal stem length is determined based on a combination of factors, primarily top tube length and reach. What you prefer or think works best for you will vary from bike to bike.

Chandne

I experiment with several lengths and rises ( I have around 15 stems hanging around) and eventually settle on the one that fits well and lets the bike handle well based on my riding style. The shorter lengths I listed are the ones that work best for me. I am sort of between sizes so I usually go for the bigger size and use shorter stems. If I ever went for the smaller size, I suspect I'd go up 10-20 mm. When I did a couple of bike fits, I was running a 120. They moved one bike to 100 and the other to 90. That is when I started to realize that I should also try diff lengths and rises and do some big climbs and descents to see how the bike handled and how comfortable I was.

Caliper

My road bikes are all 80-100mm stems, but I tend toward a narrower compact drop bar that lessens the reach as well. I also have my saddles further forward than some, about 7cm or so behind the BB. Many larger frames will have a somewhat relaxed seat tube angle that puts me too far behind the BB so a straight (not offset) seatpost may be in order.


I would recommend heading over to the Competitive Cyclist fit calculator. Bike Fit Calculator | Find Your Bike Size | Competitive Cyclist It takes into account all of your body proportions and comes up with some helpful numbers. The actual frame numbers you get for ST and TT will probably be only available in a custom frame (for me, one of the fit recommendations is a 60cm ST with a 56cm TT) However, numbers like the saddle setback and saddle-handlebar numbers are useful for gauging where your fit is. I've also had success taking the sum of the top tube + stem and matching that total to my actual bike (ie: 56cm TT + 120mm stem becomes a 60cm TT + 80mm stem) I know some will cringe at this, but when you are outside the norm some adjustments are made to fit an off the shelf bike. I've found the recommendations from this calculator to be good, but I also do tend to faster riding. If your bike has to be more of a do-all fit, then I'd shorten up the reach a bit.


Other things to look for are touring frames, endurance geometry frames and gravel bike frames if you can. All of these will tend to having a bit more stack height for their reach.