77record

The weather has allowed a few rides now and I love the bike. I've been working through setting it up the way I want it...rear light, mirror, bottle cage and good camera bag to hold DSLR.

It's way more comfortable and easier to ride than the 45 year old road bike it replaces. I've adjusted the saddle and I think things are pretty good but I feel that I need to raise the handlebar a little. I don't know anything about this kind of stem and have been googling a little. I'm looking for a lower cost way to get just a little more height to it. I see it has spacers but don't know if I need a stem riser, a different stem or what and wanted to have some advice before I do anything. There are no spacers above the clamp. Thanks.

Moisture

That's about the highest you can reasonably get it, as all the spacers are underneath and the stem is angled with a positive rise.

ClydeClydeson

You need either a stem riser - which will raise the stem a significant amount, like at least 2 or 3"Bikeman: Satori HeadsUp 2 Steerer Extender - 1-1/8", 67mm extension, Silver

or a new stem with rise Bikeman: Reverse 20 Degree Stem, (31.8) 100mm, Black

or an adjustable stem Bikeman: Genetic Juzzi 2-Axis Adjustable Road Stem, (31.8) 100mm.

(links are to parts chosen as examples of the type of part, but I don't know the sizes of your fork and handlebar or your current stem geometry, so don't assume any of them would actually work on your bike)

77record

Thanks, that's the direction I was headed, just need to check the size. Appreciate the advice.

Moisture

I'd suggest a stem with more degrees over that stem riser.

77record

The more I look into this, the more confusing it gets, maybe that's just my relative lack of experience with current design. The current stock stem is 100mm, 7° rise. I'd be open to either a higher angle stem or a riser, I'm pretty sure there is plenty of adjustment space so I wouldn't have to do any cable adjusting.

The trouble is, I have no idea how much higher I need the bar but I think it's close now given the amount of comfort improvement over the old bike already. There's quite a difference with less back/shoulder pain after a ride. A pro bike fitting is definitely out of the budget so I have to figure this out. I saw 3.5" and 4.6" risers but no clue which I need.

ClydeClydeson

UPDATE!

I have done some research and found that OP's original stem is 7 degrees rise and 100mm long.
Source:


So a 100mm stem with 20 degrees of rise will put the bars a bit higher and closer to the rider. A 120mm stem with 20 degrees of rise will put the stem higher and approximately the same distance forward. I assume the bike has a 31.8mm handlebar and 1 1/8" steerer.

Moisture

ClydeClydeson Hold your horses just for one moment.

OP, your first step is to not overthink this. You are only confusing yourself. Provided that your foot placement and saddle positioning is correct (do some research on these two topics..) , just continue riding the bike as it is. You will adapt and find it more comfortable.

You said yourself it is close to the sort of riding position you want. Don't sweat it. If the riding position was completely wrong for you, then I would have said you simply need a more upright, comfort oriented type cruiser bike. Not the case here. Enjoy your new ride!

freeranger

Suggestion: you state you only have a few rides on it. Before changing anything, get some more riding time on it. A friend has an FX 3, and his old bike had him sitting much more upright. At first, he was thinking of changing things for a more upright position. After riding it for a while though, now says he wouldn't change it. Finds the position more comfortable than his old bike. Lots of decent info above though, if you still decide to change.

Moisture

Assuming you bought the right frame size, the stem being mounted with all those spacers underneath would be just about the highest of a handlebar position that bike was reasonably designed for. Any higher and you would simply need a different type of bike.

Moisture

I also used to ride an FX3. I was really focusing on my diet around that time, and found myself going from stock (stem mounted exactly the way you see in the pic here, to a stem which was 20mm longer and mounted with almost all the spacers taken out from underneath the stem. That's how I knew it was time to part ways and move on with her.

77record

You're right about that, right now I'm riding between snow storms. This bike is so much more comfortable, I'm a little surprised by that, so I'll take it slow. I do feel the seat is very close to where it should be. But right, lots of great info above. My back's not getting any younger. 🙂

veganbikes

Better advice, go see a fitter if you are experiencing discomfort or feel like you want to optimize your position. You can guess but a fitter can use medicine, science and bike knowledge to actually get you where you should be. A good dynamic fit will make you more comfortable and that fitter can suggest different parts to make it all work or adjust what you have. Yes you should ride the bike a bit and get a feel for it but a fit is great for a new bike or old bike or even a potential bike.

cpach

Stem Comparison Tool | yojimg.net is a nice tool for calculating the exact change in position a stem of different length or angle will make. I have a pretty strong personal bias towards using a high angle stem vs any kind of steerer extender, in part because they're stronger and stiffer, and partly because I just kinda feel steerer extenders are ugly.

For example, on your bike, with a 71.5 degree head angle, a 120mm 30 deg stem will bring your handlebars back by 19mm and up by 70mm. If this is higher than you need, you can just put some spacers above the stem to find your ideal height. Take note that bringing the stem back will also generally decrease forward lean of the rider. Here's a link to a sanely priced stem in these dimensions: https://northwestbicycle.com/product...kaAsPvEALw_wcB . Some careful shopping and you can probably find something cheaper, likely from Dimension.

The idea that the highest position on the bike is designed for is the stock stem on the top of the spacer stack is kinda BS. Note that this is the position that the vast majority of bikes are built in for sales floors, and the majority of customers rider in this position--it's not an extreme. The steerer is aluminum alloy on that fork, and you can only have so many spacers before compromising the integrity of the steerer--they have to accommodate the a minimum height with stock stem, also. I do a lot of setups for customers who need a little higher position. Everyone's body is different and needs different things.

Fitters are fantastic, and maybe ultimately what the OP needs, but also, come on, we're talking about a mid-end hybrid bike here. The OP can probably get happy with his bike slapping a high rise stem on the bike and calling it a day. For $45 or so, it's not a terrible experiment.

That said, if you go way, way, outside of the intended design of the bike it can make the steering weird. Specifically, bringing the bars way up and back changes the weight distribution of the rider on the bike with more weight on the rear wheel, which can make the bike twitchy feeling in a potentially unpleasant way.

delbiker1 

I have this stem and it is quite nice. I have seen other posters that have stem give good reviews. The 17 deg. is either up slant or down slant depending how it is mounted

https://www.ebay.com/itm/25538884506...wAAOSwATZgPwkb

I believe that for a new bike, one should give it some time and miles before making the changes. You just might find that it works perfectly well for you once you get used to it.

77record

Moving to the bottom of the bike, does anyone have a kickstand on an FX?

I store the bike in a relatively crowded shed where I have to move stuff around fairly often to get to other stuff, lawn mower, snowblower, tools etc. The kickstand on my Raleigh was perfect for that, but mounted on the bottom of the bracket near the center.

How stable are the ones for FX that mount further back?

cpach

The direct mount kickstands work well, but are prone to rattling loose. Make sure to install using thread locker and check the bolts every now and again.

SoSmellyAir

I have an FX2. The direct mount plate for the kick stand is made of a very soft metal, which eventually wore out so that the kick stand cannot be tightly bolted on (even with shorter bolts), such that when kick stand was lowered the angle was not right and the bike leaned too far over. Thankfully this issue did not affect the structural integrity of the frame. So I removed the kickstand, which saved some weight, and I park my bike in this: Amazon.com: Delta Cycle Single Bike Stand Floor, Tool-Free Adjustable Bike Floor Stand for Mountain, Fat Tire, Road Bikes, Freestanding Bike Stand For Garage Parking

77record

Thanks for the info, I may go that way. A bigger shed would do the trick, but ...🙄