[JohnE]

Am thinking about going to a shorter (40mm?) stem on my Altitude 70, down from a 110. What other adjustments are appropriate, if any, when dropping stem length? What can I expect in terms of handling and riding style adjustments? More direct quicker steering is my goal...

Anyone?

 

[jonKranked]

quicker steering, slightly shorter cockpit.


what you are suggesting is a HUGE jump. i would say go to like a 70mm stem first. that's my sweet spot.


i am experimenting with a 40mm stem on my trail bike, which is a really smalll bike to begin with. haven't gotten any saddle time on it yet tho.

 

[jonKranked]

also, how tall are you and what width bars are you using? if you are on old style narrow bars (27" or smaller), a 40mm stem would likely be very twitchy.

 

[HardtailHack]

40mm is shord for an XC bike, it looks as if your bike has decent reach so a 60-70mm might work well.

See if you can borrow some stems and try them out.

I'm 6ft and my hardtail has a reach of 416mm and a 50mm stem works fine, front end doesn't lift on climbs but it does have a Totem holding it down.

 

[JohnE]

I am 5'8", 5'9" on a good day...riding 680 Azonics...have a monstrous set of Syntace bars on stand by...I think 70 it will be for starters.

 

[DaveW]

Your about my size, I'd say go to 70mm and a 710-720mm bar.
A 680 on a 40mm stem would be super twitchy.

 

[HardtailHack]

Yup, that would suck! The extra bar width should keep the front wheel weight sorta similar to your 1990's stem.