[ZHendo]

Bros,

I'm looking at potentially getting a 50mm stem on my Nomad C, but I honestly can't decide and don't have the opportunity to test one out. I'm running a 70mm Thomson right now and while I haven't necessarily had problems with it, I can't seem to get as comfortable on the Nomad at high speeds relative to my old SX Trail. I had ridden a 50mm for 3 years before getting the Nomad, so I'm thinking it might have something to do with the slightly longer stem. That said, I'm worried that the cockpit might get too short. I'm 6'0 and the large Nomad is already pretty short...what's best? How do I decide?

 

[dropmachine]

Go buy a 20 dollar 50mm stem on it, and go ride.

Seems a bit easy no?

 

[TWeerts]

i rode an enduro w/ a 60 mm stem, and it was very comfortable pedaling and descending.

make sure your saddle adjustment fore/aft is correct, too. remember your knee should be over the pedal spindle when crank is horizontal to the ground and forward.

 

[dan-o]

I'm 6'4 running a 70mm stem, 170 lyrik and 1* angleset on an XL. Bike feels great.
My buddy is about your height on a L with 160 float, 50mm and 1* angleset and loves his bike too.

Try an angleset and your current stem first, imo.

 

[RoboDonkey713]

I am 6'0 and I have a 70mm stem and a zero offset post. Fits great. I had a 50mm on for a awhile and preferred the 70.

 

[gratiflying]

i'm 5'10" on a Large nomad and have run 50, 60 and 70mm stems. all work pretty good. the 70 is not as confidence inspiring as the 50 and more input is needed from the rider descending. the 70 definately sets up a better climbing position. the 60 is a pretty good compromise - best of both worlds option. if i was FR or jumping a lot i'd run a 50 or 60. if it's mainly epics/pedal missions, a 60 or 70.

 

[ZHendo]

ok, new part of the question. options are point1 split second 50mm, chromag ranger 50mm, or straitline 50mm. all are within $5 of one another, which do you guys have experience with and like?

 

[climbingbubba]

Stem choice and Bar height/width have a lot to do with each other. For instance if you are running 28" wide bars at the moment with the 70mm stem it would be pretty similar to if you were running 29.5" bars with a 50mm stem. Atleast positional wise it would feel close to the same. The benefit though is you get the better handling from the wider bar/shorter stem combo (well better handling in the sense of more stability). Also you can get lower rise bars to make bring more weight over the front of the tire.

If you already have wide bars then maybe a 60mm stem would work.

As for 50mm stems, The point one is a good one but you have to cut your steer tube perfect to match which would make it harder to sell in the future cause it would probably be short. My personal favorite is the Thomson X4 50mm stem. the chromag and straitline are also both great choices.

So to sum it up, get yourself some 30" bars (deity, chromag, race face atlas, etc) and a 50mm stem (any you mentioned) and it should drastically help the handling

For what its worth, im running 30" wide bars (atlas) and a 50mm stem (thomson) on my blur lt2 and it feels amazing. Its also a large which feels even smaller than a large nomad and I am 6'0 also

 

[TWeerts]

a 50mm with some gorilla width bars may be the ticket this year...

 

[climbingbubba]

a 50mm with some gorilla width bars may be the ticket this year...

yep, right along with slack head angles, low bottom brackets, and carbon fiber...

 

[gratiflying]

i've run 29-30s with 50,60,70mm stems and IMO while bar width obviously affects how a rider weights and unweights the front end, bar width is an independant decision to stem length...

 

[yesimaddicted]

yo zach,
50 is where its at. I love my Thompson with the wide bars, speeds are great

 

[Demomonkey]

Im 5'10, have a medium Nomad C set up with a 50mm Thomson X4, zero stack Cane Creek head set, one 5mm spacer under the crown and a 750mm Easton Havoc carbon bar. I find the short stem/wide bar combo is great for faster descents and the lower stack height great for the tight and twisty stuff.

A friend has a medium SXT and we swapped for last run back to car park on our last ride. The SXT felt like a DH sled compared to the Nomad, that extra length really helps in high speed sections.

The shorter length of the Nomad combined with a longer stem is conspiring to reduce your fun factor. Drop to a shorter stem, you'll be happy.