Changing stem height - change length?

[deejayen]

I mainly ride recumbents, but I had a bike fit for a Moulton which I've ridden only a handful of times.

I think the bike fitter was a bit of a chancer, but they changed the handlebar height, dropping it maybe 40 or 50mm. It's now about 100mm below the saddle. I have no idea whether or not the position was better before or after.

I'm just curious if it would be normal to fit a longer or shorter stem after making fairly substantial changes in handlebar height.

I'm tempted to try lowering the handlebars to the limit, but am wondering if doing so might result in more of an arched back...

[cycle tramp]

I mainly ride recumbents, but I had a bike fit for a Moulton which I've ridden only a handful of times.

I think the bike fitter was a bit of a chancer, but they changed the handlebar height, dropping it maybe 40 or 50mm. It's now about 100mm below the saddle. I have no idea whether or not the position was better before or after.

When you say you don't know if the position was better before or after.... I would leave everything where it was, and ride it until you knew

[deejayen]

I'm never sure about these sorts of things. I usually have a good feel for saddle height, so that pedaling feels okay, but other than that I seem to adapt to a bike.

[531colin]

I mainly ride recumbents, but I had a bike fit for a Moulton which I've ridden only a handful of times.

I think the bike fitter was a bit of a chancer, but they changed the handlebar height, dropping it maybe 40 or 50mm. It's now about 100mm below the saddle. I have no idea whether or not the position was better before or after.

I'm just curious if it would be normal to fit a longer or shorter stem after making fairly substantial changes in handlebar height.

I'm tempted to try lowering the handlebars to the limit, but am wondering if doing so might result in more of an arched back...

I can't answer any of your questions, but my advice on setting handlebar height and reach (and everything else to do with riding position) is in my "bike fit" piece linked below.

Did you pay money for this "bike fit"?

[yostumpy]

http://yojimg.net/bike/web_tools/stem.php

A very, most useful website, where by you can put in your head angle, and choice of stems, and see how, the difference in reach and height .

EG 73 deg headset,,

stem 1) 100mm -7 deg on 30mm spacers

stem 2) 90 mm +7deg on 10mm spacers

Whats the difference????????????????????????

well stem 1, is 1mm higher and 10mm more reach.

[cycle tramp]

I'm never sure about these sorts of things. I usually have a good feel for saddle height, so that pedaling feels okay, but other than that I seem to adapt to a bike.

To be fair, I can only write about my experiences... currently my handlebars (North road) are set some 2 inches above saddle height..
I've got no weight on my shoulders and little weight on my wrists - I'm at eye level to transits and 4x4's and I can look into other cars. If I've got a strong tail wind I'll cycle bolt up right and act as a sail...

..in the past I've been derided by touring in such a position... I've had people come up and say, 'oh you've only got one hand position' or 'that doesn't really engage your back muscles' or 'you must find it hard in head winds..'

I think in the end its possibly the reason I gave up bike touring in groups...anyway, what these.. er.. dedicated-non-thinkers... fail to realise is (a) if my upper torso is totally relaxed I only need one hand position (b) should I want to engage my back muscles more fully, I'll simply bend forward more (and if you're cycling up a hill this automatically happens anyway) (c) if I'm faced with a headwind I can either enjoy the view or bend forward again...

..however if I lower my handlebars to the way of current fashion (which is like as far down as you can get them) I'm actually stuck in that position for the entire damned cycle ride...

[cycle tramp]

..Here's the thing, right.... my arms have hinges in the middle. I think there called elbows or something, and I'm guessing you might have a similar sort of arrangement with your arms..
..I may be wrong... perhaps I'm a freak and only I have elbows....
..anyway, when I'm on my bike and I bend my elbows the angle of my back changes.. now I can only really change the angle of my back if my handlebars are above a certain height in relation to the saddle. If my handlebar height is below this, then.. i'm stuck in that position, I can't bend my elbows because my back can't get any lower...
..you see what I'm saying, here

[Zanda]

In answer to the original question, I find that when I lower my bars I need to reduce the reach. That means a stem with less rise also needs to have less reach. Conversely, when I raise my bars, I like to have more reach on the stem to feel comfortable on the bike. The amount of ideal reach for me varies by up to 20mm when I vary the rise by 60mm. This is true for me when the bars are set at the height of the saddle or approx 20mm lower. Your dimensions may vary.