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OK, i have a 44cm frame with a set of Ritchey compact bars and an 80mm zero-rise stem.
When i first bought the bike i was resting my hands on the hoods & supporting my weight there. Now, i find I'm riding more in a crouch and with my arms loosely bent & supporting more of my weight with my core.
My stem is slammed, yet i would like to lower it further, this means either a zero-stack headset or a negative rise stem. My question(s) are, if i get a negative-rise stem will the length need to change? And are there zero stack road headsets? Also, what effects on handling will a negative-rise stem have?
You might be able to get a lower stack headset cover depending on your headset like this [url= http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Headset-Carbon-Cone-Spacer-Top-Bearing-Cover-1-1-8-Threadless-8-5mm-Gloss-/290998486499?pt=UK_sportsleisure_cycling_bikeparts_SR&hash=item43c0dc85e3 ]smaller cap[/url]
Depends how much lower you need to be? how high is the stack on your headset? Buy a cheapy 2nd hand riser stem the same length as you have (flip it) and if its right buy a nicer one?
http://yojimg.net/bike/web_tools/stem.php this will help.
moving to 0 to -6 will be 2 mm longer.
Also, what effects on handling will a negative-rise stem have?
none forthe fact it is negative. there will be 2 differences; primarily the front is lower - so more front wheel weighting; which should corner better. secondly it will be slightly longer (2 mm as above) which will slow down the steering minutely.
What some people miss (i did for a long time) is that a 0 degree stem points up - due to head angle. -6 (common angle) still points up. -17 will be level with the floor; assuming 72 HA.
80mm stem on a road bike is very short, did you buy it with one of these?
if not, have you tried a 100 or 110mm stem, this would have the effect of getting your shoulders lower by stretching you out a bit, and the handling would be less twitchy
80mm is short - but so am i at 5'2" with a long torso & short limbs for my height. It came with a 90mm but that was too long, although that was before my posture adjusted to the position. Handling isn't twitchy & the hub is behind the tops when viewed from a neutral riding position.
I'm fine with the length of the stem overall, I'd just like to lower the bars by maybe 10mm.
Can you just flip the stem or is it 90/0 degrees?
Er, its a zero/something+ job that i already have on the zero rise set up.
If you are struggling why not go the easy way. Get normal bars. They will drop your hands in the normal position as the drops will be lower. I assume you want a low position for aero reason. Well you will be riding on the drops anyway so why not just drop your hands? If you want lower on the tops you are, in my opinion, missing the point slightly in that respect.
Maybe lets us know what you want to achieve as I may have missed something here.
If you are struggling why not go the easy way. Get normal bars. They will drop your hands in the normal position as the drops will be lower. I assume you want a low position for aero reason. Well you will be riding on the drops anyway so why not just drop your hands? If you want lower on the tops you are, in my opinion, missing the point slightly in that respect.
Maybe lets us know what you want to achieve as I may have missed something here.
-17 degree, 100 mm stem will get you
Lower on the hoods. Very pro 😉
They look a little odd in a so right kind of way.
Like most, I spend the majority of my time on the hoods, pretty much never ride on the tops, always go into the drops on descents etc.
The bars are fine, I just want every position some 10mm lower.
Seems like a negative rise stem is the way to go, looking on CRC it seems most stems are 84 degree angles, few are negative rise - any suggestions?
[url= http://www.bricklanebikes.co.uk/deda-newton-pista-stem ]Deda Newton Pista stem?[/url]
84 degrees IS a negative rise. It's + or - 6 degrees depending on which way round you fit it. 'Rise' is measured relative to the [u]steerer tube[/u], not the ground.
If you want more negative rise then +/ -17 degree stems are available, as thomthumb said.
If you want the rise negative TO THE GROUND then you need more than 17 degrees. +/-20deg can be had but the range is more limited.
I got [url= http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-track-bike/handlebar-stems-h-bar-stems-ahead-oversize-road-deda-zero-100-performance-317-stem/dedahbss724 ]this Deda one [/url]recently for the winter bike. It's 8 degrees so gives a reasonable drop (at least in the 120 length). I guess a shorter length stem would give you less of a drop so you may want to go for something with more of an angle to it.
May be worth getting a cheap adjustable stem. I've got a few that I've used to sort out a position before replacing with something nicer.
Edit... that calculator thing linked up there is pretty good. Looks like the Deda one I mentioned would get you 10mm lower at 80mm assuming your current stem is 0/90 degrees, thought with 4mm less reach (which would probably work out ok.)
Cheers, i actually have an old adjustable stem so that's a very good idea for working out what drop i need. A 90mm stem with a real world reduction of 4mm would be a nice fit as well.
bear in mind that some road stems aren't 31.8mm clamp (Eg. Deda are 31.7mm).
Dont know if it actually makes any difference or not in reality if you mix the two.
I use Deda stems with 31.8 bars on a couple of bikes and don't have any problems.
a negative rise stem
A negative rise stem is just a positive rise stem upside down. I use one on my hybrid, and I recently slammed and flipped the 5deg stem on my road bike for a time trial to great effect.
My current stem is a Deda zero job, now i may be wrong (& I'll check when i get home) but i believe it is a zero rise/something degree angle option on that model.
EDIT: although it may be an 84 degree version in which case its already -6 degrees and i want it lower.
Have you tried rotating your bars forwards? Then you can move the drops back a bit to improve their angle - this will lower them.
Although, if you have compact bars this may not work well as they are sometimes designed with a flat bit on top instead of the traditional curve.
Can you post a pic of your bike?
OK, the bars are Ritchey curve comps, i believe this refers to compact & not competition?
The stem is a Deda zero 1 model that is already 'flipped' to negative.
The headset is an FSR model that came with the frame (Dolan l'etape) and the topcap is approx 8mm deep.
Its only a small adjustment that i wish to make, a flat(er) top cap would be ideal if i could find such a thing
If i could post pics i would!
Comp refers to the level not being compact; Comp<Pro<WCS. A deeper drop bar would allow you to move the shifters further forwards and down a little.
bear in mind that some road stems aren't 31.8mm clamp (Eg. Deda are 31.7mm).
I read somewhere that the O/S standard is 1 1/4 inches, which equals 31.75mm. Deda round down to 31.7 whereas most manufacturers round up to 31.8.
Deda's site is being teh ghey but the Pista is from memory either 23 or 25', which is the steepest I could find without going down the Look adjustable stem route. I got one for my old TT bike to drop the aero bars below the headset.