Unless there is some specific manufacturer's recommendation against it, absolutely no problem. It's known as "slamming" the stem, and most feel it looks damn good! That being said, make sure you pay attention to fit more than looks, IMHO.

 

make sure you pay attention to fit more than looks, IMHO.

This is true, I have better flexibility now that's why I want to shuffle the spacers around.

 

SLAM THAT STEM

 

Some, including a few pro, even remove the dust cap to allow some more slamming at the expense of bearing life.

 

Why would you want to look "pro" unless you are?

 

Aren't we all 'pro wannabees' ? Haven't you seen this?

 

A properly fitted bike should have a proporcional long stem with no spacers under ( for a 56cm bike a 120mm stem, for a 54cm a 110mm for example )

If you need spacers there is for one of two reasons

1. the frame is too small for you. in that case your stem should be also long ( 130 and plus )
2. you haven't trained your back ( and/or reduced your gut ) to have enough flexibility

 

Where do you come up with this stuff?

So if the OP bought a bike with a tallish head tube, he's flexible, but if he bought a bike with a really short head tube he hasn't trained enough? The brand determines bar drop? Really?

I won't even bother with the stem length part of your post. That's just childish.


I often get the feeling that your posts are intended as some sort of entertainment, because they certainly aren't relevant to cycling.

 

Some manufacturers prefer you not to, e.g. Trek, as spacers allegedly provide more even pressure on the headset than stems (er... I think...).

 

I am talking abot a bike with standard road geometry, where you are setup balanced on the bike

Those comfort geometry bikes have a head tube that is usually too high so you can't apply the same criteria.

 

A Cevelo S5 is not a comfort bike. The year is 2012, not 1982. Head tubes higher than those of 15 years ago are now the norm, and can vary considerably between brands and models. There is no "standard geometry, if there ever was.

You should try looking on the internet about bicycles and stuff. Lot's of information available about how gear systems work, bike geometry and fitting. Then you'll have some idea what you're talking about before you post.

 

salsa...I for one welcome your posts...but this stuff above I gotta think got whacked somewhere between the neocortex and the keyboard. Ah hell, just blame the keyboard and do a *reset*

 

A properly fitted bike should have a proporcional long stem with no spacers under ( for a 56cm bike a 120mm stem, for a 54cm a 110mm for example )

If you need spacers there is for one of two reasons

1. the frame is too small for you. in that case your stem should be also long ( 130 and plus )
2. you haven't trained your back ( and/or reduced your gut ) to have enough flexibility

No two ways about it, this has got to be in the running for "post of the year", absolutely AWSOME!!!

 

Well, my post comes from my own experience fitting and riding many frame sizes and stem lengths and heights combinations and at the same time going through a process of training myself to have a better position on the bike.

Add to that my activity of hobby bike builder where I had built and sold some 40 racing bikes and helped many of the buyers to get an optimal fit and improve their own position on the bike.

I had found that ( for me as an example ) the best fit on a bike for all positions, that includes, a cruising on the bends, a flat back or descending on the hooks, a climbing on the saddle ob the tops and off the saddle on the hoods and sprinting on the drops is with a 56cm (55cc) frame with a 120mm stem, that gives a 55cm saddle handlebars and 55cm front hub handlebars setup.

On a Colnago C50 or equivalent racing bike the setup is exactly with a -6 degree stem without spacers.

I can get the same setup on a 54cm frame with 130mm stem but I am then too forward, or the same with a 58cm 110 stem -17 but I am too on the rear, I had experimented with a 57cm, 59cm, 55cm and different stem lengths and heights combinations but even if one position could be right the others were slightly off.

The 56cm/120mm or equivalent 52s/120mm is the optimal.

Proportionally a smaller frame would need a shorter stem and viceversa, as I have read on some fitting articles.

And well there is too the rider's fitness level to adopt himself the best position ( that comes with training ) instead of the reverse approach that is to adapt the bike to the lower level of fitness of the rider with comfort geometries or stacks of spacers and short stems.

HTH, I am just giving my own experience and findings here, not a theoretical dissertation on fitting or frame design or market trends.

 

Well, my post comes from my own experience fitting and riding many frame sizes and stem lengths and heights combinations and at the same time going through a process of training myself to have a better position on the bike.

Add to that my activity of hobby bike builder where I had built and sold some 40 racing bikes and helped many of the buyers to get an optimal fit and improve their own position on the bike.

I had found that ( for me as an example ) the best fit on a bike for all positions, that includes, a cruising on the bends, a flat back or descending on the hooks, a climbing off the saddle on the hoods and sprinting on the drops is with a 56cm (55cc) frame with a 120mm stem, that gives a 55cm saddle handlebars and 55cm front hub handlebars setup.

On a Colnago C50 or equivalent racing bike the setup is exactly with a -6 degree stem without spacers.

I can get the same setup on a 54cm frame with 130mm stem but I am then too forward, or the same with a 58cm 110 stem -17 but I am too on the rear, I had experimented with a 57cm, 59cm, 55cm and different stem lengths and heights combinations but even if one position could be right the others were slightly off.

The 56cm/120mm or equivalent 52s/120mm is the optimal.

Proportionally a smaller frame would need a shorter stem and viceversa, as I have read on some fitting articles.

And well there is too the rider's fitness level to adopt himself the best position ( that comes with training ) instead of the reverse approach that is to adapt the bike to the lower level of fitness of the rider with comfort geometries or stacks of spacers and short stems.

HTH, I am just giving my own experience and findings here, not a theoretical dissertation on fitting or frame design or market trends.

This isn't theoretical, it is incredibly practical. I don't know what sort of fit articles you could possibly be reading: Between sizes 48 and 62 you'd need to have 8 different stem lengths - do you really think all short people are riding 80mm stems and all tall people use 150s? That's patently absurd. Stems come in increments smaller than top tube increments because people's backs, arms, legs and everything else come in increments a lot smaller than that.

And it's funny you mention Colnago - a company that has a sizing and fit policy that specifically calls for longer than "normal" stems. Or did you miss that article?

The only thing that is consistent is your attitude that bikes should look a certain way and human beings should train, bend, stretch, "HTFU" or whatever to suit their bike. It doesn't matter if you are talking about gearing, sizing, whatever - same baloney.

Why not just claim that everyone should be riding a bike identical to yours; a 56cm with a 120mm stem? Anyone who doesn't fit that can HTFU and either grow or shrink until they fit your incredibly skewed perception of what a bicycle is supposed to be.


The main thing I get from reading your last post is that there are 40 people riding around on bicycles fit by a guy who reads imaginary articles and is more concerned with aesthetics than power, efficiency or comfort. Poor souls.

Luckily, people around here stopped taking your posts seriously quite awhile ago.

 

Your sizing theory might work for those with perfect proportions but for someone like me who is 5'7" with a 32" inseam and rides 53-54cm bikes I would have to be a gymnist to ride slammed with a 110mm stem. One size doesn't fit all when it comes to bikes and their riders.

 

I have a 40mm stem you might want - don't forget to slam it! :thumbsup:

 

A good way of looking at this:
PEDALARE verso il CIELO: Consigli Utili

 

Who's thread is this again?

 

saddles = stems; one size does not fit all.

 

I'm 53 years old, 5 foot 7 with a 31inch inseam and my bikes are 52-54cm. Looks like I'm in the same boat but maybe worse off.