There seems to have been a lot of talk about stem length in terms of fitting the bike, but what about in relation to handling?
Of course fit is most important, but short stems make for squirelly handling. (It even makes a difference riding no-hands, as a longer stem puts the weight of the bars farther forward with relation to the head tube and front wheel.) If you have to go with a really short stem to get the fit correct, then it’s better to go to a shorter top tube, which may also mean a smaller wheel size to get the geometry right for optimum handling. Although there are no magic thresholds, I would recommend the stem be a minimum of around 80mm. 10-20mm difference will make a difference in the handling. Whether it’s a bad difference or not depends on where you start from and which direction you go. If it’s already on the short side and make it even shorter, you will not like the results. I have not tried super-long stems (like 140mm+) to comment on what happens if you make it too long.
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