Back to our series of articles on bicycle fitting we are now up to assisting our readers on how to choose a stem. Obviouly you will need to make sure you choose the latest, greatest, lightest, carbon masterpiece, but how do you work out how long it should be and ensure it increases your ride efficiency and comfort?

Interested in other aspects of bicycle fit?  Why not see our articles on saddle height here, how to choose a handle bar, and how to position your cycling cleats?

Stem length and height

When we perform a bike fit, the main goals for the cyclists we work with are a balance between efficiency, comfort, control and aerodynamics. When fitting mountain bikers and downhill riders we don't worry about aerodynamics as much. NOTE: If you are a cyclist with strong muscle imbalances, large discrepancies in leg length etc. please see a professional. For cyclists with special needs a 'general fit' can exacerbate these issue and possibly make them worse.

One item of note if you are going to perform this fitting yourself is the cyclists habit of pulling themselves forward on the saddle during hard efforts or races. If you are a cyclist that trains and/or races hard this will change the way your body interacts with the bike so keep in mind you might have to consider how this effects your position in relation to the bottom bracket. For touring cyclists or recreational riders not too worried about every last watt - this is less of a concern.

Another item of note is to be careful in pointing the nose of your saddle upwards to counteract you creeping forward on the bike during hard pedaling - this can be pretty uncomfortable and may cause you some 'damage'.

Set-up: road/track

Please keep in mind that it is always best to consult a professional bike fitter rather than fitting yourself. Fitting services are offered by many shops across Asia by fitters that have fitted hundreds of cyclists - choose a pro before DIY.

A very easy way to roughtly determine your stem length has been used for years with quite good success. After a thorough warmup on the bike you are looking to fit, and while still pedaling move into the 'racing position' (put your hands in the drops directly under the hoods), have the cyclist look directly forward and drop a plumb bob line directly from the tip of the cyclists nose. The line should fall approximately 1-2 cm behind the centre point of stem/handlebar junction. Ensure your cyclist has a relaxed upper body and a slight bend in his/her elbows.

Set-up: mountain bikes

In our experience we haven't made huge changes between bikes for a road cyclist to Mountain biker - however the majority of our fits have been on racing cyclists. For most of our clients the stem height and stem length are the same as their road bike, however many mountain bikers prefer a shorter more upright stem to allow them to get behind the saddle more easily. From time to time if the rider rides a lot of technical trail we will set their saddle 1 - 2cm lower. Generally though, we set a mountain bike the same as when our rider is on the brake hoods on their road bike.

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