this post was submitted on 20 Feb 2024
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Anyone have a method for determining the best stem length and rise? I'm a casual road cyclist and I feel like I have too much weight on my hands, noticable more on longer rides. I kinda feel like it should be an inch (2-3 cm) shorter, but not sure how rise would impact that. How do I go about finding whats right without trying 4 or 5 stems? Any help is appreciated!

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago (2 children)

I'm pretty sure that the saddle height is determined by how long your legs and cranks are, and this has nothing to do with stems.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago

Saddles being too high is a very common fit issue. Steve Hoggins has a ton of great information on his site about bike fits. For me personally, my saddle being too high felt right for my legs, but resulted in too much weight on my hands.

Part of the frustration of diy bike fitting is there really aren't that many symptoms. We only have three contact points to feel wrong, but way more things to possibly adjust. For me, the solution to my hand weight problem was a new bike one size smaller.

Here's the article about seat height: https://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com/bikefit/2011/02/seat-height-how-hard-can-it-be/