# 50mm Stem??



## talentous (Oct 17, 2005)

I visted a well known bike fitter in my area (miami) and he gave me the numbers that I need. He advised that I should have a seat post with 40mm setback (FSA) and a 50mm stem. Since I'm new to this, I showed some friends that ride in my club, and they thought it was strange that I needed a 50mm stem. Is there such a thing? The fitter did tell me that I have long legs and a very short torso/sternum (I forgot which one he said) :mad2: 

I added 2 graphs of my measurements.

So has anyone ever heard of such a short stem?

thanks


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

I'd ask for my money back if he charged you... No road bike should have a 50mm stem.

Something is not right here. Is this an existing frame you are trying to make fit you?


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## David Kirk (Mar 6, 2005)

Be afraid.

Dave


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## Guest (Apr 27, 2007)

There is a 60 mm stem on my daughter's bike, so I know 60's are available.

However, if you have finished growing, I agree with Dave - something in what he has proposed is WAY OFF.

I truly hope you did not pay for this drawing.

FWIW - a 56 seat tube and a 56 top tube does not equate to long legs/ short torso.


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## jciv03 (Nov 16, 2005)

Ah boy! what a coincidence! I just visited a sports medicine bike fitter yesterday as well, and he moved my seat a few cm back. He recommended me a 60mm stem.

To answer your question, 50mm stems do exist, but you might have to go with a mtb stem. http://www.beyondbikes.com/BB/ItemMatrix.asp?Link=Froogle&MatrixType=1&GroupCode=CM-STE-Vice
It may not look pretty, but I'm sure it'll serve its function. I don't know what the consequences are of having a mtb downhill stem on a road bike, but perhaps someone might want to chime in? Also, profile design makes stems starting at 60mm, but I'm having trouble finding them online. I'm guessing that I would have to special order it from a dealer.


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## mtbbmet (Apr 2, 2005)

Ok, for a start, bar diameters on road and MTB bikes are not the same. So you can't use a MTB stem on a road bike. (unless it's oversize, which are the same).
Second, if the guy says you need a 50mm, or 60mm stem, run, don't walk, as far away as possible.
Third, a stem that short would make your bike unbelivably twitchy. Not "responsive". Likely even dangerous depending on the HT angle.
Look for a bike with a shorter TT.


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## FatTireFred (Jan 31, 2005)

Dave Hickey said:


> Is this an existing frame you are trying to make fit you?




gotta be.... sounds like a new (+/- custom) frame is in order


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## talentous (Oct 17, 2005)

*The Graph*



Dave Hickey said:


> I'd ask for my money back if he charged you... No road bike should have a 50mm stem.
> 
> Something is not right here. Is this an existing frame you are trying to make fit you?



This graph was generated based on my measurements. I'm in the process of getting a Ridley scandium frame....so I thought I'd visit him from referals. It took about 2hrs for the whole bike fitting process.

I did tell him that there was pain on the ball of my right foot after 50 miles etc. I was on his trainer and he just adjusted the seat back some.. and I noticed that I was working way too hard in my orginal position. I just save a couple of bars on the road just from that adjustment. I'm still puzzeled about that stem though..


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## talentous (Oct 17, 2005)

*Not now*



FatTireFred said:


> gotta be.... sounds like a new (+/- custom) frame is in order


He said I should look into a custom... but I'm not ready for that yet. Thus I guess that's where the adjustments for the setback and 50mm stem comes from to compensate (maybe?)


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## mtbbmet (Apr 2, 2005)

Also, if your legs are so long that you require that much set back on your seat, why does he have you on a 172.5?


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## ckilner (Oct 4, 2004)

A 50mm stem is ~2 inches. My wife's old Trek road bike (19" or 49cm) has a quill stem even shorter than that - binder bolt to center of bar measures 45mm - but it handles fine with a 72 deg. head angle. It may also be that the bike you want (the Ridley) has a steep seat tube and long top tube...and perhaps needing such a short reach you should look at "women specific" models with shorter top tubes (Ridley Triton D?)?


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## FatTireFred (Jan 31, 2005)

talentous said:


> He said I should look into a custom... but I'm not ready for that yet. Thus I guess that's where the adjustments for the setback and 50mm stem comes from to compensate (maybe?)



my take:
setback adjustment (longer than norm, right?) = STA is too steep on current bike
puny stem (a good fitter ought to know that this ain't readily available) = TT too long
...of course, this is only if you trust the fitter's numbers


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## FatTireFred (Jan 31, 2005)

ckilner said:


> A 50mm stem is ~2 inches. My wife's old Trek road bike (19" or 49cm) has a quill stem even shorter than that - binder bolt to center of bar measures 45mm - but it handles fine with a 72 deg. head angle. It may also be that the bike you want (the Ridley) has a steep seat tube and long top tube...and perhaps needing such a short reach you should look at "women specific" models with shorter top tubes (Ridley Triton D?)?



WSD bikes tend to have steep STAs... being fitted to a longer than norm setback would suggest that a slacker STA is needed


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## danl1 (Jul 23, 2005)

Like others have said, this bike seems too big for the rider in question. The fitter might be 'needing' the larger frame to get the HT length to work out if the rider is leggy. Generally, this happens when a rider insists on a particular make or model that isn't appropriate for them, or gets caught up in the 'no flipped stem / no spacers' mentality, as ill-advised as that often is. On the other hand, if this is what the fitter recommended without such constraints, it's time to find a new fitter.

I'm tending to believe "time to find a new fitter," as the bike in the graphs bears no semblance to a Ridley, or just about any other road bike made. A 70.5 deg STA _plus _40mm setback? All of your excess legginess would need to be in your femurs for this to make any immediate sense. This looks like a bikefitting.com fit, which tends to be overly mechanical, and wildly sensitive to all-too-easy inaccuracies in measurement. 

Don't buy _anything _until the fitter sets up a bike exactly like these charts shows and lets you take it out on the road for a while. If it turns out that at 50 is what you need, they are available. Here's an example - most will be intended for DH, and as such will be fairly blocky looking.

http://aebike.com/page.cfm?PageID=30&action=details&sku=SM4601


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## bobsmargs (Aug 13, 2004)

FatTireFred said:


> WSD bikes tend to have steep STAs... being fitted to a longer than norm setback would suggest that a slacker STA is needed


The first picture shows STA at 70.5, which is quite shallow.


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## mtbbmet (Apr 2, 2005)

Your femurs must be 30" long.


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## MR_GRUMPY (Aug 21, 2002)

Are you a new rider who likes to sit very upright????
If not, you just may have to go custom with a 52cm top tube and a 9cm stem.


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## danl1 (Jul 23, 2005)

MR_GRUMPY said:


> Are you a new rider who likes to sit very upright????


If that's the case, maybe buy a hybrid or 'comfort bike' that's designed for the purpose, rather than a bike designed for getting low?.


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## Wookiebiker (Sep 5, 2005)

Just a quick FYI....They do make road bar stems shorter than 5cm actually. My wife uses them on her road bike. They may not be name brand, super light, or fancy but they do make them and you don't have to revert to MTB stems to do so.

If you were long legged with long femurs and a short upper body with short arms I could see it and custom would be the way to go instead of trying to make a stock bike fit you. Remember a custom steel frame can be had for under $800 through several small frame builders.

My wife sounds a lot like you in body measurements. Long legs 4'11" with a 28.5" inseam and long femurs, with a short body and short arms (compared to the long legs). She needs a custom frame because she needs a laid back seat post angle and on bikes that small they are all 74.5 degree or steeper.

Longer cranks can help out here and if you have really long legs I believe they make them as long as 180mm, which could move your saddle forward by 1cm and give you another cm on your stem length.

All in all it sounds like you are a person who would really benefit from a custom frame.


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

*if you have to run less than a 90 stem*

you need a shorter TT, simple

unless your bike is a 59 or bigger you should never need a 140 stem (TT is too short)


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## tigoat (Jun 6, 2006)

Hope Tech has some 50mm stems for oversize bars:

http://www.speedgoat.com/product.asp?part=108070&cat=300&brand=110


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## caterham (Nov 7, 2005)

I dunno,

From the top chart measurements, the 187mm setback/70.5 angle combined with a -40 seatpost seems very extreme, even with long legs.

For an "average" proportioned rider to achieve KOP, I'd normally expect to see the setback at something approx.165mm to 175mm behind the b-bkt for a frame of that size using a conventional -25mm seatpost.

Even assuming an abnormally long femur and a desire to position the KOP a bit back, those figures don't look right to me.

The stem needs to be so short just to compensate for sitting so far back.

Your chainstay length is pretty normal at 410 and with the recommended positioning,I'd be afraid that you'd have handling issues with too much of your weight distributed on the rear wheel.

fwiw- Cinelli has a Vai stem available in a 50.I've seen them occasionally available from Ital-Techno


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## talentous (Oct 17, 2005)

*Agreed*



caterham said:


> I dunno,
> 
> From the top chart measurements, the 187mm setback/70.5 angle combined with a -40 seatpost seems very extreme, even with long legs.
> 
> ...


I'm going to get a second opinion on this matter. I appreciate it thank you to all.


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## talentous (Oct 17, 2005)

*Thank you*



danl1 said:


> Like others have said, this bike seems too big for the rider in question. The fitter might be 'needing' the larger frame to get the HT length to work out if the rider is leggy. Generally, this happens when a rider insists on a particular make or model that isn't appropriate for them, or gets caught up in the 'no flipped stem / no spacers' mentality, as ill-advised as that often is. On the other hand, if this is what the fitter recommended without such constraints, it's time to find a new fitter.
> 
> I'm tending to believe "time to find a new fitter," as the bike in the graphs bears no semblance to a Ridley, or just about any other road bike made. A 70.5 deg STA _plus _40mm setback? All of your excess legginess would need to be in your femurs for this to make any immediate sense. This looks like a bikefitting.com fit, which tends to be overly mechanical, and wildly sensitive to all-too-easy inaccuracies in measurement.
> 
> ...


I'll do more seaching about the issue... but I appriciate your feedback.. thank you :thumbsup:


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## SDizzle (May 1, 2004)

Looking a second time at those drawings, I can't believe you'll even be able to get a wheel in there. I had to stretch my stays out to 417 to get a wheel in with a 72 degree seat angle (albeit with lots of clearance). It's all part of the bigger picture, I suppose, but that's a very, very goofy drawing.

Edit: I just went and checked it out on BikeCAD, and you'd have 5 mm clearance with a 23c tire. I would say that's too little - it rules out every putting on a bigger tire, if you ever ride in dirt you run the risk of ruining the paint, you won't have the option of choosing a builder who prefers semi-horizontal dropouts because you don't be able to get the wheel forward and out, and it might even limit front-derailleur-clamp clearance! Anyway, it will work, but I think it's a bad idea.


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## TrekRider69 (9 mo ago)

Sorry to restart this thread again but I don’t see the images of your fitting but j was a a bike shop that sold me a size 54 Trek Madonna snd I was told the same thing. I need a 50mm MTB stem on it. I am new road bike rider at the age of 54..


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## cxwrench (Nov 9, 2004)

TrekRider69 said:


> Sorry to restart this thread again but I don’t see the images of your fitting but j was a a bike shop that sold me a size 54 Trek Madonna snd I was told the same thing. I need a 50mm MTB stem on it. I am new road bike rider at the age of 54..


You got sold the wrong bike, and it's Madone not Madonna.


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## TrekRider69 (9 mo ago)

cxwrench said:


> You got sold the wrong bike, and it's Madone not Madonna.


Yea sorry about the typos. So do you think the sizing down to a 52 will make the bars to low?


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

TrekRider69 said:


> Yea sorry about the typos. So do you think the sizing down to a 52 will make the bars to low?


That depends on how aggressive a position you like. Are you a very long legs/very short torso person? Usually if your reach is so long that it would require that short a stem, your privates would get crunched by the top tube when you dismount the bike.


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## Rode Hazard (Nov 3, 2021)

TrekRider69 said:


> Sorry to restart this thread again but I don’t see the images of your fitting but j was a a bike shop that sold me a size 54 Trek Madonna snd I was told the same thing. I need a 50mm MTB stem on it. I am new road bike rider at the age of 54..


Putting a 50mm stem on a road bike will result in an unrideable bike. Pretty certain that there'll be some kneecap to handlebar interference and zero-stability once pointing downhill. The weight bias over the front of the bike is not going to be as effective, much like having a saddle too far forward of the BB shell.


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## cxwrench (Nov 9, 2004)

TrekRider69 said:


> Yea sorry about the typos. So do you think the sizing down to a 52 will make the bars to low?


It's 8mm lower, I'm sure you can make that work. But...it's only 3mm shorter, so basically no difference at all. You shouldn't be on a Madone at all, and you may need a custom frame to get a proper fit.


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## Camilo (Jun 23, 2007)

Or a less pure-race oriented bike with different proportions to give a more relaxed fit. Shorter effective top tube, slacker seat tube angle, higher head tube all contribute to this sort of ride. I don't know (or care to know) the Trek options, but every, or nearly every, bike maker has bikes that have these sort of characteristics. Or, you may need a custom bike as mentioned above (but I really doubt it).

OP: can you explain why the heck the sold you a Madonne? was it the only option in stock? Is it the bike you were looking for?


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