Leah, you asked, "But, if I *were* to spurge again and get a new stem, how would I know what size to try next?"
Here's one way: 1. Position your saddle to where it feels most comfortable/efficient/powerful when pedaling, regardless of your reach to the handlebar. 2. Attach a small piece of masking tape on your handlebar such that you can easily remove it. 3. While pedaling on a level, safe path or road -- or while seated on your bike but leaning up against a garage wall using your shoulder for balance -- slide one hand backward on the grip until you hit the position that feels right. 4. Then with the other hand, remove the tape and mark the location of the front of the hand you've slid backward. 5. Measure the distance (in cm) between the front of the grip and the back edge of the masking tape, and subtract that distance from 9 (assuming you currently have a stem with a 9cm reach) to determine the length of the stem you need. Obviously given stem sizes you'll need to round to the nearest cm. If the distance measured in step 5 is 4cm or less, (IOW, you need a 50mm - 80mm stem), you can get one from Ben's Cycle (Nitto NTC-DX Technomic Deluxe) or elsewhere if you can find it. If it's more than 4cm, then you'll likely need to look into something like an after-market Analog wRight stem with basically a 0mm reach. Either would make a great Christmas stocking stuffer :) When stem buying, pay attention to the stem clamp diameter. Boscos have a 25.4mm diameter where the stem clamps on, and therefore need a stem with a 25.4mm clamp diameter. If the stem you want only comes with a 26mm clamp diameter, you can get shims to make up the difference. Riv sells'em here: https://www.rivbike.com/collections/handlebars/products/nitto-stainless-handlebar-shim-25-4-to-26-0-16095 Tom On Tuesday, November 19, 2019 at 8:48:58 PM UTC-5, Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! wrote: > > Tom, the Clems. I’ve got it bad. We have enough in my family and extended > family that I think our family crest should be the Clem headbadge. Forget > that sewer guy. > > I’m agonizing over the stem. I just purchased the 90 and paid to have it > installed. I wish the bars came just a smidge closer to me, but I don’t > think I want to pay for all these things all over again. I compromised and > moved my saddle just a tiny bit, and I still think my butt is behind the > pedals, so hopefully I’m not screwing up my knees too badly. > > But, if I *were* to spurge again and get a new stem, how would I know what > size to try next? Should I go for an 80 or down to a 70? These are the > things that make me so sad I don’t live by anyone I know from this List. > Curses! > > Sent from my iPad > > On Nov 19, 2019, at 4:11 PM, tc <tdc...@gmail.com <javascript:>> wrote: > > > Hey Leah, awesome build you have going! If you don't already have one of > the Riv Clem posters, you need to get one. You are one with Clem if anyone > ever was. > > As for your reach to the bars, I would humbly suggest NOT adjusting your > fore-aft position saddle position just yet. Doing so may not be the right > thing for your knees. The optimal and most comfortable butt-to-crank/pedal > horizontal dimension should not be compromised to fix a handlebar reach > issue if you can help it. Rather, get a shorter stem if you can and try > that first. You can actually get a really short reach Nitto Technomic > Deluxe long quill stem from Ben's Cycle, all the way down to a 50mm reach > for $66: > https://www.benscycle.com/nitto-ntc-dx-technomic-deluxe-long-quill-stem/stem_nitto_ntc-dxlong_870/product > > As I write this, they have 2 in stock. > > Tom > >> >> -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the > Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this topic, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rbw-owners-bunch/x8e3syetp6I/unsubscribe > . > To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to > rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com <javascript:>. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/7f75624b-e649-4c9d-8625-889743c089b1%40googlegroups.com > > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/7f75624b-e649-4c9d-8625-889743c089b1%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/48c25d7d-7fdc-4c71-b77c-f0d5bc0b3ea7%40googlegroups.com.
