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Stem/geometry


Jez

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OK, I know next to nowt about geometry. Basically I've just bought a second hand TA26 with a pair of flat Onza bars and this Planet X stem:

http://www.planet-x-bikes.com/mtb/index.ph...osition=243:243

http://axeuk.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/extraneous/TA26.jpg - it's that monstrous red thing there.

Looks like I have the 120mm or 135mm/30 degree version - a huge rise and reach, almost looks like a mod stem.

Problem is, the bike feels kinda sluggish - the front end doesn't like coming up (but it's fine when it gets there, it likes being on the back wheel once it's there), and I feel way to stretched out when I'm doing stuff.

Now, this could be partly because I'm used to riding a really short Saracen 2.Zero mod, but I doubt it. I never felt this stretched out when I used to ride stock years ago. So, anyone got any reccomendations for what sort of stem to look for to make it easier to get the front end up? I'm pretty convinced it's the stem length that's the problem, but what about height? Is lower or higher better? I seem to remember most stocks back in the day (a long time ago) having really short stems and the fronts being quite low. I think I'm after a sort of mod-ey feel, so I guess that's the way to go? Short reach and low rise? Something like an Azonic shorty? (Had one years ago, loved it, but possibly out of date these days).

I think what I'm asking is how stem reach/height affects the feel of getting the front end off the ground.

Cheers.

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Shorter, higher stems are better for pulling the front end up quickly (bunny hops). The "shorter" stem thing is certainly true, but a couple of people would argue about the "higher" thing. That stem is waaaay too long for a stock bike. Something shorter would definitely help, and then height is a personal preference thing. Play around with spacers to adjust the height. I would imagine though that those bars make the front end pretty low anyway, so unless you have loads of spacers on there, I would get a higher rise stem (Y)

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OK, there's some slightly dodgy feedback on CRC about the Azonic shorty so I might avoid that. Any other reccomendations? (preferably from CRC because I'm putting a bigish order in there and they do free carriage...)

Cheers.

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