A Tale of Two Stems

Comparing Stems
Originally uploaded by jimgskoop

I've been contemplating a shorter stem on my Kogswell P/R for quite some time. I've been loathe to muck around with the bike, since it's generally been working well with a stable configuration -- but tonight I finally decided to just try it. I used this Stem Comparison Tool to determine that I could replace the previous 120mm, 5-degree stem on my Kogswell with a 100mm, 10-degree stem I had in my parts bin to effectively shorten the reach by about 20mm, and maintain the same handlebar height. I used the iHandy Level app on my iPhone to determine the angles. Cool!