What do you really reckon? Is it far out?

[bonsaibilly]

I went the flipped, shorter stem route and thought that was the answer to my discomfort on the bike. It turns out that I actually more comfortable with a longer non-flipped stem (13 cm long)!

I thought it was the drop to the bars that was the problem. It was actually the drop to bars that were too close. By pushing the bars further away I didn't have to arch my back so much when bending down to them. I am not particularly flexible but I am comfortable now with the bars 11 cm (4.5 inches) lower than the saddle.

I've been saying this for ages!!

 

[ColinJ]

Oh, and the other thing that I forgot to mention was that I switched to compact bars. These have a much smaller drop than my old bars so I am able to spend much more time on the drops without suffering from backache. The 3 main positions are all comfortable now (tops, drops and hoods).