Hey everyone and welcome back to another Tuesday tip where in this video we're going to be talking about BMX stem geometry
So when it comes to bicycle stem geometry BMX specifically things really are quite simple with only a few different key
measurements that need to be considered but when you dig a little bit deeper
There is definitely more here than what meets the eye
So let's get right on into this video explaining everything about BMX stem geometry real quickly
I want to add this in here. There are several different types of stems
There's top loads front loads and bottom loads a top load stem looks like this
It has a cap that goes on the top the bolts go into the top a front load stem is a stem where the cap
Goes on to the front and the bolts go in through the front and a bottom load stem is basically a top load stem
But flipped over where the bolts go in through the bottom as I mentioned
There's only a few key measurements that need to be considered when taking a look at the practical applications of BMX stem
geometry and how they relate back to and can affect our
Riding the first of those that I want to talk about today is the reach of the stem
The reach of the stem is the measurement from the front of the stem to the back of the stem in width
So this is measured from the center of the handlebar clamp to the center of the steering bore of the stem
This is normally in millimeters an example of this is 48 or 53 millimeters
But that's not the higher the low end
It can go above that or below that for example
There are stems out there with a 0 millimeter reach which means that the forks go in here and then the handlebars clamp
Directly above the forks
and this is something that is really dictated by the
style of riding you do as well as the feel that you want to go for a
longer stem can compensate for a
shorter top tube frame as well as a shorter reach stem can compensate for a
Longer top tube frame if you're having issues there but then things come into play such as steering a longer reach
The steering of your bike and how that feels and a lot of this just comes down to personal preference
So it's definitely something that you might want to take a look at when considering a new stem then after that
I want to talk about the rise of the stem
The rise of a BMX stem is something that we take into consideration and deal with on a pretty regular basis
But how is it measured?
It's actually measured from the center of the steering bore of the stem in both height and width
So the width on the center of where your Forks go to the center of the actual height of the stem that point
To the exact center of the handlebar clamp
so the center of your handlebars
it's the measurement of the difference in height between
Those two places and points on the stem
so a common height measurement for rise would be something like
23 millimeters it can go all the way up to 33 and
36 millimeters and can go all the way down to the point where it's actually a negative number
Because it's negative rise and the handlebars are actually lower because of the stem
it really is a
simple measurement but how you get that simple measurement can kind of be a little bit complex when you have to think about it and
Really reach and rise are the most common measurements that we deal with in regards to BMX stem geometry
There's also stack height
Which is the exact height of the stem itself in regards to how much?
Area takes up on the steer tube of the fork. That would be the stack height
That's something that we take into consideration a little bit but not quite as much as the reach and the rise
But the reach and the rise bring in a new measurement
Which you may not have heard of before called the extension the extension of a stem
otherwise known as the actual length of a stem is the measurement from the
Exact center of the steering board that we talked about earlier to the exact center of the handlebar clamp that we talked about earlier
But it's the direct measurement from one point to the other
Diagonally in a straight line rather than the measurement of the difference in height between these two points that we talked about earlier
Which was rise or the measurement between these two points from front to back which was the reach
We really don't talk about the extension of a stem in regards to buying a new stem because the reach in the rise are enough
to cover our bases for the information that we need to know and how a stem in its measurements are going to affect our
riding there are a number of different angles in regards to
Bicycle stem geometry that we just don't talk about when it comes to BMX stem geometry
but for the sake of making the most complete bicycle stem
Geometry video that I can I'll give you the quickest description possible of these two angles
So first, let's imagine. There is a vertical dotted line going through the steering bore of the stem
Basically a dotted line through your Forks now imagine another dotted line
Which is the extension of the stem, the first angle is the angle between these two
dotted lines now
Let's get rid of our vertical dotted line going through the horizontal
center of our steering bore on the stem and add a new dotted line going through the
vertical center of the steering bore of this stem
This will be a horizontal line will keep our dotted line on our extension of the stem
And this angle between these two lines is our next angle that comes into play with BMX
Stem geometry and bicycle stem geometry in general so we don't really have to care about that
But I thought that I should say it just for the sake of having a complete video
so those are all of the things that we need to talk about when it comes to the
Geometry itself of the stem in how it can affect the feel of your riding
Reach affects, how far out you reach
Rise affects how high your bars are so the farther the reach the farther out
You have to reach in the further away
your handlebars are the higher the rise the higher your
Handlebars are the lower the rise the lower your handlebars are so you can have high handlebars
but have them not be as tall with a lower rise stem or you can have shorter handlebars that are
Extremely tall because you have NX dream Li
High-rise stem, which is a stem that came out recently with I think a 45 millimeter rise
So those are the only measurements that we really take into consideration
When we buy a new stem that reach the rise in the stack height
But there are a few other things that we need to talk about when it comes to BMX stems
The first of those is different CNC machining that saves weight and adds to the look of the stem
This is something that a lot of stems do there's also different materials that make ups BMX stems
there's 6000 series aluminum and
7000 series aluminum also in relation to machining there are more and more stems becoming available from many different
companies with recessed cutouts for the fort cap to go
Into the stem a little bit which can lead to a much cleaner look and there's at least one company that I know of that
Are doing special grooves in the clamping area of the stem. There's also several companies
We the people BSD and cult coming out with one-inch outer
Diameter bars where the handle bars taper to a one-inch outer diameter where the stem clamps onto them
So this means a different
clamping area of the stem and what this leads to is more surface area for the stem to clamp on to as well as a
stronger bar because it tapers to a larger one-inch outer diameter and
less slipping issues of the bar in the stem due to the more surface area
Provided by this larger diameter something else that I should quickly mention are hollow and solid bolts you can get both
hollow and solid stem bolts
So if you're trying to save a little bit of weight
You can also get titanium stem bolts
If you're really trying to save weight and then that leads us to a few oddball
Different types of stems throughout the years that we can talk about
for example
The Odyssey elementary stem the odyssey lincoln stem the t1 Cyclops stem which is one that is still available
As well as different types of stems such as the daily grind bar. Keep stem, which is a
Load stem where the bolts actually go in the body and you don't see anything on the top of the stem
But it also maintains a rise to the stem
Honestly, we could go on and on for hours about different old stems and things that companies have tried throughout the years
so I think that we'll stop it there and I think that that's going to just about wrap up this video about
BMX stem geometry. I hope that you learned something useful that will help you out next time
You're looking to buy a new BMX stem if you guys like this video and you're not subscribed hit the subscribe button down below
I come out with these tips and tricks videos every
Tuesday as well as a BMX news video on fridays and different types of riding videos and streams throughout the week
I really want to thank you guys for choosing to spend your time
Watching my video and I hope that you stick around and watch a few more and want to thank you again
For being here to watch we'll see you next time for another video
And yeah, BMX stems are a little more complicated than I thought they were we'll see you next time everyone. Goodbye
You