Handlebar stem - which way round??

My new bike has arrived (WooHoo) and I've started putting the bits
together. Now I'd assumed that the stem would have the pretty
graphics visible, i.e. to the top, but the maker's photo shows it the
other way round. The stem has a bit of angle to it, so my question
is: does it matter if it slopes up or down (relative to the
perpendicular of the steerer tube)? I'm assuming not, and all else
being equal I'll probably have it slope up slightly for a marginally
less bent-over riding position, but I thought it would be worth
checking.

Colin

Colin MacDonald wrote:

My new bike has arrived (WooHoo) and I've started putting the bits
together. Now I'd assumed that the stem would have the pretty
graphics visible, i.e. to the top, but the maker's photo shows it the
other way round. The stem has a bit of angle to it, so my question
is: does it matter if it slopes up or down (relative to the
perpendicular of the steerer tube)? I'm assuming not, and all else
being equal I'll probably have it slope up slightly for a marginally
less bent-over riding position, but I thought it would be worth
checking.

Makes no difference which way - as you say, one way is slightly higher,
so put it as it suits you.
Alan.


--
To reply by e-mail, change the ' + ' to 'plus'.

In article 195f76f3-26ff-4816-9a6b-
, Colin MacDonald
says...
My new bike has arrived (WooHoo) and I've started putting the bits
together. Now I'd assumed that the stem would have the pretty
graphics visible, i.e. to the top, but the maker's photo shows it the
other way round. The stem has a bit of angle to it, so my question
is: does it matter if it slopes up or down (relative to the
perpendicular of the steerer tube)? I'm assuming not, and all else
being equal I'll probably have it slope up slightly for a marginally
less bent-over riding position, but I thought it would be worth
checking.

Put it whichever way suits you. Some stems have reversible graphics for
this reason.

in message
, Colin
MacDonald ') wrote:

My new bike has arrived (WooHoo) and I've started putting the bits
together. Now I'd assumed that the stem would have the pretty
graphics visible, i.e. to the top, but the maker's photo shows it the
other way round. The stem has a bit of angle to it, so my question
is: does it matter if it slopes up or down (relative to the
perpendicular of the steerer tube)?

Whichever is more comfortable for you. Two of mine have the graphics upside
down; it doesn't affect the performance in the least. You'll notice that
many brands use symmetrical graphics so that they look right either way
up!

--
(Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; Usenet: like distance learning without the learning.