Stems

The stem is your connection between your forks and your handlebars, and decides the reach between you and your bars. Stems either come as quill stems or A-head stems. Quill stems are the older style, usually L shaped and designed to be used with threaded forks and headsets. A-Head stems are more modern, and clamp directly to the fork steerer. It's important to get the size of your stem right, both for your fork and your handlebars. Most quill stems are 1" for headsets and either 25.4mm or 26mm handlebar clamp, where as most A-head stems are designed for 1 & 1/8th inch forks and come in a wider range of sizes.