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#12
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On 25 Aug 2004 11:43:46 -0700, (JBAfromNY) wrote:
I've looking for taller stems with a reach shorter than the current quill S/R on my ancient road bike, but I'm not exactly sure what the right measurements should be. An adjustable one like this: http://harriscyclery.net/site/page.c...=49&SKU=SM2874 appears to foot the bill. Before opening the wallet, and going through handlebar extraction hell with my existing set-up, I'm curious as to whether anyone has used one of these on a road bike. I'll be using it for commuting (24 mi round trip, mostly bike paths + streets of variable roughness), errands etc. around the neighborhood, and occasional longer rides. How does it hold up? Are the adjustments as simple as they appear to be? Is it overly flex-y? Are there any alternatives worth looking at? Any other issues? I used one for about 3,000 miles (two years), until I stripped a bar mounting bolt thread on the stem. Partly my fault, I suppose; I didn't tighten the bolts evenly on a 26 mm bar, and pulled the threads out of the rear. I'd suggest buying a longer bolt for the front, and tightening the rear bolt first, to avoid this problem. I made a couple of adjustments to different heights and reaches; they are coupled, so adjust first, tighten later. By then, I knew what I needed, and replaced the Zoom with a Nitto Technomic. Pat Email address works as is. |
#13
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Patrick Lamb wrote in message . ..
I used one for about 3,000 miles (two years), until I stripped a bar mounting bolt thread on the stem. Partly my fault, I suppose; I didn't tighten the bolts evenly on a 26 mm bar, and pulled the threads out of the rear. I'd suggest buying a longer bolt for the front, and tightening the rear bolt first, to avoid this problem. I made a couple of adjustments to different heights and reaches; they are coupled, so adjust first, tighten later. I'm not following which bolts you are describing here. Do you mean the two bolts that clamp the handlebars onto the stem? On mine, these are more top/bottom, than front/rear. Or do you mean the bolt used for tightening the stem in the head tube and the bolt used for tightening the quill angle adjustment? I installed it this weekend, and have already fiddled about a bit with height and angle adjustments. I think I followed the instructions on the package correctly, and tightened every bolt as tightly as I could. After a few miles of riding, nothing is slipping. So far, I really like this thing. The bike is definitely more comfortable than before, but I can see how I might continue to dial things in a bit. I also installed some cyclo-cross levers. So far so good with these, too. By then, I knew what I needed, and replaced the Zoom with a Nitto Technomic. I got 12 years out of my last stem -- it isn't broken, I just can't reach it any more. With luck, I'll get at least that much out of the new one. John |
#14
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Patrick Lamb wrote in message . ..
I used one for about 3,000 miles (two years), until I stripped a bar mounting bolt thread on the stem. Partly my fault, I suppose; I didn't tighten the bolts evenly on a 26 mm bar, and pulled the threads out of the rear. I'd suggest buying a longer bolt for the front, and tightening the rear bolt first, to avoid this problem. I made a couple of adjustments to different heights and reaches; they are coupled, so adjust first, tighten later. I'm not following which bolts you are describing here. Do you mean the two bolts that clamp the handlebars onto the stem? On mine, these are more top/bottom, than front/rear. Or do you mean the bolt used for tightening the stem in the head tube and the bolt used for tightening the quill angle adjustment? I installed it this weekend, and have already fiddled about a bit with height and angle adjustments. I think I followed the instructions on the package correctly, and tightened every bolt as tightly as I could. After a few miles of riding, nothing is slipping. So far, I really like this thing. The bike is definitely more comfortable than before, but I can see how I might continue to dial things in a bit. I also installed some cyclo-cross levers. So far so good with these, too. By then, I knew what I needed, and replaced the Zoom with a Nitto Technomic. I got 12 years out of my last stem -- it isn't broken, I just can't reach it any more. With luck, I'll get at least that much out of the new one. John |
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#17
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Patrick Lamb wrote in message . ..
On 30 Aug 2004 08:45:42 -0700, (JBAfromNY) wrote: I'm not following which bolts you are describing here. Do you mean the two bolts that clamp the handlebars onto the stem? On mine, these are more top/bottom, than front/rear. Those are the ones. Interesting, that yours come out top/bottom. The bolt I call "rear" is the one nearest the vertical part of the stem that goes into the headset. I guess it depends on how you have the extension angle set. It gave me two years or so of good service. No slips until it stripped. But do be careful of overtightening those bolts; they're steel bolts screwed into aluminum, and it is possible to strip the aluminum. (From sad experience.) And if you start hearing the bars creaking when you're powering up a hill, double check the stem verrry carefully. Actually, on my commute home yesterday, I did start to hear some creaking. I pulled over and took a look. It looked to me that I had screwed down the "top" more tightly than the "bottom" (based on the differences in the space between the face plate and the stem at each bolt), so I loosened one and tightened the other until the gaps looked equal, then tightened both. Seems to have stopped the creaking. I'll keep an eye on it though. I'm thinking of unbolting the faceplate completely, greasing the bolts, then re-attaching. Good idea? John |
#18
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Patrick Lamb wrote in message . ..
On 30 Aug 2004 08:45:42 -0700, (JBAfromNY) wrote: I'm not following which bolts you are describing here. Do you mean the two bolts that clamp the handlebars onto the stem? On mine, these are more top/bottom, than front/rear. Those are the ones. Interesting, that yours come out top/bottom. The bolt I call "rear" is the one nearest the vertical part of the stem that goes into the headset. I guess it depends on how you have the extension angle set. It gave me two years or so of good service. No slips until it stripped. But do be careful of overtightening those bolts; they're steel bolts screwed into aluminum, and it is possible to strip the aluminum. (From sad experience.) And if you start hearing the bars creaking when you're powering up a hill, double check the stem verrry carefully. Actually, on my commute home yesterday, I did start to hear some creaking. I pulled over and took a look. It looked to me that I had screwed down the "top" more tightly than the "bottom" (based on the differences in the space between the face plate and the stem at each bolt), so I loosened one and tightened the other until the gaps looked equal, then tightened both. Seems to have stopped the creaking. I'll keep an eye on it though. I'm thinking of unbolting the faceplate completely, greasing the bolts, then re-attaching. Good idea? John |
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