25.4mm or 26.0mm version of tig face plater?

[thomasl...@comcast.net]

Hi, all.

Anyone heard of a 25.4mm or 26.0mm bar clamp version of the tig face plater? I really really want the up-angle and the 225mm quill length of the tig face plater. I also like its relatively clean look. I just don't want a 31.8mm bar clamp area.

Yours,
Thomas Lynn Skean

[Will Boericke]

CrustxNitto.  Just not cheap.  

Will

[Ben Miller]

Thomas,

I recently went down the FacePlater rabbit hole, and pickings are slim at the moment.

Crust bikes does have the Nitto UI quill stem in stock: 26mm clamp, 15 or 30 deg rise.... but only in black currently. Also not quite 225 mm in length (185 mm).

Blue Lug has the Nitto UI-2 quill stem: 26 mm clamp, 0 degree rise and much shorter length (137 mm max for the longer extensions).

That all I was able to find currently for new stems. Might be able to find some of the out-of-stock ones here or there?? 

[Will Boericke]

I wonder if you could make a steel quill riser do the job?  I know that traditional swept back bars in the extreme iteration that is fashionable on Rivs put a lot of torsional stress on that clamp, but steel might solve it.  I have an older steel quill riser on my wife's bike with swept back bars that is rock solid, even on rocky singletrack.

Will

[thomasl...@comcast.net]

Thanks Will and Ben. Yeah, I forgot to mention that silver is also a requirement. Probably still in denial of the massive recent proliferation of black bike bits. Just not a fan. At all.

The Crust in silver is interesting. I don't love love love the quite-steep angle, but the 30-degree version would mitigate the too-short quill. Interesting that there's only one extension available (which happens to be too short for me). I assume Crust is focusing on its use with their own bars on bikes that their customers would likely own.

I'll keep my eye on Crust. They may stumble my way (longer quill and/or more extension) at some point.

Yours,

Thomas Lynn Skean

[thomasl...@comcast.net]

Hi, Will.

Yeah, I thought about that. I've had bad experiences with risers, steel and aluminum. I wish I could trust them. But even though I never have and likely never will "mountain bike", I won't go that route. The search continues.

Yours,

Thomas Lynn Skean

[Bill Lindsay]

This might be outside of your preferred way to transact business, but note that the Rivendell RoadUno complete comes with a very tall Nitto Faceplate stem, with a 25.4mm clamp, on a frame with a gargantuan tall stack.  In other words, even with the stem slammed it's still a pretty bolt upright fit.  Therefore, very few people with a RoadUno need that stem, unless they just like the look, like "keeping it stock" or want to be stem swappers.  The idea is maybe you could shake one loose with an offer they can't refuse.  I volunteered to give away the stem off my RoadUno complete to help close a deal in a large parts swap, and that allowed me to put in a lighter Nitto-Ritchey stem that I think looks better and makes the bike more "me".  Maybe you could coax somebody into a similar deal, with a concrete offer.  Heck, maybe somebody out there is looking at those last two remaining 58cm Purple that are scratched and is waiting for a bigger discount than $100.  You could buy their stem and help them buy a bike from Riv.  

The point is, the stem exists.  You'd just have to be determined to get your hands on it.  If you buy a 58cm RoadUno complete for $2300 and take the steam out of the box, that's one way to do it.  There are probably a bunch of other ways that cost you less than $2300.  

Bill Lindsay

El Cerrito, CA

[Ben Miller]

Oh! I forget the IRD Heron stem: 25.4mm clamp, 20 deg rise, 190mm length, with extensions ranging from 80-120mm. And in silver ;)

Ben

[thomasl...@comcast.net]

Mr. Lindsay: Interesting. With the knowledge that my hoped-for stem exists, even if so far only on a RoadUno, the search for actually acquiring one for significantly less than $2300 can continue. It may warrant a chat with someone at Rivendell. I do hate to bother them, though. I don't want to distract them from doing whatever they do to make available those lovely Sackvilles, Silver cranks, properly-prepared-and-packed Platypi, low-normal derailers, etc.

As of now, I'm not too unhappy with my compromise: a 225mm MTC-024 adapter with a UI-2 stem attached. Even with this Goldbergian abuse, Nitto's decent sense of "how things should be" shines through. It doesn't look half bad.

Of course, it's all a compromise. What I really want is a Tallux, appearing just as the thing of beauty it is, that magically raises/lowers the bar as I desire and just as magically allows me to swap bars without deconstructing one half of my haphazard-yet-beautiful-to-me efforts at creating yet another appealing interface to my bicycle. I know this defies the laws of physics, but, you see, ...

Yours,
Thomas Lynn Skean

[Bill Lindsay]

"and just as magically allows me to swap bars without deconstructing one half of my haphazard-yet-beautiful-to-me efforts"

Bar swaps essentially ALWAYS involve deconstructing.  It's easy STEM SWAPS that are enabled by face plate stems.  You take apart one half of your BAR setup when you need to swap the STEM, not when you swap the BAR.  You don't necessarily need to take apart anything if you do a full COCKPIT swap, changing out everything including bar/stem/controls/etc.   

BL in EC

[thomasl...@comcast.net]

Hi, Ben. I'll definitely consider the IRD Heron. Soma Fab has them. It doesn't quite geometrically qualify. Yet I may discover first hand how a "Fine sandblast finish" looks around various Nitto bars.

Yours,
Thomas Lynn Skean

[thomasl...@comcast.net]

Hi, Bill. Understood. I used "bar swap" to mean "cockpit swap" in that sense. Face plater stems basically open the possibility of cockpits without each having a dedicated stem. And without greatly complicating a swap. I've not pursued swapping stems, though I can certainly see why one might.

Yours,
Thomas Lynn Skean

[Ben Miller]

Thomas,

Oh, I failed to understand that you were originally inquiring if such a thing even existed!! 

I know Bill has already confirmed that, but most definitely yes. I purchased a 60mm extension 25.4 clamp/225mm quill stem directly from RBW just about a year ago (Sept 16 2024 per the order confirmation email. Price was $128 before taxes). Confusingly, they have the same model number as the 31.8mm models (CR60-3T). Hopefully Riv/Nitto bring them back at some point, but who knows?? I have mine on a '88 or '89 Ritchey Outback that is probably too small for me. I'm using 155 mm of the 225 to get the bars up to seat height. It is just about nearly perfect :)

My more recent rabbit hole is a cockpit redo for my wife's Platypus. I originally wanted a 26mm clamp faceplatter, but ended up going with a 31.8mm bar/clamp that I think will be great. But definitely would like to see 25.4/26mm models still in production.