cutting down a stem?

[drew beckmeyer]

i'd like to get my handlebars (albatross) a little lower (saddle height), but the technomic stem is too long or the steerer is too tall.  i dont have the machinery or tools or knowledge or desire to get into cutting a steerer. is cutting an 3/4-1inch off of a stem something that people do? and if so, what are some good things to know? 

Q-why dont i get a shorter stem?

A-money. shorter stems are usually too short. if i can avoid taking off and reapplying tape/twine/cork, id prefer to do it that way.

[Ron Mc]

I would offer it up for trade on the board first

[Patrick Moore]

I've cut an inch or so off a stem with hand tools and lived to tell the tale, but as Ron said, why not ask for a swap?

(Now, hearing someone on the Riv list complain that he can't get his bar low enough --- does a heart good to hear it!)

Patrick "just kidding" Moore

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[Flynn, Hugh]

I’ve done this quire a few times on my wife’s 43cm Terry with the shortest head tube/steerer I’ve ever seen. Every stem is pretty much “cut to fit” with that bike. 

It helps to have:

- A decent supply of available quill expander bolts that will actually match the size you are trying to cut the quill into. 

- A way of marking the angle you’d like to cut on the stem itself (hold the expander wedge where you’d like to cut and trace the angle with a sharpie

- A way to cut metal that is smooth and predictable. I have a miter saw with a metal cut-off wheel. That’s worked well. 

Once the cut is made, file it smooth an bevel off the sharp point to make it a flat point (compare to the factory cut). 

Voila - a custom cut quill. 

Your milage may vary, the overview above does not suggest that the author would encourage anyone without proper training to ride a bicycle let alone manually modify critical safety equipment such as a stem quill. The author is hereby indemnified from liability, responsibility, and predictability should any individual (named herein or whereout) attempt to modify bicycle equipment or even try to ride one of those things. In short, and heretofore plus hereafter, it shall be known that the author is not responsible for anything anywhere including that thing that happened that time because he was nowhere near it and besides it was like that when he got there. 

Hugh  “Safe” Flynn

Newburyport, MA

[lungimsam]

I have a professionally cut down Technomic 7cm extension 26.0 clamp stem. They cut about an inch off it at the Rivish LBS near me (College Park Bikes [used to be a Riv dealer]). They said they do that hand mitre-ing if needed. Hand cut and ground with a dremel tool. If interested, PM me. I don't use it anymore. Has about 400 miles on it.

[drew beckmeyer]

thanks for the input and offers. unfortunately i need a 25.4, but i think ill try cutting mine down this weekend

[Garth]

You can use a shim , or make one from an aluminum can :)

[Michael Ullmer]

Has that cut down 7cm technomic been claimed yet? I could use it for a build for my wife, the bike has the smallest head tube I have ever seen with little space for the quill. Let me know, thanks.

Mike in Seattle

[Doug Van Cleve]

Hey Drew.

Depending on how much you need to shorten, just run tape (I have used regular 1" or whatever it is masking tape) along the bottom edge on both sides then use the top edge of the tape as your cutting guide.  File it the cut smooth and (as previously noted) file the pointy/sharp tip off the bottom.  You will probably want to shorten the expander bolt a commensurate amount.  With a bit of luck, there will still be enough threads to tighten it, otherwise you'll need to cut the threads higher (should be a die that would work) or find a shorter quill bolt.

Regards, Doug

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[drew]

ok guys,

thanks for the input. i got around to doing this. cut about an inch off the stem, at the same angle, sanded, etc. the new end looks almost exactly like the old end. the bolt was too long, but i pulled one that fit off of an old sr stem. everything looks good. im proud of myself. stem goes in, tightens up, but the bars are still moveable with a hardish push when i have it tightened as much as i can without feeling like im gonna break something. 

did i do something wrong?

could the sr bolt be a problem?

too much grease?

[drew]

 i am hoping it's just an angle of cut thing.  i did swap in a shorter bolt that seems to fit fine.  

 ive had the hunqapillar for about a year and it has only ever had this one technomic stem in it that was down/in as far as it would go (short top tube+long steerer on the 54cm).  i assume it was bottoming out on the butted section of the steerer, and i wanted the bars a little lower, so the thought was to cut down the stem. after that wouldnt tighten down, out of curiosity, i put a short, old sr stem in. it doesnt fully tighten either. then out of more curiosity, i pulled my girlfriend's cockpit off-featuring an technomic stem just like the one i just cut an inch off of -and it bottoms out as mine used to and fully tightens fine. 

so i have an cut technomic that doesnt go all the way down-wont get tight

a short sr that doesnt go all the way down-wont get tight

and a technomic that bottoms out-will get tight.

do i need this to be bottoming out to get adequate snugness?  that doesnt seem right. 

i dont think ive bulged anything, because, as i said, the og technomic was down low from the beginning. also im using about a 4 inch long allen key. 

[lungimsam]

Not necessary to bottom out to get adequate snugness.

In fact, bottoming out is the WRONG and DANGEROUS way to install a stem. The wedge won't mate properly with the steerer, because the butted endwall is sloped, and the wedge can fail if it is in the butt.

You might have to just buy a new and shorter rise stem. The NITTO Pearl will definitely do the trick. It is a short rise stem. The Tech Deluxe is a little longer at 190mm rise, I think. But make sure the size of your steerer so you get the right diameter stem.

Also, note that if you did cut the Tech stem to make it shorter, your MAX height line will no longer be correct and you should not use that line anymore as a safe MAX height line. I don't know what the formula is for what would now be safe. How far above the new stem bottom. Maybe someone here can chime in. You have to have a certain amount of stem beloiw the top of steerer, or something.

Scroll down this page and you can read about that (pics, too): http://sheldonbrown.com/handsup.html

[drew]

thanks, yeah. one of the reasons i was trying to shorten it, was to avoid it bottoming out. im not trying to make it bottom out at all, and would love to avoid that. the problem im having with this is that it will not get tight enough UNLESS it is in all the way. ive tried a couple older stems, and with any of the shorter ones, it doesnt get tight enough.  i mean it gets snug, but id be afraid to ride with a load up front. 

[lungimsam]

That is really weird.

Perhaps give RBW a call and see what they might suggest.