25.5 handlebar in 26.00mm stem

woodywmb
woodywmb Posts: 669
edited August 2007 in MTB workshop & tech
I have switched a handlebar from my former hybrid GT bike to my Giant mountain bike. It fits fine. But the bar is 25.4 mm in diameter and the stem takes 26.00 mm diameter. There are four bolts attaching the bar. They don't quite screw in all the way - so the bar is tight between the stem plate and the stem base. Is it safe to continue using this? The bike will only be used for roads and level dirt/canal paths.
http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/1296598/

Comments

  • MarvintheAndroid
    MarvintheAndroid Posts: 409
    IMHO it should be OK. As long as the stem bolts can be tightened without closing the gap completely.

    Marv
    What tree ? ...........

    Trek 8000 ZR XC hardtail.
  • John Stevenson
    John Stevenson Posts: 962
    This is generally a bad idea. If the clamp and bar curves don't fit, you're adding unusual stresses to the fit, and in handlebars, that's never a good idea.

    But I wonder if the stem is really 26.0mm. Did it previously have a drop bar in it?

    If in doubt, change the stem. It's not like basic models are terribly expensive, whereas dental work is.
    John Stevenson
  • lachoman
    lachoman Posts: 371
    You may be bending the stem cap tighter round the new bar, though not by much. This will put it under increased stress when frce is exerted on the bar. It is up to you but I would fit the correct stem, as it has been said, a decent new stem isnt super expensive.
    <hr noshade size="1">You bend it, you mend it.
  • woodywmb
    woodywmb Posts: 669
    JOHN:
    Not a drop bar but a flat Syntace bar (don't know the measurement of either bar or stem). I sold the bike (hybrid GT Zum) after changing the stem. I wanted to put the stem I took off to good use.
    The other bar (on my Giant Terrago MTB) is 25.4 and it seems to fit okay with the stem, which is also Syntace. The bar sits well in the stem and there IS some thread showing on all four bolts. I could buy a new stem but this is my number two bike which I maintain using bits and pieces from elsewhere. If it gets stolen, I won't lose too much sleep over it. Now my other bike ... that's a different story!

    Thanks for responses.
    http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/1296598/
  • John Stevenson
    John Stevenson Posts: 962
    Woody, as far as I can tell from Syntace's website, they don't make a flat bar with a 26.0 clamp, so it may be you have nothing to worry about.

    Might be a good idea to measure the old flat bar just to be 100 percent certain though. Vernier calipers are your friend.
    John Stevenson

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