Black Planet-X

alexriverajr

freehub wrote:

Have you raised your seat or lowered your bars? Cause in the pics the hoods look higher than yer seat.

I have lowered my handlebars a bit but the pictures are at a slight upward angle so it gives that impression the seat is about 2 inches higher.

redddraggon

Flasher wrote:

So why do pro-bikes hardly ever have a spacer above the stem?

http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=7791

PEZ: Spacers under the top-cap. Fashion suicide or a technical necessity?
DS: Dude, our bikes are so light already that I have to weigh them down with bits of chain to make 'em legal. Why not have the spacer to make it that little bit more safe and reliable? But only one 5mm spacer. Our euro mechanics cut the steerer tubes down so there's no spacer and it cracks me.

Says it all.

flasher

redddraggon wrote:

Flasher wrote:

So why do pro-bikes hardly ever have a spacer above the stem?

http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=7791

PEZ: Spacers under the top-cap. Fashion suicide or a technical necessity?
DS: Dude, our bikes are so light already that I have to weigh them down with bits of chain to make 'em legal. Why not have the spacer to make it that little bit more safe and reliable? But only one 5mm spacer. Our euro mechanics cut the steerer tubes down so there's no spacer and it cracks me.

Says it all.

Not looking for an argument, and not wanting to take the thread too off topic but, the Specialized installation guide, recommends no spacers above the stem as does my Reynolds Ouzo pro guide, one mechanic recommends using a 5mm spacer in an interview and that's the correct way, rather than the thousands of $$ invested in research by the manufacturers, I don't get the reasoning.

redddraggon

That was just a random interview, I've long been doing it. It's been good practice ever since carbon stems came.

More fork manufacturers say you should have a spacer above the stem than don't. Ritchey and Easton definitely recommend a spacer above the stem.

In the end it's up to the individual what they do, it's their bike, but personally I see the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks. In the end not having a spacer above the stem probably won't cause an issue, but it might, and I'd rather limit any risk that I can.

In the end, your bike your choice. I have OCD about everything being right, and if I was a pro rider I'd hand the bike back to mechanic and tell him he's cut the fork too short.

flasher

When cutting the steerer tube the recommendation is usually for it to be cut 3mm below the top of the stem (or in your case the spacer) so if you use a 5mm spacer that leaves only 2mm of spacer overlapping the steerer tube, whereas you'd have approx. 40mm overlap if the stem was at the top, that seems more secure to me. I would have thought torque issues were more important on a carbon steerer?

redddraggon

clamping force is what is important with carbon steerers. And clamping on the end of a tube is not the best thing to do.

maxlite

Easton recommends a 10 mm spacer above steerer and no more than 50 mm below steerer.