Do complete bikes come with uncut steerers?

Gooserider said:

I've only bought one complete bike. I bought it from an internet bike
company, and it came with the steer tube cut. I have carpal tunnel syndrome,
so I need the bars up. My last two purchases have been framesets I had built
up, so I was able to keep the steerers long. However, Raleigh has a couple
of bikes coming out that look promising---but if they're going to come with
the steer tube cut it makes dialing in my fit more expensive(meaning I'll
have to spring for a new stem). Anybody know?

Most are cut AFAIK. Just get a stem raiser for $20. Not pretty, but
they work great.

http://www.deltacycle.com/product.php?g=9

Quoted message said:

I've only bought one complete bike. I bought it from an internet bike
company, and it came with the steer tube cut. I have carpal tunnel
syndrome, so I need the bars up. My last two purchases have been framesets
I had built up, so I was able to keep the steerers long. However, Raleigh
has a couple of bikes coming out that look promising---but if they're
going to come with the steer tube cut it makes dialing in my fit more
expensive(meaning I'll have to spring for a new stem). Anybody know?

Mike

All bikes I know of from major bike companies have the steer tubes pre-cut
to a length their engineers figure to be the maximum safe height allowed.
I've spoken with engineers at Trek regarding customers with special needs
who would like to have a longer fork column; invariably, they say no, it's
not safe to have more than 4cm of exposed (acutally covered by spacers) fork
column beneath the stem.

What I don't understand is why it's OK to have a stem with a very steep
upward angle, positioning the bar quite a bit higher than normal... but it's
not OK to use a taller fork column with a lower stem (to achieve the same
position). Don't think I've asked that exact question; I'll try to remember
to next time.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

Mike Jacoubowsky said:

Quoted message said:

I've only bought one complete bike. I bought it from an internet bike
company, and it came with the steer tube cut. I have carpal tunnel
syndrome, so I need the bars up. My last two purchases have been framesets
I had built up, so I was able to keep the steerers long. However, Raleigh
has a couple of bikes coming out that look promising---but if they're
going to come with the steer tube cut it makes dialing in my fit more
expensive(meaning I'll have to spring for a new stem). Anybody know?

Mike

All bikes I know of from major bike companies have the steer tubes pre-cut
to a length their engineers figure to be the maximum safe height allowed.
I've spoken with engineers at Trek regarding customers with special needs
who would like to have a longer fork column; invariably, they say no, it's
not safe to have more than 4cm of exposed (acutally covered by spacers) fork
column beneath the stem.

Is this not an argument for larger diameter steerer tubes?

Quoted message said:

What I don't understand is why it's OK to have a stem with a very steep
upward angle, positioning the bar quite a bit higher than normal... but it's
not OK to use a taller fork column with a lower stem (to achieve the same
position). Don't think I've asked that exact question; I'll try to remember
to next time.

Hmmm..., the bike in my bedroom has a 38-cm tall stem. Of course, I do
not apply much force to it while riding.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

"Mike Jacoubowsky" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I've only bought one complete bike. I bought it from an internet bike
company, and it came with the steer tube cut. I have carpal tunnel
syndrome, so I need the bars up. My last two purchases have been
framesets I had built up, so I was able to keep the steerers long.
However, Raleigh has a couple of bikes coming out that look
promising---but if they're going to come with the steer tube cut it makes
dialing in my fit more expensive(meaning I'll have to spring for a new
stem). Anybody know?

Mike

All bikes I know of from major bike companies have the steer tubes pre-cut
to a length their engineers figure to be the maximum safe height allowed.
I've spoken with engineers at Trek regarding customers with special needs
who would like to have a longer fork column; invariably, they say no, it's
not safe to have more than 4cm of exposed (acutally covered by spacers)
fork column beneath the stem.

What I don't understand is why it's OK to have a stem with a very steep
upward angle, positioning the bar quite a bit higher than normal... but
it's not OK to use a taller fork column with a lower stem (to achieve the
same position). Don't think I've asked that exact question; I'll try to
remember to next time.

Thanks, Mike. I can almost understand their concern, if it's a carbon
steerer. But the two bikes I have now have steel forks and I don't think I
could bend the steerers with a hammer and a vice. :-)

Gooserider said:

"Mike Jacoubowsky" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I've only bought one complete bike. I bought it from an internet bike
company, and it came with the steer tube cut. I have carpal tunnel
syndrome, so I need the bars up. My last two purchases have been
framesets I had built up, so I was able to keep the steerers long.
However, Raleigh has a couple of bikes coming out that look
promising---but if they're going to come with the steer tube cut it makes
dialing in my fit more expensive(meaning I'll have to spring for a new
stem). Anybody know?

Mike

All bikes I know of from major bike companies have the steer tubes pre-cut
to a length their engineers figure to be the maximum safe height allowed.
I've spoken with engineers at Trek regarding customers with special needs
who would like to have a longer fork column; invariably, they say no, it's
not safe to have more than 4cm of exposed (acutally covered by spacers)
fork column beneath the stem.

What I don't understand is why it's OK to have a stem with a very steep
upward angle, positioning the bar quite a bit higher than normal... but
it's not OK to use a taller fork column with a lower stem (to achieve the
same position). Don't think I've asked that exact question; I'll try to
remember to next time.

Thanks, Mike. I can almost understand their concern, if it's a carbon
steerer. But the two bikes I have now have steel forks and I don't think I
could bend the steerers with a hammer and a vice. :-)

Why would you TRY to bend them?

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

All bikes I know of from major bike companies have the steer tubes
pre-cut to a length their engineers figure to be the maximum safe height
allowed. I've spoken with engineers at Trek regarding customers with
special needs who would like to have a longer fork column; invariably,
they say no, it's not safe to have more than 4cm of exposed (acutally
covered by spacers) fork column beneath the stem.

What I don't understand is why it's OK to have a stem with a very steep
upward angle, positioning the bar quite a bit higher than normal... but
it's not OK to use a taller fork column with a lower stem (to achieve the
same position). Don't think I've asked that exact question; I'll try to
remember to next time.

Thanks, Mike. I can almost understand their concern, if it's a carbon
steerer. But the two bikes I have now have steel forks and I don't think I
could bend the steerers with a hammer and a vice. :-)

The steer tubes in question have been aluminum, since Trek has been
reluctant to use carbon steer tubes (they're concerned people are going to
crank down on them too hard during stem installation and cause damage). A
steel steer tube is still of concern, since they're substantially thinner
than aluminum. When we went from 1" steel to 1 1/8" aluminum, we gained
strength & overall durability (less likely to bend in a crash). Leveraging
out a 1" steer tube beyond its design, even if steel, could still result in
bad consequences. My feeling is that it's more likely to be an issue for a
bike ridden off-road though.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

In article <[email hidden]>, Mike

Jacoubowsky said:

What I don't understand is why it's OK to have a stem with a very steep
upward angle, positioning the bar quite a bit higher than normal... but it's
not OK to use a taller fork column with a lower stem (to achieve the same
position).

My instinctual reaction is that it has to do with the bending moment of
the length of steerer tube exposed above the top of the head tube. The
length of steerer tube within the head tube is restrained at both ends,
therefore there are no internal bending forces to resist. From the head
tube up, the steerer tube is acting as a vertical cantilever. Force is
applied to the stem from the weight of the rider on the handlebars
which creates a bending moment in the steerer tube.

Your former instance has a shorter cantilever to the point of applied
force, therefore less bending moment. If the length of steerer tube
exposed in the latter instance became too great, I can even see the
internal portion of the steerer tube bowing because the connection at
the top of the head tube really isn't rigid, and at some point would
begin to act as a fulcrum.

But the difference in lengths being discussed in your example is so
minimal compared to the diameter of the tube that this is probably just
a theoretical pile of [censored].

FWIW,

Dan