road stem on MTB

Cyclopath! - Keiron said:

Salaam.

As a rule can road stems (1 1/8th) be used on a mtb or is there a strength
issue? it would be nice to choose from the extended product and price
range.

Thanks

It depends entirely on the stem in question, type of riding, and the
rider. Many "road" stems are the same in terms of strength (ie, same
material and dimensions - and weight for that matter) as comparable
"mountain" stems. Higher end/lighter road stems can indeed get weaker
or less durable than you'd want in some circumstances. In general, the
furthest extremes of this do go further than the lightest XC-ish stems,
probably by a fair amount in some cases, although it's hard to say
because not a lot of stems actually break and not a lot of light road
stems are used for mountain biking.

"Cyclopath! - Keiron" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

Salaam.

As a rule can road stems (1 1/8th) be used on a mtb or is there a strength
issue? it would be nice to choose from the extended product and price
range.

The issue isn't strength, it is clamp's diameter. The ATB/MTB handlebars are
mainly 25.4 mm, while road bars are usually (but not always!) 31.8 or
similarly oversized. You've got to check at each case.

Cheers,

Tomek Li

"Tomek Li" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Cyclopath! - Keiron" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Salaam.

As a rule can road stems (1 1/8th) be used on a mtb or is there a

strength

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

issue? it would be nice to choose from the extended product and

price

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

range.

The issue isn't strength, it is clamp's diameter. The ATB/MTB

handlebars are

Quoted message said:

mainly 25.4 mm, while road bars are usually (but not always!) 31.8 or
similarly oversized. You've got to check at each case.

Cheers,

Tomek Li

"The ISO standard for the clamping area of a handlebar is 25.4 mm (1"😉
which is used on the majority of mountain bikes and many Japanese-made
road handlebars. However, the Italian unofficial standard is 26.0 mm,
which is the most common clamp size for road bars. There are also
intermediate sizes such as 25.8 mm to try and achieve compatibility with
either an ISO or Italian stem, and the old Cinelli-specific size of 26.4
mm. In practice, many modern stems with removable faceplates are quite
accommodating of slight differences in handlebar clamp size, but the
older type of stem with a single pinch bolt must be accurately matched.
In the days of quill stems, a road stem was clearly identifiable from
its "7" shape, but nowadays it can be hard to tell the difference
between a "road" (26.0 mm) and "MTB" (25.4 mm) stem."

"A new emerging standard is an oversize 31.8 mm (1.25"😉 clamp for both
MTB and road bars. This is rapidly taking over from the previous mix of
sizes, although other accessories such as computers and brake levers
also need to be designed with the thicker bars in mind. Shims are
available to fit a 31.8mm stem to either a 25.4mm or 26.0mm bar, so it
is likely that most new stems will be made oversize-only."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handlebar

(Cut and paste + citing saves writing it myself)

Chas.

Many thanks all. it'll be time for the calipers then.

cheers

* * Chas <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Tomek Li" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Cyclopath! - Keiron" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Salaam.

As a rule can road stems (1 1/8th) be used on a mtb or is there a

strength

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

issue? it would be nice to choose from the extended product and

price

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

range.

The issue isn't strength, it is clamp's diameter. The ATB/MTB

handlebars are

Quoted message said:

mainly 25.4 mm, while road bars are usually (but not always!) 31.8 or
similarly oversized. You've got to check at each case.

Cheers,

Tomek Li

"The ISO standard for the clamping area of a handlebar is 25.4 mm (1"😉
which is used on the majority of mountain bikes and many Japanese-made
road handlebars. However, the Italian unofficial standard is 26.0 mm,
which is the most common clamp size for road bars. There are also
intermediate sizes such as 25.8 mm to try and achieve compatibility with
either an ISO or Italian stem, and the old Cinelli-specific size of 26.4
mm. In practice, many modern stems with removable faceplates are quite
accommodating of slight differences in handlebar clamp size, but the
older type of stem with a single pinch bolt must be accurately matched.
In the days of quill stems, a road stem was clearly identifiable from
its "7" shape, but nowadays it can be hard to tell the difference
between a "road" (26.0 mm) and "MTB" (25.4 mm) stem."

"A new emerging standard is an oversize 31.8 mm (1.25"😉 clamp for both
MTB and road bars. This is rapidly taking over from the previous mix of
sizes, although other accessories such as computers and brake levers
also need to be designed with the thicker bars in mind. Shims are
available to fit a 31.8mm stem to either a 25.4mm or 26.0mm bar, so it
is likely that most new stems will be made oversize-only."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handlebar

(Cut and paste + citing saves writing it myself)

Chas.