Undersized Diameter quill



meb

New Member
Aug 21, 2003
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I had some French Atax aluminum handlebars snap on a bike trail bump.
I elected to sacrifice weight in making a robust commuter so elected to replace with some heavy steel Schwinn Varsity handlebars.

Not trusting the Atax stem either, I put the Varsity stem in the Peugot and found the Schwinn stem diameter is not 22.2 but rather 21 or so. I tightened it down and it feels secure, but it would seem the only contact with the fork walls by the stem would be at the expanding wedge, so I am leary of trusting the mismatched diameter.

Are my concerns unfounded on the diameter mismatch?
Is shimming a safe alternative?

Are my concerns on the Atax stem unfounded?

I was intending to put a Ruby fork on this bike, but if neither of the above stems is safe, I could put a Softek suspension stem in.