Originally Posted by davei1980

I have decided to shorten my steerer tube after riding my bike for a long time and experimenting with different stem heights. I am ready to take the plunge.

I don't have jig for this purpose, nor do I own a pipe cutter large enough to cut 1-1/8" tube. Here's my workaround, please let me know your thoughts/concerns:

I was planning on using two old stems butted very close to one another (like, the exact width of a hacksaw blade) and thus using the stems as a guide. The only pitfall I can see is possible minor damage to the old stems. It may not yield QUITE as clean of a cut as the Park Tool jig designed for this purpose but I can file it down with a hand file and it will be obscured by the stem and cap.

The steerer on my old Ridley was cut really poorly but still rode fine because, while ugly, it wasn't so uneven that if affected the ability to tighten the stem or headset.

I know a lot of guys are on the far end of the anti home tools/take it in to the shop side of the spectrum. I get that and I respect that. I probably would because my LBS is amazing, they're just really backed up right now. I also grew up building race cars so hand fabricating metal stuff isn't new and doesn't scare me.

Also, am I the first one to think of this or have you guys used two stems as a saw guide?

Edit: This actually does scare me a little more - I was planning on shoving the star nut down past the cutting point with a mallet and a piece of PVC pipe marked for the exact length I want to push it down. I am a little worried about it getting cocked in there and not being able to straighten it out and put things back together. I have heard of guys doing this with some success and, worst case, I bung it up and have to buy a new star nut and have it installed. Not a big deal, I just don't want the downtime.