Dylansbob 

Big thanks to pcb for the deal on some Nitto technomic stems. I now can make the most of the mystery track frame from last month. I bought a nos Paramount PDG/Tange unicrown fork for it to solve the incorrect headset issue it had when it came home. Still haven't decided for sure if I may switch over to a moustache bar instead, but the wide VO rando bars feel pretty good.


Kinda silly looking

Need to lengthen the brake housing.... and yes the bars were all scratched up when I got them

Obligatory 3/4 rear view.


Since this forum is so good for sharing photos, let's see some more too small bikes with tall stems.

Road Fan

Nice! The giraffe effect is not so prominent. Another problem is that small frames have shorter head tubes and steer tubes, and there's a limit to how far dow you can install a very tall stem like the older Technomics. The use of wedge clamps rather than cone clamps also limits insertion depth. Most forks have a significant internal butt to reinforce stiffness where the fork crown is brazed on

For me the bigger problem in fixing fit problems, is to move the saddle farther back, not to move the bars farther forward. This is especially a problem with Brooks saddles like the B17, Professional, and Swallow (less so with the Swallow). With these the saddle rails do not allow a lot of slam. For the Swallow the rail shape is a little better than the B17, and the widest part of the saddle (where the sit bones belong) is closer to the rear of the cantle than for the B17 or the Pro. Small frames often have a fairly steep (74 degrees to 75.5 degrees) seat tube, where some vintage bikes like my 1952 Rudge Aero Special have a set tube of 70 degrees. This places the saddle up to 2 ½ inches farther back from the BB, assuming the same seat post is used on both bikes. With the modern trend away from set-back seat posts, it's even worse with a straight post compared to a more traditional modern post like the Campy Record Two-bolt or the SR LaPrade. For me, sometimes even a high-setback post like the Nitto S-84, does not give enough setback on a 52 cm racing frame.

I really like the way road frames from 1970 through 2010 or so ride and respond, but the saddle positioning does not always work.

With this aspect resolved I can almost always reduce excess reach to the hoods or saddle to bar drop with one of the variants on Technomic or other tall stems, or just a road stem with longer or shorter extension..

merziac

Too small is debatable, but even so I don't like to bend over much, never raced and I don't ride very hard in general so I get a lot ofwith my setups.

Turns out some are on the small side so......

You get the idea.

Dylansbob 

Did Strawberry do that stem also?

I like the stepped effect of extended headtube, extra headset spacers, and quill extension to get your altitude.

merziac

@Dylansbob

It's a VO Grand Cru stem and they're pretty long like the Techno's. The tall HT was part of the fitting and I decided not to cut the steerer and go with the spacer(s) to have the maximum to work with hoping the aesthetic would work out as it did, love it when a plan comes together.

The build thread is here with the story and all the gory details, encourage you to have a look.

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...ou-decide.html

Pompiere

Soma Sutra works well too. They are about 1 inch shorter than the Technomic.

Deal4Fuji

A Chromo quill stem extender will also do the job

Dylansbob 

How are those? I'd heard they are a bit wobbly, although never firsthand.

I've seen them in old catalogs and very occasionally online, but I don't think I've ever actually seen one in person.

Deal4Fuji

The 1st time I used it it wasn't torqued tight enough and I felt some slippage. Since tightening it down more I haven't had any issues, I also have reflective tape covering the black paint which might help if it were to loosen again. I wish they made them in a metallic finish. I've got two in use.

IsleRide

I use Technomic and Gran Compe ENE stems on my perfect fitting bikes. As I've aged they've allowed me to keep riding the drop bars that I prefer.

Classtime 

Not Nitto

Wildwood 

If the bike doesn't fit you........

1. List it in the BF threads for trading/selling
2. Get a bike that fits
3. Ignore threads advising otherwise



Who has the signature...''Life is too short to ride crappy bikes."

I mean ..... Really Folks
Like = My shoes don't fit, how can I mod them to hike all day?

bark_eater 

A Technomic on a 23" frame is just a touch to long for me . I've pondered cutting an inch off..

79pmooney

Another option, although not the cheapest - have exactly the stem you want custom made. My issue isn't height, it's length. I'm still flexible enough to ride nearly the racing position I used a million years ago and still as aerodynamic as a large leaf and even more underpowered than I was 40 years ago. So, if I want my bars in a place to allow me to ride upwind with a low back and not have to bend my arms 90 degrees for the next few hours, I need stems/bikes that put my bars far forward. I've had two custom bikes made around 120mm and 130mm stems but older stock bikes? If I really want to make most of them work well for me, I need stems of 155mm and up.

25 years ago I had a local framebuilder (Matt Houke in Seattle who for a spell was in-house framebuilder for R&E in Seattle) build me a "traditional" -17 180mm! quill stem of tigged steel. A revelation! Comfort in hills on my commuter fix gear that I didn't think was possible. Later I moved to Portland, needed another stem, asked then Bike Gallery's fit guru Michael Sylvester who he would recommend to make me one. Dave Levy of TiCycles who had recently moved his outfit from Seattle to Portland.

Dave built me another 180 similar to my first, just a lot sexier. That started a relationship that is still going. Since then he has built me: a 175 -22 degree quill, a 155 -27 degree quill, a titanium 120 -17 threadless for my custom - just because. (I set the custom up initially with a Ritchie stem. This new one does EXACTLY the same thing. Slightly sexier.) Also that custom bike, a custom fix gear (that sports on different days a Cinelli 135 or a Nitto Pearl 13). Two 60mm setback seatposts that allow ti seat rails to be centered for both no breakage and lots of adjustment. Dave uses the Thompson hardware so adjustment is a joy.

Yes. This stuff isn't cheap. It also seems to last. A lot of it now has much of 20,000 miles and I have yet to have an issue. The stems are English 22.2 and the posts 27.2 so there are lots of frames out there I can use them on. For me - fit rules! And these multi-hundred dollar stems/posts are far cheaper than custom frames! Plus those 180 stems are really hard to find on the open market. Seatposts are easier. The SR? mountain bike adjustable setback posts, MKE-100s(?) but finding other than 26.8 diameter is a challenge. And sexy? No.