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- CommentAuthorimtheaceofspades
- CommentTimeJan 21st 2009
heres the deal, when putting my bike together i pulled a noob move and cut my forks a little to short. they only have enough clearance to fit a little less then half way into my stem. this is on my iro that i ride on the street by the way.
so my question is, is there any way to fix this / is it safe to ride for a little while until i can afford to buy new forks or a new stem? -
- CommentAuthorAaron C
- CommentTimeJan 21st 2009
oops.
yea you're kinda screwed. i doubt thats particularly safe. -
- CommentAuthorterrible_one49
- CommentTimeJan 21st 2009 edited
What type of headset do you have?
You could get a super low profile headset like a Crank Bros. that will give you about another 1/2" if you are currently running a FSA or King headset. Also, you could get a lower profile stem like the Thomson X2, which has a pretty low height compared to most other stems.
So, just buy a new headset and stem, and you should be okay. Or buy a new fork, which will be about the same price...but at least this way you can upgrade to a better headset and stem.
I assume it's a threadless headset with a starnut in the fork, right? And there is no more spacers for you to remove?
Usually you only want to fork to sit about 1/8"-1/4" below the top of the stem. -
- CommentAuthorMAVERICK
- CommentTimeJan 21st 2009
find a piece of pipe that fits snug inside and cut the length you need off what you already cut off and slip it on. there are various glues for metals you can get. make sure the stem is on super tight
quick fix! not longterm -
- CommentAuthorJoshua A.C. Newman
- CommentTimeJan 24th 2009
This is closing the barn door after the horse has fucked the cow and the cow is now pregnant with some sort of corsehow, but it's much, much safer to leave it too long, filling in with spacers above the stem until you're sure about the height you want. *Then* cut it.
A lower stack height and stem might solve the issue, too, but you're gonna be pushing it.
If you decide to screw it and just ride, play gentle. No tricks, no curbs. If you ever notice that it's rotated around the steerer, pay attention to the fact and retire it until you can replace the fork. -
- CommentAuthorRideEveryday
- CommentTimeJan 25th 2009
Yeah, this situation to me seems like you won't die immediately, rather it will be a slow, painful death. If there is enouh clamping force that the stem doesn't rotate around the steerer tube, you might be okay. Anyhow, I'd still get a new fork to err on the side of caution.
Perhaps you could call Tony and he might hook you up with a fork, or he may make fun of you for cutting it to short. I'm not too sure which, I don't know him personally. Yeah. New fork, brosef.
I would like to add that you have balls to post that you made a mistake working on your own bike. Sometimes it's kind of a mixed bag on this site, you don't know if people will actually help you or if they will blow you out of the water. Good luck, ride safe! -
- CommentAuthorjam guy
- CommentTimeJan 25th 2009
Posted By: MAVERICKfind a piece of pipe that fits snug inside and cut the length you need off what you already cut off and slip it on. there are various glues for metals you can get. make sure the stem is on super tight
quick fix! not longterm
Worst suggestion ever..... -
- CommentAuthorJoshua A.C. Newman
- CommentTimeJan 28th 2009
RideEveryday, yeah, we all make mistakes. The only way to make stuff better is by making a lot of broken errors. -
- CommentAuthorRideEveryday
- CommentTimeJan 28th 2009
Making mistakes when working on your bike is cool as long as you live to laugh about it later! -
- CommentAuthorMAVERICK
- CommentTimeJan 29th 2009
Posted By: jam guy
how is it a bad suggestion? having something for the stem to grip is worse then having nothing? -
- CommentAuthorJoshua A.C. Newman
- CommentTimeJan 29th 2009
Well, you know, I was thinking about how bad an idea it was myself, then I realized that, since the leverage is so small (we're talking like 1 or 2cm), it might work just fine. It would be a pain in the butt, to be sure, and you'd have to put the star nut in first, but it's not like you're ever going to want to reuse the fork anyway.
This isn't such a bad idea if you can really get things together with some precision. However, since precision is precisely the crux of the matter, I think the fork will wind up totally forked. There's nothing to lose by the experiment, though.
RideEveryday, yeah. I took off without tightening the stem bolts once. I'm glad I lived to tell *that* one.
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