Longer steerer or stem raiser?

[jorgemartin]

What should I do? Cut the steerer on my new fork and use a stem raiser? or leave the steerer as is and use spacers? Does it make a difference?
Thanks

 

[Banjo]

Personally I would use spacers, it will look better and be simpler/cheaper/lighter and achieve the same thing.

IMHO stem raisers are ugly things

 

[TheDoctor]

Wot Banjo said. Spacers are cheap, stem raisers are fugly. IMHO...

 

[snailracer]

Depends on how high you want to raise the bars, and whether your steerer is long enough to give that rise.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

an excessively long steerer tube, with bars perched atop it, may impose stresses on your aheadset bearings that they are not designed to bear.

 

[Banjo]

an excessively long steerer tube, with bars perched atop it, may impose stresses on your aheadset bearings that they are not designed to bear.

That would apply equally wether he uses spacers or cuts the steerer and adds a stem raiser. Cutting it shorter just to make it longer with a raiser seems pointless to me.

 

[jorgemartin]

Greg, what's an excessive tube length? and does the stress apply if you use a stem raiser? cheers

 

[Banjo]

I have seen lots of bikes with 2 or 3 inches in spacers and several with extenders giving even more height.

How high are you trying to go?

 

[GrumpyGregry]

and what is your steerer made of? (steel, aluminium alloy, carbon)

 

[jorgemartin]

A 3 inch extension would be spot on. THe steerer is made of steel.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

75mm? Well, it is outside the aheadset specs by about 25mm, but isn't crazy.

 

[mickle]

You can use as much steerer as you like with no ill effects. It's no different to slinging a high rise bar with an upright stem.

Mrs Mickle's Thorn Raven tandem has a good six inches of spaced out steerer showing. Snot a problem.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

You can use as much steerer as you like with no ill effects. It's no different to slinging a high rise bar with an upright stem.

Mrs Mickle's Thorn Raven tandem has a good six inches of spaced out steerer showing. Snot a problem.

depends on how she/you ride.

Snot a problem....... yet.

 

[MacB]

well I've deliberately gone for longer head tubes to avoid exposed steerer and lots of spacers. This is based on reading up on the web and indications that the additional steerer length is better enclosed within HT and supported at either end by bearings.

This is not based on personal engineering know how, just what I've taken from my layman research. But you can find plenty in the Mickle camp that say it makes no difference.

 

[mickle]

depends on how she/you ride.

Care to elaborate?

Head tube length will make a difference - the further the headset bearing races are from each other the lower the load on them. But there's bugger all in it.

Two feet of steerer with spacers or two feet of hi-rise chopper bar - if the bars are in the same place (and all other things being equal) the loading on the headset bearings will be exactly the same.