stem alignement

Francesco Devittori said:

Hi everybody! My question is simple but I didn't find any answer on the net: how do you make sure
an ahead stem is well aligned (i.e. it's perfectly 0° with the wheel)?

If it looks right, it's good enough. You can still ride a bike with a visibly wonky stem, so you
won't crash if it's half a degree out.

Francesco Devittori
<[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Hi everybody! My question is simple but I didn't find any answer on the net: how do you make sure
an ahead stem is well aligned (i.e. it's perfectly 0° with the wheel)?

Simple.

Just hold the handlebars perfectly straight while riding. If you hit anything on either side of the
road, your stem is out of alignment.

Mark Hickey Habanero Cycles habcycles.comhabcycles.comOpen ↗ Home of the $695 ti frame

Quoted message said:

Just hold the handlebars perfectly straight while riding. If you hit anything on either side of
the road, your stem is out of alignment.

:-)

Quoted message said:

If it looks right, it's good enough. You can still ride a bike with a visibly wonky stem, so you
won't crash if it's half a degree out.

thanks!

Francesco Devittori queried:

Quoted message said:

=20

Quoted message said:

...how do you make sure an ahead stem is well aligned=20
(i.e. it's perfectly 0=B0 with the wheel)?

=20

Zog The Undeniable replied:

Quoted message said:

=20
If it looks right, it's good enough. You can still ride a bike with a =

Quoted message said:

visibly wonky stem, so you won't crash if it's half a degree out.

I'm with Zog, undeniably. I'll add that I've even found cases where=20 it's _beneficial_ to have it
slightly askew, mainly for riders with=20 unequal arm lengths.

For getting the stem as straight as possible, I've found it helpful to=20 turn the bars (and fork)
about 45 degrees sideways to judge the=20 perpendicularity of the bars to the wheel.

If you do it with the wheel straight ahead, the wheel may not be=20 _exactly_ straight ahead, and
you may wind up adding small errors=20 together by aligning the bars with the frame. Turning the
wheel clearly =

sideways gets the frame out of the picture.

Also, close one eye and look straight down with the other, this will=20 eliminate parralax issues.

Sheldon "Straight Ahead" Brown +------------------------------------------------------------+
| A custom loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, | harmful to the brain, dangerous to the
| lungs, and in the | black, stinking fume thereof, nearest resembling the | horrible Stygian
| smoke of the pit that is bottomless. |
| |
| Herein is not only a great vanity, but a great contempt | of God's good gifts, that the
| sweetness of man's | breath, being a good gift of God, should be willfully | corrupted by this
| stinking smoke. | --King James I of England and VI of Scotland |
+------------------------------------------------------------+ Harris Cyclery, West Newton,
Massachusetts Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041 harriscyclery.comharriscyclery.comOpen ↗ Hard-to-find parts
shipped Worldwide captainbike.comcaptainbike.comOpen ↗ sheldonbrown.comsheldonbrown.comOpen ↗

Francesco Devittori said:

Hi everybody! My question is simple but I didn't find any answer on the net: how do you make sure
an ahead stem is well aligned (i.e. it's perfectly 0° with the wheel)?

Turn the wheel so it is oblique to the top tube, then stand over it and sight to the front tire
with one eye.

Is that controversial? How else could it be done?

--
Andrew Muzi www.yellowjersey.org Open every day since 1 April, 1971

Sheldon Brown said:

For getting the stem as straight as possible, I've found it helpful to turn the bars (and fork)
about 45 degrees sideways to judge the perpendicularity of the bars to the wheel.

If you do it with the wheel straight ahead, the wheel may not be _exactly_ straight ahead, and you
may wind up adding small errors together by aligning the bars with the frame. Turning the wheel
clearly sideways gets the frame out of the picture.

I'll try that next time. It is one those things that does my head in. "Are the bars pointing to the
left or are they pointing right?". The answer should be: if you're not sure, it's good enough.

Quoted message said:

Also, close one eye and look straight down with the other, this will eliminate parralax issues.

Yes, but you do get strange looks from passers by when you do it in the street.

~PB

A Muzi <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Francesco Devittori said:

Hi everybody! My question is simple but I didn't find any answer on the net: how do you make
sure an ahead stem is well aligned (i.e. it's perfectly 0° with the wheel)?

Turn the wheel so it is oblique to the top tube, then stand over it and sight to the front tire
with one eye.

Is that controversial? How else could it be done?

Well - I try to align the handelbar with the hub by looking at the handlebar from above, using the
centerpart of the handlebar where there is no tape.

Regards

O. Simonsen

On Sun, 08 Feb 2004 15:51:03 -0600, A Muzi <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

How else could it be done?

I tend to sight down/through the stem, which works well for long (90mm or longer, I guess) stems
that go generally forward more than up (45 degree or less rise).
--
Rick Onanian

Francesco Devittori <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Hi everybody! My question is simple but I didn't find any answer on the net: how do you make sure
an ahead stem is well aligned (i.e. it's perfectly 0° with the wheel)?

TIA

--Francesco

Someone once told me that you can get it perfectly aligned by hanging the bike up from the front
wheel. With the stem bolts loose and the bike hanging off of a hook the stem should be in perfect
alignment with the bike. Just tighten her down and there you have it. I've never done it myself but,
it sound logical.

Kennhy Lee

[email hidden] (Ken) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Someone once told me that you can get it perfectly aligned by hanging the bike up from the front
wheel. With the stem bolts loose and the bike hanging off of a hook the stem should be in perfect
alignment with the bike. Just tighten her down and there you have it. I've never done it myself
but, it sound logical.

Kennhy Lee

Quoted message said:

it sound logical.<

It does? I can't see it, too many variables.

What I usually do, is straddle the bike and then line up the stem, tire, and down tube. Focusing
mainly on the front tire and the stem. If the handlebars are taped or have accessories mounted, they
often won't have a straight line with which to use in a perpendicular comparison. The above works
well for me. Life is Good! Jeff

After thinking about it, I don't the method I mentioned in this thread would work. It would only
result in aligning the fork straight with the frame and would do nothing in getting the stem with
handlebar properly aligned.

Kenny Lee