Need longer 28.6 diameter alloy stem

John Latter said:

Hi,

I've just taken delivery of a new bike & I think the
saddle stem might not be long enough (gotta adjust front
disc brakes before I go for a ride) - can anyone
recommend where I can get a longer 28.6 diameter alloy
stem from please?

What length is required (from bottom of post to saddle
rail)? In-line or layback type?

Some sites to browse:

chainreactioncycles.comchainreactioncycles.comOpen ↗

wiggle.co.ukwiggle.co.ukOpen ↗

parker-international.co.ukcomponents.htmOpen ↗ (if a
road bike one would do)

To increase choice, you could also consider a 25.0 post
with a shim.

~PB

In article <[email hidden]>, John Latter

Quoted message said:

can anyone recommend where I can get a longer 28.6
diameter alloy stem from please?

Longer than ??

--
A T (Sandy) Morton on the Bicycle Island In the Global
Village millport.netmillport.netOpen ↗

John Latter said:

Hi,

I've just taken delivery of a new bike & I think the
saddle stem might not be long enough (gotta adjust front
disc brakes before I go for a ride) - can anyone
recommend where I can get a longer 28.6 diameter alloy
stem from please?

That would be a seatpost, then. Try www.wiggle.co.uk
and remember you need the stem inserted (huhuhuhuh, he
said "inserted"😉 at least an inch below the bottom of
the top tube.

Quoted message said:

Longer than ??

a piece of string.

/coat

d.

Zog The Undeniable said:

That would be a seatpost, then. Try www.wiggle.co.uk and
remember you need the *stem*

Oh hell, now I'm at it.

Pete Biggs said:

John Latter said:

Hi,

I've just taken delivery of a new bike & I think the
saddle stem might not be long enough (gotta adjust front
disc brakes before I go for a ride) - can anyone
recommend where I can get a longer 28.6 diameter alloy
stem from please?

What length is required (from bottom of post to saddle
rail)? In-line or layback type?

Some sites to browse:

chainreactioncycles.comchainreactioncycles.comOpen ↗

wiggle.co.ukwiggle.co.ukOpen ↗

parker-international.co.ukcomponents.htmOpen ↗ (if a
road bike one would do)

To increase choice, you could also consider a 25.0 post
with a shim.

~PB

Thankyou Pete - and to the others who replied 🙂

I'm not very knowledgeable about bikes. The seatpost/stem
which I have at the moment is only about 10 inches long in
total (ie the whole thing - inc. the bit which narrows to
take the saddle 'fixing'😉. It's on the minimum insertion
mark now but I think I'm gonna need a longer one when I
eventually adjust it for an optimum setting.

I intend to do this after I've sorted out the front disc
brake. No-one's talking to me on another thread where I
asked for advice on adjusting disc brakes so I would like to
repeat the request here.

The bike I have (which arrived this morning) is a Jeep
Comanche from the Argos catologue. I've never seen a disc
brake before but when I looked at it (peering down from
over the top of the handlebars) I could see the left hand
pad but nothing of the right hand pad so that applying the
brake looked as if it would catch the housing on the
righthand side.

I stuck an allen key behind the spokes to adjust the most
obvious nut determining how far the rh pad extrudes but it
came out at an angle so that when I applied the brakes it
'bent' the disc to the right (only slightly of course) and I
dunno if this is normal.

Don't know much at all really, which is why I would
appreciate any help.

Regards,

--

John Latter

Model of an Internal Evolutionary Mechanism (based on an
extension to homeostasis) linking Stationary-Phase Mutations
to the Baldwin Effect.
members.aol.comTEM.htmlOpen ↗

'Where Darwin meets Lamarck?' Discussion Egroup
groups.yahoo.comevomechOpen ↗

John Latter said:

I'm not very knowledgeable about bikes. The seatpost/stem
which I have at the moment is only about 10 inches long in
total (ie the whole thing - inc. the bit which narrows to
take the saddle 'fixing'😉.

So that's about 250mm......

Quoted message said:

It's on the minimum insertion mark now but I think I'm
gonna need a longer one when I eventually adjust it for an
optimum setting.

340 or 350 mm seatposts are common enough. One of those
should do you.

Quoted message said:

I intend to do this after I've sorted out the front disc
brake. No-one's talking to me on another thread where I
asked for advice on adjusting disc brakes so I would like
to repeat the request here.

/snip

Quoted message said:

Don't know much at all really, which is why I would
appreciate any help.

Sorry I don't know anything worth knowing about disc brakes.
Try the rec.bicycles.tech newsgroup (and mountain biking
ones) if you get no advice here. Give people a bit of a
chance first, though.

~PB

"John Latter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'm not very knowledgeable about bikes.

Which is why you should have asked about 'em here before
purchase and/or buy from a reputable Local Bike Shop (for
local people).

Quoted message said:

I intend to do this after I've sorted out the front disc
brake. No-one's talking to me on another thread where I
asked for advice on adjusting disc brakes so I would like
to repeat the request here.

You'd have to be more specific about the make and model of
brake, I did see your earlier post but can't answer your
query. Decent disc brakes come with service instructions
and/or online resources provided by the manufacturer.

Quoted message said:

The bike I have (which arrived this morning) is a Jeep
Comanche from the Argos catologue.

Which is why things are going wrong for you, had you
bought from a LBS they should have adjusted the brakes
before you rode off, these are safety critical (bleedin'
obvious) components, would you buy a new car and expect to
have to adjust the brakes, or a new VCR and expect to
adjust the head? Also a decent LBS would have made sure
it's the right size so the seat post, stem, whatever
question wouldn't arise.

If the brakes don't work send the bloody thing back to
Argos, it's not fit for the purpose sold for and is in fact
dangerous. Then when you get your money back seek a little
more knowledge and a decent shop then buy a bike with only
front suspension and ordinary rim (Vee or linear pull, same
thing different terminology) brakes.

Why? you may ask. Well because good rear suspension is
expensive so on a £250 bike you'll get something that's
heavy, perhaps unreliable and definately with poor
performance, other components will be downgraded to pay for
the naff rear sus. Mtb disc brakes come into their own when
the going gets wet and downhills severe. For this purpose
they need to be ultra reliable and very effective, anything
less defeats the object. Rim brakes are more than adequate
for fairer weather use on bridleways, tow-paths and similar
and good rim brakes will out-perform poor disc brakes and
prove more reliable, they just might not look so fashionable
to the uninitiated.

Sorry to be the one to tell you you are in the altogether
but someone has to
:-)
--
Regards, Pete

Pete Biggs said:

John Latter said:

I'm not very knowledgeable about bikes. The seatpost/stem
which I have at the moment is only about 10 inches long
in total (ie the whole thing - inc. the bit which narrows
to take the saddle 'fixing'😉.

So that's about 250mm......

Quoted message said:

It's on the minimum insertion mark now but I think I'm
gonna need a longer one when I eventually adjust it for
an optimum setting.

340 or 350 mm seatposts are common enough. One of those
should do you.

Quoted message said:

I intend to do this after I've sorted out the front disc
brake. No-one's talking to me on another thread where I
asked for advice on adjusting disc brakes so I would like
to repeat the request here.

/snip

Quoted message said:

Don't know much at all really, which is why I would
appreciate any help.

Sorry I don't know anything worth knowing about disc
brakes. Try the rec.bicycles.tech newsgroup (and mountain
biking ones) if you get no advice here. Give people a bit
of a chance first, though.

~PB

Thanks Pete 🙂

--

John Latter

Model of an Internal Evolutionary Mechanism (based on an
extension to homeostasis) linking Stationary-Phase Mutations
to the Baldwin Effect.
members.aol.comTEM.htmlOpen ↗

'Where Darwin meets Lamarck?' Discussion Egroup
groups.yahoo.comevomechOpen ↗

Peter B said:

"John Latter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'm not very knowledgeable about bikes.

Which is why you should have asked about 'em here before
purchase and/or buy from a reputable Local Bike Shop (for
local people).

Quoted message said:

I intend to do this after I've sorted out the front disc
brake. No-one's talking to me on another thread where I
asked for advice on adjusting disc brakes so I would like
to repeat the request here.

You'd have to be more specific about the make and model of
brake, I did see your earlier post but can't answer your
query. Decent disc brakes come with service instructions
and/or online resources provided by the manufacturer.

Quoted message said:

The bike I have (which arrived this morning) is a Jeep
Comanche from the Argos catologue.

Which is why things are going wrong for you, had you
bought from a LBS they should have adjusted the brakes
before you rode off, these are safety critical (bleedin'
obvious) components, would you buy a new car and expect to
have to adjust the brakes, or a new VCR and expect to
adjust the head? Also a decent LBS would have made sure
it's the right size so the seat post, stem, whatever
question wouldn't arise.

If the brakes don't work send the bloody thing back to
Argos, it's not fit for the purpose sold for and is in fact
dangerous. Then when you get your money back seek a little
more knowledge and a decent shop then buy a bike with only
front suspension and ordinary rim (Vee or linear pull, same
thing different terminology) brakes.

Why? you may ask. Well because good rear suspension is
expensive so on a £250 bike you'll get something that's
heavy, perhaps unreliable and definately with poor
performance, other components will be downgraded to pay for
the naff rear sus. Mtb disc brakes come into their own when
the going gets wet and downhills severe. For this purpose
they need to be ultra reliable and very effective, anything
less defeats the object. Rim brakes are more than adequate
for fairer weather use on bridleways, tow-paths and similar
and good rim brakes will out-perform poor disc brakes and
prove more reliable, they just might not look so
fashionable to the uninitiated.

Sorry to be the one to tell you you are in the altogether
but someone has to
:-)

Thanks for the advice and info Pete - Argos have a good
policy on replacing bikes but they're not very 'good' when
it comes to problems like this one.

I feel a bit fed up at the moment - I had bought a Boss
Reflex from them but had to replace it TWICE cos of bottom
bracket problems. They gave me a refund and so I got this
Jeep Comanche.

The disc brake system is made by Artek and is type
APSE ADC-4.2

I went to the Artek site at

apse.com.twadc3.htmlOpen ↗

which is about the ADC-3 and all it says about the ADC-4*
series is that its coming soon!

I've done some adjustments and now when I spin the wheel the
rotor catches slightly with one of the pads every 2 or 3
revolutions of the wheel - I dunno if it'll bed in or what.

As I said in my original post, the rotor is bent very
slightly to the right when applying the brake - do you know
if this is normal?

Regards,

--

John Latter

Model of an Internal Evolutionary Mechanism (based on an
extension to homeostasis) linking Stationary-Phase Mutations
to the Baldwin Effect.
members.aol.comTEM.htmlOpen ↗

'Where Darwin meets Lamarck?' Discussion Egroup
groups.yahoo.comevomechOpen ↗

[email hidden] schreef ...

Quoted message said:

Thanks for the advice and info Pete - Argos have a good
policy on replacing bikes but they're not very 'good' when
it comes to problems like this one.

I must support others who suggested you should have bought a
bike at a proper bike shop.

Quoted message said:

I feel a bit fed up at the moment - I had bought a Boss
Reflex from them but had to replace it TWICE cos of bottom
bracket problems. They gave me a refund and so I got this
Jeep Comanche.

The disc brake system is made by Artek and is type
APSE ADC-4.2

I went to the Artek site at

apse.com.twadc3.htmlOpen ↗

which is about the ADC-3 and all it says about the ADC-4*
series is that its coming soon!

I've done some adjustments and now when I spin the wheel
the rotor catches slightly with one of the pads every 2
or 3 revolutions of the wheel - I dunno if it'll bed in
or what.

As I said in my original post, the rotor is bent very
slightly to the right when applying the brake - do you
know if this is normal?

Probably, you have a type of disc brake with one fixed brake
pad (the right one) and one moving one (the left one). When
you brake, the left pad will push the rotor towards the
right pad. And disc brakes such as yours do tend to make
noises, for example when the rotor catches the brake pad.
It'll bed in somewhat but it's a well-known problem with
this type of brakes.

--
Regards, Marten

Marten Hoffmann said:

[email hidden] schreef ...

Quoted message said:

Thanks for the advice and info Pete - Argos have a good
policy on replacing bikes but they're not very 'good'
when it comes to problems like this one.

I must support others who suggested you should have bought
a bike at a proper bike shop.

Quoted message said:

I feel a bit fed up at the moment - I had bought a Boss
Reflex from them but had to replace it TWICE cos of
bottom bracket problems. They gave me a refund and so I
got this Jeep Comanche.

The disc brake system is made by Artek and is type APSE
ADC-4.2

I went to the Artek site at

apse.com.twadc3.htmlOpen ↗

which is about the ADC-3 and all it says about the ADC-4*
series is that its coming soon!

I've done some adjustments and now when I spin the wheel
the rotor catches slightly with one of the pads every 2
or 3 revolutions of the wheel - I dunno if it'll bed in
or what.

As I said in my original post, the rotor is bent very
slightly to the right when applying the brake - do you
know if this is normal?

Probably, you have a type of disc brake with one fixed
brake pad (the right one) and one moving one (the left
one). When you brake, the left pad will push the rotor
towards the right pad. And disc brakes such as yours do
tend to make noises, for example when the rotor catches the
brake pad. It'll bed in somewhat but it's a well-known
problem with this type of brakes.

Thankyou Marten - you've given the kind of perspective
that I needed!

The system I have does seem to be of the 'one fixed pad/one
moving' variety. I'm well aware of my ignorance about bikes
(although I do learn from the info given by more experienced
people) so if what I'm observing isn't too unusual then
maybe I'll actually ride the bike today!

Having said that, a chap called Simon Brooke said the
following in the "any info on adjusting front disc brakes":

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

[Me:] Also, when I apply the brakes the rotor is bent
very slightly to the right - do you know if this is
normal?

[Simon:] No, very abnormal indeed. But a set of decent
quality disk brakes costs more than you spent on your whole
bike, so this probably isn't surprising. I know we keep
going on about it on this group but ultra-el-cheapo full
suspension bikes (with or without el cheapo disk brakes)
are *not* bargains.

Suspension that's any good is inherently not cheap. Not
because anyone's gouging anything but because the
engineering standards required are pretty high, and to get
adequately damped travel in an assembly that is light
enough for pushbike use requires either some very fine
engineering or some moderately exotic materials (or both).
Disk brake systems are similar.

If you've only got a couple of hundred pounds to spend on a
bike look carefully at what's available locally second
hand, and failing that look at simple bikes with no
suspension and conventional brakes from reputable people
like the Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op.

I can see what he's saying but from what you & another chap
have said maybe the rotor movement isn't so 'abnormal' -
anyway I'm going to persevere with this Argos bike for the
time being.

One thing is for sure though, the next time I buy a bike
(or if this one doesn't work out) then it'll be from a
local shop!

Thanks again for your help!

--

John Latter

Model of an Internal Evolutionary Mechanism (based on an
extension to homeostasis) linking Stationary-Phase Mutations
to the Baldwin Effect.
members.aol.comTEM.htmlOpen ↗

'Where Darwin meets Lamarck?' Discussion Egroup
groups.yahoo.comevomechOpen ↗

John Latter <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I can see what he's saying but from what you & another
chap have said maybe the rotor movement isn't so
'abnormal' - anyway I'm going to persevere with this Argos
bike for the time being.

It may be as designed, but if so that sounds like a bloody
awful design to me. Interestingly Argos' catalogue page at
makeashorterlink.commakeashorterlink.comOpen ↗

or (full link)

et%2FSearch%3FstoreId%3D10001%26catalogId%3D651%26langId%3D-
1%26go.x%3D4%26go.y%3D11%26searchTerms%3D330%2F3113&langId=-
1&searchTerms=330%2F3113&referrer=COJUN&AID=5590799&storeId-
=10001&go.y=11

shows a bike with disk brakes but the description says
"Powerful V style alloy linear brake system with alloy
levers." So you could probably get them to take it back on
the grounds that it's not as described.

You might also want to check out the story on front disk
brakes used with quick release levers by googling in this
group for the string: disk brake qr , or maybe have a look
at russ-appeal.org.ukruss-appeal.org.ukOpen ↗
. At the very least make sure you check regularly that the
quick release lever is tight and the axle is not moving in
the dropout.

Quoted message said:

One thing is for sure though, the next time I buy a bike
(or if this one doesn't work out) then it'll be from a
local shop!

The LBS is not just a place to buy a bicycle but, at
its best, a valuable resource of knowledgeable cycling
enthusiasts who can match you perfectly to the
equipment you need.

--
Dave...

(Dave Kahn) said:

John Latter <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I can see what he's saying but from what you & another
chap have said maybe the rotor movement isn't so
'abnormal' - anyway I'm going to persevere with this
Argos bike for the time being.

It may be as designed, but if so that sounds like a bloody
awful design to me. Interestingly Argos' catalogue page at
makeashorterlink.commakeashorterlink.comOpen ↗

or (full link)

t%2FSearch%3FstoreId%3D10001%26catalogId%3D651%26langId%3D-
%26go.x%3D4%26go.y%3D11%26searchTerms%3D330%2F3113&langId=-
1&searchTerms=330%2F3113&referrer=COJUN&AID=5590799&storeI-
d=10001&go.y=11

shows a bike with disk brakes but the description says
"Powerful V style alloy linear brake system with alloy
levers." So you could probably get them to take it back on
the grounds that it's not as described.

You might also want to check out the story on front disk
brakes used with quick release levers by googling in this
group for the string: disk brake qr , or maybe have a look
at russ-appeal.org.ukruss-appeal.org.ukOpen ↗
. At the very least make sure you check regularly that the
quick release lever is tight and the axle is not moving
in the dropout.

Quoted message said:

One thing is for sure though, the next time I buy a bike
(or if this one doesn't work out) then it'll be from a
local shop!

The LBS is not just a place to buy a bicycle but, at its
best, a valuable resource of knowledgeable cycling
enthusiasts who can match you perfectly to the equipment
you need.

Hi Dave,

Just a quick note cos I'm pushed for time4 - the bike
doesn't have quick-release on the front wheel despite the
Argos blurb saying otherwise (one problem I won't have then)
& it has been the friendliness & knowledge of the Halfords
staff which I have grown to appreciate.

--

John Latter

Model of an Internal Evolutionary Mechanism (based on an
extension to homeostasis) linking Stationary-Phase Mutations
to the Baldwin Effect.
members.aol.comTEM.htmlOpen ↗

'Where Darwin meets Lamarck?' Discussion Egroup
groups.yahoo.comevomechOpen ↗

"John Latter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Just a quick note cos I'm pushed for time4 - the bike
doesn't have quick-release on the front wheel despite
the Argos blurb saying otherwise (one problem I won't
have then)

Steady John, don't confuse a front wheel held in with nuts
with a front wheel that has a through axle like a motorbike.
At least with a QR you may periodically remove the wheel,
because you can easily, so in effect may re-tighten it by
default. With nuts you may fit and forget but if a QR can
come loose so can nuts, do check them before every ride.
--
Regards, Pete

On Thu, 15 Apr 2004 20:39:16 +0100, John Latter <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Just a quick note cos I'm pushed for time4 - the bike
doesn't have quick-release on the front wheel despite
the Argos blurb saying otherwise (one problem I won't
have then)

So that makes 2 points on which it is not as described. :-(

Quoted message said:

& it has been the friendliness & knowledge of the Halfords
staff which I have grown to appreciate.

You will also encounter some strong anti-Halfords feeling in
here. They do sell some poor bikes, but they also sell some
decent ones and if you are lucky with your branch they have
some good bike staff too.

--
Dave...

Get a bicycle. You will not regret it. If you live. -
Mark Twain

On Thu, 15 Apr 2004 20:39:16 +0100, John Latter <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Just a quick note cos I'm pushed for time4 - the bike
doesn't have quick-release on the front wheel despite
the Argos blurb saying otherwise (one problem I won't
have then)

So that makes 2 points on which it is not as described. :-(

Quoted message said:

& it has been the friendliness & knowledge of the Halfords
staff which I have grown to appreciate.

You will also encounter some strong anti-Halfords feeling in
here. They do sell some poor bikes, but they also sell some
decent ones and if you are lucky with your branch they have
some good bike staff too.

--
Dave...

Get a bicycle. You will not regret it. If you live. -
Mark Twain

Peter B said:

"John Latter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Just a quick note cos I'm pushed for time4 - the bike
doesn't have quick-release on the front wheel despite
the Argos blurb saying otherwise (one problem I won't
have then)

Steady John, don't confuse a front wheel held in with nuts
with a front wheel that has a through axle like a
motorbike. At least with a QR you may periodically remove
the wheel, because you can easily, so in effect may re-
tighten it by default. With nuts you may fit and forget but
if a QR can come loose so can nuts, do check them before
every ride.

Okey-doke!

--

John Latter

Model of an Internal Evolutionary Mechanism (based on an
extension to homeostasis) linking Stationary-Phase Mutations
to the Baldwin Effect.
members.aol.comTEM.htmlOpen ↗

'Where Darwin meets Lamarck?' Discussion Egroup
groups.yahoo.comevomechOpen ↗

On Thu, 15 Apr 2004 22:03:29 +0100, Dave Kahn <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

John Latter said:

Just a quick note cos I'm pushed for time4 - the bike
doesn't have quick-release on the front wheel despite
the Argos blurb saying otherwise (one problem I won't
have then)

So that makes 2 points on which it is not as described. :-(

Quoted message said:

& it has been the friendliness & knowledge of the
Halfords staff which I have grown to appreciate.

You will also encounter some strong anti-Halfords feeling
in here. They do sell some poor bikes, but they also sell
some decent ones and if you are lucky with your branch they
have some good bike staff too.

It'll probably be awhile before I do buy a new bike & I'll
make sure I get some advice before I do though. Although I
may not know much about bikes I have been impressed by home
friendly & helpful the Halfords staff are - I must be one of
the lucky ones then!

--

John Latter

Model of an Internal Evolutionary Mechanism (based on an
extension to homeostasis) linking Stationary-Phase Mutations
to the Baldwin Effect.
members.aol.comTEM.htmlOpen ↗

'Where Darwin meets Lamarck?' Discussion Egroup
groups.yahoo.comevomechOpen ↗