Bicycle Mechanics - oversized road bar in a "regular" stem?

is it possible to fit an oversized road bar (31.8 mm) in a "regular" stem with a removable face plate?

It should be do-able, but the bar needs to be 26mm in the clamp area. I imagine they make bars like that, I recently bought a wing bar for my new bike that works with a 26mm clamp....

B'Dog

is it possible to fit an oversized road bar (31.8 mm) in a "regular" stem with a removable face plate?

If by "regular" you mean a 26.0mm clamp diameter, then the answer is "not safely".

is it possible to fit an oversized road bar (31.8 mm) in a "regular" stem with a removable face plate?

What you are really asking is: Is it possible to force a 31.8mm tube through a 26.0mm hole? The answer is that if you are strong enough you can do it but in the process you are going to crush and totally ruin your expensive, new handlebar. The clamp diameter of your handlebar and stem have to match within a couple of tenths of a millimeter.

thanks all.

If you're really adamant about doing this, you can construct a reducer shim. Basically you'll need a block of metal split in half that is machined to fit into a 26.0mm opening on the outside for one end and has a 31.8mm opening on the inside. You will also need to drill properly placed holes to allow the cap bolts to fit through and use longer versions of those bolts. Note that this will push your bars out a little so you will want to slightly undersize your stem length. Syntace has this sort of shim system for mounting their 26.0mm compatible aerobars onto 31.8mm handlebars.
http://www.gottaridebikes.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/31.8kit.jpg

was only asking because I wasnʻt sure what size stem my LBS (which tends to cut corners) put on my bike when they first built it up. the stem, whem properly tightened, shows perhaps 1.5 mm of bolt threading.

was only asking because I wasnʻt sure what size stem my LBS (which tends to cut corners) put on my bike when they first built it up. the stem, whem properly tightened, shows perhaps 1.5 mm of bolt threading.
As previously mentioned, probably not. You should have told us the scenario in your original post. It would have kept us from thinking you were crazy. Which is something my wife accuses me of all the time. Good luck.

Tim

I've seen 26.0mm bars stuffed into a 25.4mm stem. And it mangles them. And that's just 0.6mm. So, your LBS couldn't cut this sort of corner. But if you don't trust them, this is at least a valid question.

As a Marine Gunnery Sergeant told me a long time ago "Boy, you ain't gonna put 10 pound of sh*t in a 5 pound bag." I'm sure you could ghetto it somewhat, but just get the proper stem/bar combo for safety.