Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Bullhorns...

I just bought some Nitto bullhorns off e-bay. One problem...it's a 26.0 diameter. I have a 25.4 stock road style stem and I just bought a vintage Nitto 25.4 stem... so i'm **** outta luck. What should I do? I really want to replace my stock stem and bars. Should I try to sell my stem and get a 26.0 stem somewhere or should I try to sell the Bullhorn bars, or what!? I'm mildly addicted to e-bay and I've spent a considerable sum of money in the past few days...damn, these bullhorns would look sweeeeet on my bike too!

Well this might sound dumb but can u sand or dremel them?

Anybody ever do this?

I'm down to rig them up a little, but sand them...i don't know...I'd hate to ruin a pair of Nitto's...

I say sell your 25.4 stem and get a 26.0 one. Unless otherwise stated, all road stuff will be in 26.0 clamp diameter (unless it's oversize, or specifically stated as 25.4), it's the common standard. That is the downside to Ebay, if you don't know what your doing you can end up wasting money on stuff that doesn't work and you that you can't return.

Put them in the stem and crank. Most likely they will fit just fine. Did this a bunch of times no worries ever. FYI sheldon brown approves of this too.

Put them in the stem and crank. Most likely they will fit just fine. Did this a bunch of times no worries ever. FYI sheldon brown approves of this too.

From Sheldon's site:

If you're shopping for a stem, and are not sure the handlebar size you need, don't guess; measure, or get somebody to measure for you with a proper caliper. If the bars are too skinny for the stem, it is possible, but inelegant to shim the bar with thin metal stock. If in doubt, however, don't take chances, especially with aluminum stems. If you force an aluminum stem to bend to a shape it wasn't made to fit, it may fatigue and crack. If it is going to break, it will break when you are pulling or pushing extra hard on it, and down you'll go. Stem failures are among the most dangerous parts failures there are, and almost always lead to nasty crashes.

... hardly an endorsement.

trackfresh's handlebars are too wide for the stem, not the other way around. It's unlikely he'll be able to just put them in and crank them. I don't think shaving a bar to fit the stem is a great idea. Take your pick, bar or stem and sell the other to get a new one that actually fits....

I just bought some Nitto bullhorns off e-bay. One problem...it's a 26.0 diameter. I have a 25.4 stock road style stem and I just bought a vintage Nitto 25.4 stem... so i'm **** outta luck. What should I do? I really want to replace my stock stem and bars. Should I try to sell my stem and get a 26.0 stem somewhere or should I try to sell the Bullhorn bars, or what!? I'm mildly addicted to e-bay and I've spent a considerable sum of money in the past few days...damn, these bullhorns would look sweeeeet on my bike too!

How about sanding down the inside of the stem? It is only about .3mm thickness you need to shave off. The hard part is to take off the metal uniformly. Try wrapping a sanding paper onto a round rod of approx 1 inch thickness and use it to sand. Aluminum disappears fairly rapidly. Or, if you have a hand drill, you could find a 26mm bit and gently enlarge the hole too, and then sand it down to smooth out the surface. All these solutions require patience and some skill. I say, get another nitto stem.

the stem i have is that kind with removable face plate so you can quickly interchange handlebars. I'm wondering...maybe i could just try putting the new bullhorns in...it's not THAT big of a difference... Or... there are 100's of road stems on ebay for 10-20...maybe just will end up using one of those or selling the bullhorns back.

just give them both to me... that will solve all of your sizing problems

The google adds are suggesting you get a bullhorn or a megaphone. Good advice. Then when you ride your fixie with no brakes you can yell really loud, "Hey, no brakes!"

Wait, now they are recomending laxatives and bicycle pants, some sort of depends bicycle pant?

Oh dear lord. That's it, yell no brakes, then u can be prepared in case of an accident. Either kind.

From Sheldon's site:

If you're shopping for a stem, and are not sure the handlebar size you need, don't guess; measure, or get somebody to measure for you with a proper caliper. If the bars are too skinny for the stem, it is possible, but inelegant to shim the bar with thin metal stock. If in doubt, however, don't take chances, especially with aluminum stems. If you force an aluminum stem to bend to a shape it wasn't made to fit, it may fatigue and crack. If it is going to break, it will break when you are pulling or pushing extra hard on it, and down you'll go. Stem failures are among the most dangerous parts failures there are, and almost always lead to nasty crashes.

... hardly an endorsement.

trackfresh's handlebars are too wide for the stem, not the other way around. It's unlikely he'll be able to just put them in and crank them. I don't think shaving a bar to fit the stem is a great idea. Take your pick, bar or stem and sell the other to get a new one that actually fits....

Guess it depends on the stem. This is also from Shelodon's Site:

"Pop top" type stems use two bolts and a removeable faceplate to hold the handlebar. This offers a number of advantages:

The bars or stem can be swapped without removing tape/grips or control levers.
Since it doesn't work by flexing the aluminum as a single-bolt stem does, they're less fussy about bar diameter, so the same stem can generally be used for 25.4 or 26 mm handlebars.

This is the kind of stem I use.

no no no... give them to me!!!