mcgurme

Are stem risers such as the "Delta Stem Raiser" strong enough for XC mountain biking (not downhill)? What other options are there for achieving 12 cm of rise or more with a threadless (1") system?

Details:
I'm building up my hardtail Fat Chance Yo Eddy mountain bike after a repaint. She looks sweet. I have some On One Midge bars to put on the bike (these are like the dirt drops, with shallow drops), but I'm having trouble with the fit. The Midges are supposed to be run with the tops of the bars about equal to top of the seat. Trouble is, I'm 6' tall, with somewhat long legs, and I have to use a fairly long seatpost extension on the bike. So I cannot find any threadless stems that give the rise I need to make this comfortable. I have a Delta 1" stem riser that I tried on it, and using that I can get the bars in a near perfect position (without using the full extension it provides). I hate using this for aesthetic and weight reasons... however, comfort needs to win out over aesthetics, since I plan to do some really long rides with the bike (> 12 hours). So my main question as posed above is, are these stem risers safe for cross country use? My LBS told me no. But I have googled and googled, and not found any hints of people having failure problems with these, so I suspect my LBS is just being overly conservative. The riser seems pretty beefy.

If there is another option, I'd love to hear it. The only other option I can come up with is to ditch the handlebars or get a new bike, neither of which I want to do right now.

Thanks in advance,
Morgan

Moose

Nothing wrong with a little seat to handlebar drop, I'd sooner ride with the bars lower than the saddle (lots of folks do) than with a sketchy setup like a riser.

Try it, if you haven't already, you just might like it.

Wordbiker

Another option: Have a custom stem made. With a sweet classic bike like that, I'd say it's worth it.

wethepeople

I would do this, that's one helluva nice bike you're building.

mcgurme

Hi,
Yes, custom is a good option, definitely. Do you have any ideas on who might be able/willing to build a wicked long stem in, like, a 60 degree rise (I measured it, and that's about what I'd need!).

Another alternative I've contemplated is that I've got a brand new Nitto Dirt Drop quill stem that would easily get the right position. So I was thinking if/when I had time, I might try to figure out how to make this quill work with the threadless setup (or, convert to threaded, but that would mean selling my king pink headset...).

mcgurme

Yeah, the problem is it's like 3" of drop, and it puts a ton of pressure on my wrists - I tried running them low on my full suspension bike. Now that I just turned 40, the wrists (and neck) can't take it anymore... but I'm determined not to let that stop me from doing long rides...

wb 86

I run a very similar set up on an old 4130 rigid GT XC bike and have had no problems. The bike is used weekly on 2 15+ mile trail rides. I set up the stem and riser once, check the bolts before most rides and have yet to see any movement or creaking, etc.

If it helps, I am 5'10" 155lbs and ride rooty, rocky east coast trails at a good clip. I just don't huck this bike on the trails or around town, I ride it like a typical long distance XC bike.

As for better options, this has worked for over a year now, so I stopped looking for other alternatives.

Craig

frankenmike 

A tall riser bar can raise your hands by up to 3-4 inches. That in combination with a high-rise stem is what my friend with neck problems uses. Hope this helps..