powerband

Hi,

I have a Cinelli bar (Criterium) and a Cinelli stem (XA), but the stem closure is slightly bigger than the diameter of the bar. I had thought they were both 26 mm, but not so. Now, I don't know if the bar is 25.4, or if the stem is 26.55. But that doesn't matter for what I want to do:

I would like to cut a piece of rubber strip from an old inner tube and use that as a shim. Bad idea?

Thank you for any help or even suggestion!

powerband

So, after further investigating, I discovered that the XA stem has a clamp diameter of 26.4. Bummer. My Cinelli bar is 26. How does one make this work?

bonechiller

Just cut a small piece from a soda or beer can and use that. I raced track all this season with a piece small piece of Dr. Pepper holding my bars in place, and it worked great.

powerband

Fantastic! Thanks -- I'll give that a try.
PBR can?

alanbikehouston

I've heard lots of folks suggest the beer can method. Some guys say that it may be essential to drink an entire case of beer, just to find the "perfect" can.

powerband

That can be done. These have been the absolute best answers a man can receive.

RobbieTunes

We are always happy to help.
And if you still can't find that perfect beer can...... we're there.

powerband

In a way, I hope to not find it so easily.

Road Fan

We can help ...

Road Fan

Ya know, the real problem here is Cinelli used ot make all their stems and all their bars in 26.4, making for a perfect fit. Ambrosio followed suit for a while, too. When all the new bars came to the market with 26.0, Cinelli eventuallhy followed that new style. So you have traditional Cinelli stem and a more modern (late '80s?) Cinelli bar.

powerband

Yep, the Cinelli bar was new old stock. It came straight from the factory in Italy, but was laying around for years (probably since the 80s). The Cinelli stem was used, and won from ebay for 26 bucks.

caloso

I have an Ambrosio stem that I had to shim to make 26.0 bars fit. I use a diet soda can for weight savings.

txvintage

Genious.