Originally Posted by DRietz

Here's my piece of advice. Spend the $20 and buy yourself the most useful tool in any mechanic's arsenal: a stem and seatpost spreader.

http://www.mtnbikes.net/cal-vanstemspreader.aspx

This tool saves my butt on a bikely basis, keeping all of the show bikes free of unsightly gashes, and it DEFINITELY helped even on my modern seatpost from MOOTS.