Originally Posted by
RobbieTunes
A question for Joe or Jack:
I'm having trouble with slippage of stems on the steerer.
One can surmise the high end finish may be partially culpritave?
I did not have any carbon paste.
My other ones have some scarring when I grabbed them with channel-locks, etc.
This seems to have them well locked in, but the new one, actually installed per instructions, is clean, shiny, and the stem pivots.
No doubt you have a solution.
Gracias, still, as I'm digging these every ride.... except the one...
Me: Joe
'Jack' is the first half of my very common last name. I forget who first called me JoeJack but it stuck and I like it better than Shoeless.
Interesting issue. How exactly are you getting slipping? Are the bars turning on the steerer while riding or are they just easy to pivot about the steerer in general? I hate to blame the 'other guy' but given how part of my assembly protocol involves clamping a stem to the steerer and applying a hefty amount of torque to it via the stem, I'm inclined to believe the issue is not the finish on the steerer.
The stem you are using is part of an integrated handlebar/stem, correct? Do you, or someone you know, have digital calipers to get a sense of the inner diameter of the stem clamp? I'm guessing it's off by quite a bit, or out of round, or both. Regardless, I'd start with carbon paste then perhaps move on to additional shims to tighten the fit. I can hook you up with some 0.1mm stainless to go down the latter path.
I'm just going quietly ignore the channel lock comment and act like I didn't hear that. If anyone gets into a situation where they need to apply torque to the headset during install or bearing preload, please clamp a stem onto the steerer for that purpose. Thanks in advance!