Originally Posted by
noobinsf
My question for anyone who has the Nitto 174 (the "mini-noodles") -- Does the slight bend back toward the rider make that corner between the top and the ramp gradual enough to make it easy to thread through a quill stem clamp?
The Dalia short reach bars I have are great, but it was a bear to get them through the quill stem because of that sharp corner, and it's not exactly transferable unless I want to inflict more scratches on the bar. It's essentially mated to that 95mm stem, as far as I'm concerned.
I remember my M151s allowing that to happen (26.0 clamp) and seeing Nitto's inner curve 'dimpling' (more of a pressed crease) to allow a stem to make its way around that tight of a bend without getting creative with things. I would imagine the 174s being a comparative cake walk. If I run into issues, I'll take the clamping bolt out and gently employ some spreaders (pliers, but in reverse) to help things, with the tapered, bolt-side of the stem clamp on the inside of the curve. Often a stems quill length (into the head tube) interferes with my ability to spin the stem around to orient it optimally. It's a bit of a dance.