Originally Posted by 8bitevolution
Well, unfortunately, the bike was too big for me so I gave it to a friend who I've been trying to get into cycling.
However, I did pick up another piece of french steel. Not from the trash, though.
I'd be very wary of the height that AVA stem is at right now. AVA stems are already known to be failure prone for their cheap casting - you don't want to stress it in a way that is already asking too much of a quality stem.
It appears to be one of AVA's better stems though, so it should hold up fine if inserted into the fork a few more inches.
P.S.: The sprung top pivot on the Simplex Prestige RD is also out of whack. Someone here on the fourm should be able to hook you up with a good Prestige RD on the cheap - if all else fails, I believe my LBS has 'em (the silver letter models, not the crappy red-labels) NOS for $20.
Take care,
-Kurt