fire5soon

First of all, I'm a noob who is learning to work on an old road bike. So I'm making plenty of mistakes...

I wanted to change to regular drop bars from an old set of aeros that were already on there. I ordered these handlebars from Nashbar which have an oversized 31.8mm clamping area.

While removing the old handlebars, I managed to snap the old quill stem and now need a replacement. I need one which looks like this...


Only problem is that the only stems like this I can find have a 26.0mm clamp diameter. Do they make stems like this with a 31.8mm clamp diameter, or are my newly purchased handlebars useless?


Thanks,
-Jay

tellyho

I'm not sure. What I am sure of is that you could definitely find someone to trade your oversized bars for the older clamp width.

mycoatl

Get a stem adapter like this.

Then you can put any oversized threadless stem on it.

fire5soon

So, if I got that stem adapter, would a stem like this work?

mycoatl

Yes. Any stem for 1 1/8" steerer diameter w/ a 31.8mm clamp will work with the adapter. I have one of the Nashbar adapters and it works great.

Butterthebean

Yes it will work...but nothing is more unattractive. Form follows function, but not in this case.

Sell your oversized bars and buy some new ones that will fit the quill stem.

bellweatherman

.






Jay, is that the same stem that you broke or was it a different model? You may be able to get the stem replaced for free from the manufacturer.

fire5soon

The broken one was probably 25yrs old, so the warranty probably has run out

While at a LBS last night I picked up a used handlebar/stem combo for $20 which will work perfectly for my purposes. I'm going to try to return the new handlebars I bought. I've never returned anything purchased online before (in this case Nashbar), so I'm not sure how much of a hassle it'll be.

Thanks again for everyone's help.

-Jay

tellyho

Return should be no problem whatsoever. All of the online retailers know they have to provide service at least as good as brick and mortar.

oilman_15106

I have used these on three bikes and this is the only way to go. Allows you to choose stem length and use the bars you bought.