Kommisar89

Hi All - I thought I had done my homework but...

In searching these forums and the Internet it seemed the best stem for my Panasonic to allow me to raise the handlebars would be the Nitto Technomic. I've even seen numerous pictures of bikes with the Technomic stem towering above the head tube and the handlebars 2-3 inches above the seat height so I ordered one.

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem near as tall as I had hoped. At max extension I can get the handlebars about even with the seat height but no more and that's still allowing the nose of the Brooks Champion Flyer to cause numbness where I'd rather it not. I measured the Technomic and it is 180mm from the bottom of the quill to the center of the stem extension with about 105mm above the max insertion line. Based on pictures I've seen that seems a bit short. Do I have the wrong model? Is there one that is longer than 180mm? My other options would seem to be adding one of those adapters to raise the stem which looks pretty ugly or loose the Brooks for something without that problem (Selle Anatomica maybe?).

BTW, I have a Brooks Professional on the Bottecchia with about a 2" handlebar drop and no numbness issue there and had a Brooks B17N on the Panasonic previously and no problems there either but it was flat and did not have the "hammock" shape that forces you to position it nose up to keep from sliding forward.

Gusboh

Yes, there is a longer one. The deluxe model. it's 250 from bottom to top.

Second problem - tighten the brooks, it shouldn't be a banana (pic would help to determine if it needs it though). LBS can do it, or you can do it yourself. There are plenty of threads on how to do it too

stronglight

Actually, the "Standard" model is longer than the "Deluxe" - and a few dollars cheaper.

There is tons of info on these stems and similar models intended to raise the handlebars up high on the Rivendell Bicycle Works website.

Gusboh

My bad.

Grand Bois

I bought a Technomic Deluxe for my Peugeot and I dropped it while I was sanding it down to 22mm. Now I have to strip off the nice finish that I paid extra for and polish it. The Technomic is so long that it looks ridiculous to me. The Deluxe is about as long as I'm willing to go.

Kommisar89

Doh! I didn't realize that. I looked at mine again and it says "Nitto" on the stem rather than "Technomic" like the ones in the Rivendell pictures so it appears to be the delux model. Dangit!

I was going to post a picture of the bike/stem/saddle but my camera's batteries were dead last night. They're in the charger. Since the saddle is fairly new and still hard as a rock I'm sceptical that it should be tightened though.

SingeDebile

its not just the 'finish' you paid for the deluxe is forged and not cast....

barndoor

Well...since I'm a nice guy

I'd be glad to trade you .... your regular Nitto for my Technomic "loch ness" model...

...the 180 would be perfect for my green Proteus!

Grand Bois

It's cold forged.

Road Fan

Komissar, this isnt' correct. The Tech Deluxe is about 5 cm SHORTER than the Technomic. Some say it has a better finish, but in my hands that doesn't matter after the first 5 minutes or so.

I ride 52 and 53 cm frames. I cannot get a Technomic to insert low enought to avoid the "giraffe effect."

Road Fan

Grand Bois

The Technomic can easily be shortened, just don't make it so short that you run out of threads on your stem bolt.

stronglight

It is pretty common on Mixte bikes... these days especially. Still, I think it just looks a bit goofy, too.

Here is one which Rivendell seems to think looks attractive enough to feature on their website.

Eye of the beholder.

nlerner

I have a set of those monkey hangers in alloy, made by Nitto, if anyone's looking for 'em!

Neal

SingeDebile

im confused... i thought it was a given that is was 'cold' forged...

Grand Bois

It's not a given. The Technomic is not cold forged.

Charles Wahl

The other way to get some height, and not have a too-short frame look ridiculous, is to use the longer of the two Nitto "Dirtdrop" stems (avail. from Rivendell only, as far as I can tell -- actually there are three if you count the "Periscopa"). Not a 7-shaped stem, but more like a mountain bike's; only with a shimmery Nitto finish (better than the standard Technomic, which is just fine). Downside is that it doesn't come in multiple extensions, like the Technomic. The shorter DD is 60 mm, I think, and the longer one is 80 mm, only. I didn't check, but I think that our own Dirtdrop's Carlton avatar bike uses one. I just bought one for my too-short frame -- waited 2 months while it was on back order -- and can't wait to install it. It will replace the "standard" long Technomic.

Kommisar89

I have the shorter Deluxe model unfortunately. I didn't realize there was a difference in length when I bought it. The regular Technomic should be perfect for me since I want to raise it another inch or two.

Kommisar89

Sent you a PM.

Hocam

Is the saddle level or tilted slightly downward? Are your hips rotated forward?

Grand Bois

No, the Carlton has an old 7-shaped GB stem. The Dirtdrops are on my Gitane and my wife's Fuji. Both have upright bars and I shortened both stems. I shortened the on on my Gitane so much that I had to find a shorter bolt. The PX10 had a Dirtdrop with Moustache bars, but I never liked the look and it's getting the polished Technomic Deluxe.

Here's the Fuji:

Kommisar89

Not sure if my hips rotated forward but if you look at the saddle it looks to be slightly tilted up at the nose but if you put a level on it, it's level to slightly tilted down. The discrepency is because the rear of the saddle slops forward and is lowest in the middle and then slops back up towards the nose. That seems pretty normal for a Brooks of the B17 family although the old worn out B17N I had was flat as a board like a Professional. The bike's frame is around 56cm C-C which is my size. It came with a short, 85mm stem which is shorter than I would usually run but normal as I understand it for a touring bike. At max height it sat about an inch below the seat height. With the Technomic I hoped to raise the bars about 2.5 inches but as I got the Deluxe by mistake that didn't work out. To make matters worse, I got it in 100mm extension since I expected it to be so much taller and I didn't want a cramped cockpit. Now the effective reach is longer and the bars are not high enough. I'll post pictures tonight when I get home.

Grand Bois

The Dirtdrop stem is cold forged and heat treated.

Kommisar89

Ok, as promised, here's a picture of how the seat/stem line up. And I think you would agree based on the seat height and the fact that I just have about an inch of standover clearance this is not a frame that is too small for me. The Technomic Deluxe is at Max extension in the picture.

stronglight

If you're like me you may also benefit from a shorter forward extension on a stem. A 2 inch (50 mm.) rise in stem/bar height will typically move the stem "back" around 15 mm because of the head tube angle. But, on that bike, the saddle is moved all the way forward too. I'd look for either a technomic, or else a DirtDrop style stem with an "effective" forward reach of around 75 mm.
... it appears to be to be EXACTLY the size and the type of bike I've been unsuccessfully looking for during the past several months...

Kommisar89

Hey, I paid 30 hard earned dollars for that bike!

I think the Tech's come in increments of 10mm so an 80 might be just the ticket. Probably still need to do some for/aft adjusting on the seat but the reach is too far right now. Oddly, the reach on all of my other bikes is at least that far or a centimeter or so more but I don't have any issues with them. It just seems to be this saddle.