evanyc

so i'm getting a Coast stem built and the only question i'm left with is 25.4 vs 26. i'm inclined to go with 25.4, but i'm contemplating bullhorns for this build and most of those seem to be 26.

input

can you squeeze 26 bars in 25.4?

also, what are some solid risers or straight bars?

shants

go with 26.0.. you can always shim 25.4 bars to fit them in the stem. sure you can squeeze 26.0 bars in the stem, but the fit feels somewhat dicey.

roscoenyc57

You should ask Coast about the bars that he has on his bike (the orange one w the pinstripes)

evanyc

alright, what's up with them? i asked him if he could do bars for me and he said nah. i might just try to find a pipe or something and have him chrome it.

bbattle

google came up with these:

don't see these everyday


harriscyclery has some EA50 flat bars they say are silver but the picture is black.

mattface 

You do if you work in the bike department at Toys 'R' Us or MallWart. They're Schwinn Stingray bars.

ajd

I have a stem where it was done by bending the clamping bolt to fit the now-unaligned bolt holes. So the answer is: not if you like your stem.

Aeroplane

Go with 26, shants speaks the truth.

Solid as in color, or as in stable and durable? The Surly Torsion bar is pretty well respected, and if it's like the rest of their stuff, you can remove the logos pretty easily.

evanyc

solid as in good quality, and i want chrome preferably. i was checking out the surly's. they look pretty nice. anyone know if they are 25.4 or 26.

isotopesope

i have some carbon fsa risers on my ss mtb that own earth... i think they're 26.0, but i'd have to doublecheck when i get home. i doubt that's the look you want though. ha! they are fully awesome though.

profile designs are another solid brand of risers... i have a set on my geared hardtail... again, no chrome... i think just black and silver these days. but you might be able to get them polished though.

p.s. did you send my rekkid yet or what?

baxtefer

96% of risers will be 25.4mm
unless they're risers designed specifically for flat-bar road bikes

Matthew A Brown

26.0. I use the Nitto shims and have had no problems.

MacG

Yup. I accidentally ordered 26.0 moustache bars and all I had at home was 25.4 stems. I had to chuck up a scrap of copper pipe in my drill press, tape a flap of sandpaper to it, and drink a few beers while alternating between grinding the hole in the stem evenly larger with the sandpaper setup, burning my fingers after a minute or two, cooling the stem in water, and trying to squeeze a set of junker bars (with 26mm clamp area) into the stem.

Once I got close enough that the bars would fit very roughly, I just started to sand more heavily wherever the bars left a mark. Before too long, I had a quite nicely fitting stem. I also don't recommend this unless you're ghetto like me, since you're removing part of what makes the stem strong and it might break and kill you. </disclaimer>

In the world of stems and bars, you always try to get 26mm stems and 25.4mm bars so that when you inevitably **** up sooner or later, you just omit the shims and everything works out great. Nitto makes shims that perfectly close the 0.6mm gap with quality japanese metal. Other people make 'em too, I suppose...

Aeroplane

Salsa Cro-Moto

jasonsan

The Surly Torsion Bars ( nitto) are 25.4. I am riding some now, and like 'em. I cut 'em down, though.
I agree about going with a 26 clamp.
I also like the Soma Noah's Arc bars. 25.4 also
Those Coast stems look nice..................Congrats

evanyc

yo! i've been lame as **** with mailorder recently but it's all going out tomorrow and you'll get a little something extra.

isotopesope

sweet! i look forward to it.