I just learned about this and as we are about to buy a new bike for my wife, have some quick questions.

Does the bike shop building the bike (in our case Surly LHT) always do this?

If so, how do they decide at what height to cut? I have a LHT and the shop never measured me.

Shouldn't we tell the guy to NOT cut so that we can adjust the height of the handlebars later to find the most comfortable position?

Cheers

Waddo

Have you tried asking the shop how they're going to handle it?

The LBS will decide based on personal fitting if you do not give direction otherwise.

It's best to leave steerer long until you decide to shorten, since it's irreversible and a new fork is ~$100 (and usually unavailable in frame-matched color). It may take months of riding until you finalize a stem/bar height on a new bike.

Echoing Seekers comment, ask them to not cut the steerer - Yet !.

They can install spacers above the stem as required, unless it's stupid long, then they can do an initial cut, install extra spacers and let you ride for a while. That gives you the options to raise or lower the stem until a good position is found.

Then you can have it cut to that position.

If they want to charge you each and every time (the first cut should be included with the build) you can always buy a Park Tool Headset Cutting Guide, they run about $25 or so and allow a parallel cut with a hacksaw.

Yes.

Even if you want it cut later, it is easy to do if you have some mechanical aptitude and a hack saw.

If you might want a handlebar bag later, that is best setup with a second stem to lower the bag too, two photos attached showing a 2nd stem to lower the bag bracket.

Could you tell me how long an uncut stem actually is? Are they all the same size?

The standard is to allow 40mfor spacers and 40mm for the stem. Since it has as steel steer, you can do what you want. If they do not want to do what you want, I would recommend going elsewhere.

+1 !!!!

Don't use this rule of thumb; wait until you really get the bike dialed in to cut anything. The LHT is a touring bike, and often srt up with the bars the same height as the saddle. That is the beauty of a LHT; it comes with an uncut steerer tube. We still have not cut the ST on my daughter's LHT yet. Maybe one more long tour to make sure it is really dialed in. And it does not hurt to leave about 10 mm extra, just in case. We did finally cut the ST on our other daughter's LHT, but she had been riding it for a longer time.

My bike has been built up since 2010. Someday I might get around to cutting the steerer tube That is a 55 mm stack height and it fits me pretty good.


This was the first tour our daughter did on her new LHT. We did not cut anything until she rode it for awhile. It looked a little weird, but it did not bother her. We will be going on another tour with our daughter this summer, and may cut it when we get home.

Thanks for posting the pics. Now I understand what they look like uncut. There is no chance we would need it to be so high and I think my wife would not want a "funny looking" bike. My LHT has 3 spacer rings below and nothing above. So maybe I should ask them to cut it like mine except with enough room for a additional spacer? Does it seem a good idea?

The funny look is a passing thing. Like buying pants or a skirt that needs to be hemmed up to be just right.


If you are commited enought to do touring, I think putting up with a "funny look" while deciding on final fit is a small price to pay.
It is temporary after all.



Spacers comes in different heights. I think the thinnest one I have is 2.5 mm. The tallest, a home-made item, about 40 mm. The tallest COTS spacer, probably 25 mm.
The number as such doesn't mean a thing.



Your wife is not you. Your wife's bike is not yours.


Suggesting a cut for someone else based on your preference will be a guessing game - unless she has ridden your bike long enough to say something sensible about how it fits her.



Again, all spacers are not equal.


Since you said "new bike for my wife", ask how she feels about the fit of her old bike. Use that bike - and her input - as a reference for a guesstimate about where to do the build-up cut.


There are (oversized) stems available where you fit a sleeve over the steerer tube, and lock the sleeve down with the compression cap. Then the stem can be slid up & down the sleeve w/o upsetting headset preload while figuring out preferred height.

and dont forget that your wife has never had a drop bar bike, and without knowing how much riding she does, and how much riding you will do with this new bike when you get it, she may very well appreciate having the bars higher, no matter how it looks.

Better to have a stack of spacers above the stem and ride it for months, before cutting any off, since it wont grow back.

They only come in a couple lengths, there are more bike sizes than steerer lengths.

Only on one of my bikes have I cut the steerer, that one I cut it because I wanted the fork shorter for packing in the S&S case. I rode the bike for months before I finally cut it to make sure I did not cut it too short. My other bikes, I usually used a stem that was closer to horizontal to make it look a bit less odd, such as in the photos I posted above. But I think I have never had more than 20 mm of spacer above my stem on any bike so if I had a lot sticking out I probably would have cut that too.

Thanks

She is getting a bike with a very small frame and if she wants to match the effective saddle and bar height of her Sirrus, then a lot of spacers will be needed.

No.

She should ride it with different spacers and see which feels best. Only then should it be cut.

How it looks or how many spacers it has compared to your bike has absolutely nothing to do with it how it fits her.


-Tim-

No, it is a bad idea. She should ride it for a few long rides first to get a sense of comfort level and handlebar height before cutting. You are emphasizing appearance over fit; that is not unusual for many bikers, but is a poor decision.

Yes months & perhaps years. Disc Trucker is 2 yrs old, had steerer tube cut a bit since I built with upright adjustable stem--but now I see it limits stem options. Threadless headsets seem to be more PITA than advantage.

Had a too short cut steerer, so had to buy one of these, for a used bike buy.. :

(fortunately, at the time there was a US based distributor at the time, that ended, so now retail importing is required)

wiggle.com | BBB BHP-20/21 Stem Extender | Oversize Stems

This make of stem extenders works well.

Or, how about a slick custom Chinese titanium stem? Don't know the cost but can't be too exorbitant. Cleaner look, space for accessories & Ti might give a smidge of shock absorption. BTW, seems a bit ironic that LHT/DT which is designed for long-distance touring (& presumably a semi-upright avg riding position) requires leaving lots of steerer tube & spacers. I ride more leaned forward than many tourers plus my frame is max size I could use yet if I had the stem at lowest possible height it would be in time-trial position.

Put a Problem Solvers locking headset spacer on the bottom of your stack, and then you can easily move the other spacers and stem around all you want without messing up the preload or having to readjust the headset. They cost about $10 and work great. I have them on a few bikes (S&S bikes, makes for easier packing, too).

Problem Solvers