I've gone and bought a set of bullhorn bars (charge slice bars) and a older style stem to fit them to. I've checked the sizes are correct but I can't seem to get the stem past the first curve. Any tips?
Cheers guys!
Posted Aug 1, 2012, 10:44 PM UTC
It's a MTB stem so it's probably made with straight bars or bars with only a slight rise in mind. Your bullhorns likely have a much more extreme bend. Your can probably pry the clamp apart a bit to get the bars through. Try a large flathead screwdriver. I've done this before with steel stems but it migh be more difficult with aluminum. Good luck
Get a stem with a removable face plate and return that one if prying won't work.
Grease and brute force solves all non-carbon-related problems!
You could try taking out the stem bolt completely and sliding something wedge shaped in there. Might be a little less strain than prying it.
always grease
You can sometimes slide a penny in between the handlebar clamp and the clamp bolt, and if the bolt hole is threaded on both sides, you can screw the bolt in against the penny, pushing the stem clamp apart. Otherwise a screwdriver and some lube can do the trick. That clamp looks pretty wide, though, so it may be especially difficult/impossible.