Hmmm, what biscuits are these then? 🙂

Ever had a off where your legs got trapped between the bars and top tube and your momentum has spun the forks using your wheel as a lever? Glad i hadnt got a splined stem on for that one.

Drives me mad trying to get it all lined up. Best idea so far (and very similar to one I had) is the line on the inside of the steerer and dot on the stem. No stress risers and you can ignore it if you wish. Just need all fork and stem manufactures to do it now!

I’d be happy with the line/dot markings., and I am more than happy to accept that I’m in an anally retentive minority, but I don’t accept all these objections. The centre line is the centre line, for example, so it can’t be *that* hard for different manufacturers to agree on where it is in a compatible way.

Now, seatposts, that’s a whole other story, and as for lock-on grips….

surely a spline would restrict the steerer length adjustability? as you wouldn’t want the splined part in the headset so the spline would only be say 100mm down the steerer which means you couldn’t cut more than 80mm off for the spline to be usable and then if you had a bike where you left it full length you would need splined spacers too

if it’s just a single small groove I can’t see it would bother the headset. But I think I’m on my own on this one anyway so I have a sneaking suspicion it’s not going to happen…

Really? Problems aligning seatposts, and stems with forks? Do you go to your LBS when you need your tyres “more bouncy or less bouncy”?

I think we should have arrows on the cranks so we know which way to pedals. It’s SO confusing!

Allen key in the pocket

Don’t look at the bars, look at the trail, you will adjust naturally, surely its not that far out?

Get help for OCD

Loads of options out there to explore.

It’s just too easy to straighten, just a couple of seconds during the build.
And a torque wrench for those asking how tight, I think most stems have the figures on the clamp.

trivial, mildly tongue in cheek suggestion accompanied by self-deprecation leads to insults on STW forum shocker.

PS the seatpost and lock-ons comment really was a joke. you may benefit from lightening up a bit…

you may benefit from lightening up a bit..

Or loosening up.

Or not, if it’s in the handlebar area.

I’ll get my my torque-wrench…

if it’s just a single small groove I can’t see it would bother the headset. But I think I’m on my own on this one anyway so I have a sneaking suspicion it’s not going to happen…

Probably because the rest of us don’t have a problem lining them up?

yep, b r, it looks as if I’m alone on this one. It’s not that it’s so hard to line them up – even I can do it, without recourse to my LBS – more that there might be a better way, even if only marginally so. Progress is full of tiny incremental improvements each of which on their own may make little or no difference to most people, but which collectively lead to significant changes over time; I was vaguely wondering if this might be one of those. The fact that most STW forum dwellers, not necessarily a representative group of the world’s population, find it easy to line up their stems, doesn’t invalidate the proposal. But the balance of cost, complexity, strength, and so on, relative to the size of the problem (tiny) that has been pointed out by some on here probably does.

But really, it was just a flippant suggestion. For my next thread I think I will suggest alignment notches on rims, with corresponding nubs on tyres, so we can get logos lined up with valves….

I spannered pro for a while – lining up handlebars exactly is hard without riding the bike.

Ever had a off where your legs got trapped between the bars and top tube and your momentum has spun the forks using your wheel as a lever? Glad i hadnt got a splined stem on for that one.

I have had this a couple of times , over the bars flat on you face with the bars under my legs and the back wheel up on my shoulders

Resulting in two sprained wrists and massive bruising across the top of both thighs like I have been hit with a bat.
But would still rather my bars stayed where they were its there relation to the wheels that stop my stanchions from scraping on the ground when I go for a burton.

Still think splines would be solving a non issue and stop you using a pipe cutter so more chance of cutting your steerer wonky.
When setting up bars, once adjusted if I look and it’s straight, it’s straight. If I look and I can’t make my mind up of its straight or not, then it’s straight.

I do use torque drivers and wrenches when at home but when out the size of the Allen key required to do a job is a good indication of how much force required, which is normally when Allen key starts flex , except when it comes to preloading bearings.

Shocker, banterous response to banterous thread leads to offence…

*sigh*

I’ve not spannered pro ever – lining up handlebars exactly is a piece of piss using a bit of string tied around the seatpost (assuming exactly to be ± a couple of mm).

just for the record, I’ve probably got the language wrong – I wasn’t suggesting multiple splines, just a single shallow groove, probably at the very front of the steerer. This could then line up with a small ridge on the stem, or perhaps a matching groove or even just notch that would allow a centring tool (bit of metal, nail point, 1mm allen key, etc) to be inserted to line them up before tightening everything (this would mean that the stem could still rotate on the steerer in a crash). So most of the objections provided here still stand, but I don’t think it would have any impact on using a pipe cutter 🙂

no offence aphex_2k, just don’t see the point of ad hominem jibes rather than just slagging off the stupid suggestion itself on its merits or demerits. I’ll survive… 😉

But really, it was just a flippant suggestion. For my next thread I think I will suggest alignment notches on rims, with corresponding nubs on tyres, so we can get logos lined up with valves….

Now you’re onto something!

See, I knew I’d get there in the end! That’s what I meant about the marginal improvements – the steerer stuff is just a step on the road to properly aligned tyre logos.

Great, I was really happy that I had double-crown forks and avoided this problem (at least on one bike), but now I’m thinking I’m going to die in a horrible crash because my bars can’t spin!

May I be the first to say – great idea!

People here just love to find faults – don’t let it get to you 😀

I was concerned about stress raiser but then remembered that threaded steerers already have a groove for the tab washer….

Also more expensive to make a threadless stem with a spline sticking out if you actually think how it is made – it isn’t jut a case of boring a simple hole through it anymore – has to be CNC bored or broached etc. I guess it could be a small tapped hole in the stem bore and a grub screw sticking out to go in the groove.

Just winding you up bro. You came across all serious initially and perhaps the amount of poo-poo responses made you backtrack a little but hey, you gotta have the sh1t thoughts flowing before a good idea gets growing. I just totally made that phrase up, so it seems like my new mantra works.

I’ve not spannered pro ever – lining up handlebars exactly is a piece of piss using a bit of string tied around the seatpost (assuming exactly to be ± a couple of mm).

I’m a very picky bar-steward, a couple of mm may not be enough – but I’ll try it 🙂