[Closed] Do Wiggle cut down steerer tubes on new bikes

Yes wiggle do cut the steerer, the last bike I bought from wiggle was supplied with 20mm below the stem and 5 or 10mm above the stem.

You could ask them to be more generous

I bought from Chainreaction and it was, so I assume it would be the same.

As above, I've got about 40mm of spacers split between below & above the stem on both my Vitus gravel & CX bikes.

I’d be happy with 40mm above and below - that would be more than enough. I’d assumed they come from the manufacturer already cut with a number of spacers, what I don’t want is for wiggle to trim off another 20-30mm and whizz the spacers in the bin.

Yes wiggle do cut the steerer, the last bike I bought from wiggle was supplied with 20mm below the stem and 5 or 10mm above the stem.

You sure it was cut by Wiggle? That just sounds like an OEM steerer length to me (shorter than aftermarket)

Very much doubt they would do that.

They ask those measurements to try to ensure you have ordered the right size.

No shop sells a bike with a fully uncut steerer, especially mail order where it is fully built and ready to ride. They are all cut to their discretion, but there will always be a number of spacers to allow sensible fine tuning.

I've bought a number of bikes from Wiggle and CRC over the years, I also like a high stack and I've never been unhappy with the sreerer length - almost all have been 10-15mm too tall even for me.

They are probably doing a 'sanity check' to reduce chance of a return because bike is obviously the wrong size.

I think some manufactures have the bikes almost fully build in the far east with steerer cut down to minimise the assembly work in the UK. I think it is now rare to chip a frame + fork and a build kit of the parts and leave the shop to cut down the steerer.

The web sites of the manufactures often specify exactly how many spacers are included under the stem.

With a carbon steerer there is a limit on the safe number of spacers below the stem.

Industry standard is 30mm, most big brands such as Trek ship the bikes already cut with those spacers installed.

I’ve looked at various pictures from the manufacturer, test bikes etc., and they all have 3 small spacers and one larger one, looks to total about 40mm so I’m wondering if they are precut by the bike manufacturer.

As above. However, during the wait for a build I emailed them to ask them to switch brakes (right rear) which they did. So if you want a longer steerer I’m sure they could also assist.

I doubt that a mass-produced bike would have any parts custom cut for a specific build. That would be really expensive to do.

I've always assumed that there will be an assembly-line type operation with steerers pre-cut to specific lengths for different frame sizes, same with brake hoses, gear cables, chains, etc. If you're assembling hundreds or thousands of bikes, you don't want a mechanic custom building each frame, you just have them assemble a batch of identical spec bikes from bins of identical parts, then move on to the next batch of identical spec bikes.

What @thols2 said.

For anything 'normal', its been assembled in the far east most likely, then Wiggle are doing the tune-up, fitting pedals etc before selling it on, just as your LBS would.

I doubt you'll be able to request some steerer tube being added back on...!?

I assumed that when the manufacturer makes or specifies the fork for a particular bike it's already the right steerer length, so Wiggle won't have to cut anything.

I assumed that when the manufacturer makes or specifies the fork for a particular bike it’s already the right steerer length, so Wiggle won’t have to cut anything.

I bought a K2 about 15 years ago that had a steerer that looked like it had been cut by a 10 year old learning to use a hacksaw then cleaned up with a rough bastard file. Definitely not supplied that way by the manufacturer. Not a functional or safety problem, but looked like shit if you took the stem off.