Shortening a headtu...
 

[Closed] Shortening a headtube

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Have got myself a rather s****y Salsa Casseroll recently. As with all Salsa (and all American?) bikes, they have a very long head tube which extends about an inch above where the top tube joins. Makes for a rather upright situpandbeg position. Is there any reason not to take a hacksaw to it, shorten it my half an inch then get the lbs to face it off? How much material can the facing tool remove? Does it need to be almost perfect to start with, or will it be ok even if my saw cut is on the piss?

Longwinded way of asking something quite simple...
[img] [/img] Mine is in stealthy matt black now 🙂

Cheers!


 
Posted : 16/01/2011 5:27 pm
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I wouldn't personally. Negative rise stem would seem the obvious solution.


 
Posted : 16/01/2011 5:33 pm
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Low stack headset and a flat bar might be a better solution.


 
Posted : 16/01/2011 5:40 pm
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😯


 
Posted : 16/01/2011 5:44 pm
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If there are either reamed-out section (to allow headset cups in) or thicker sections (to stop ovalising) then definitely a risk in doing it.

If neither of the above, maybe


 
Posted : 16/01/2011 5:46 pm
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I have a Casserol and it annoys me a bit too but I'm just gonna leave it as it's bound to make a
mess.

an looking to do this on my mtb so I have greater choice of sh forks 😀


 
Posted : 16/01/2011 5:47 pm
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Depends whether it's butted or plain guage. I'd check with whichever bikeshop you're going to use as it's going to be a lot of wear on the facing cutter and they ain't cheap. It took me 2 hours to take 5mm off an aluminium bb shell fitting a chain device on the cx bike.


 
Posted : 16/01/2011 5:48 pm
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Much easier to get a low rise headset or negative rise stem.


 
Posted : 16/01/2011 5:48 pm
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Hmm. Probably not worth it I guess. The reasoning was thus: 10 careful minutes with a hacksaw, and £10 for facing, or £25 for a fairly unusual short and very steep stem. Potential for borking it is too high though I think on reflection.


 
Posted : 16/01/2011 7:52 pm