Ahead Stem extender

[Pete]

Does anyone have any experience of one of these?
Zoom Heads-Up Stem Extender Clamp-On Steerer
or these
Heads-Up Et 1" 1/8 Ahead Stem Extender
I can't find much advice on using these and what there is seems to be polarised, either 'OK', or 'Dangerous'
I want some extra height to lift my bars to a more comfortable position. I had been thinking of different bars but these might be a better solution if they are safe to use. I am half assuming that anything sold by SJS would be a 'safe' product?
I do know that one member of the forum recently had one fitted by an LBS which also had to do some re-cabling because of the new height.
Pete

 

[Old Timer]

Does anyone have any experience of one of these?
Zoom Heads-Up Stem Extender Clamp-On Steerer
or these
Heads-Up Et 1" 1/8 Ahead Stem Extender
I can't find much advice on using these and what there is seems to be polarised, either 'OK', or 'Dangerous'
I want some extra height to lift my bars to a more comfortable position. I had been thinking of different bars but these might be a better solution if they are safe to use. I am half assuming that anything sold by SJS would be a 'safe' product?
I do know that one member of the forum recently had one fitted by an LBS which also had to do some re-cabling because of the new height.
Pete

Hiya Pete

I ordered a heads up one after taking advice on the web. Same reason as you really just want to take a bit more weight off of the wrists.
It should be here soon so I`ll let you know.If it`s dodgy I`ll just use it as a paper weight nothing ventured then nothing gained, aye?
Extending the stem might be a bit dogy if you are an avid off roader but if your a general tarmac rider I can`t see there being much of a problem.I certainly put it through it`s paces before I use it. It`s the first time I`ve tried something like this so not too sure. If the item is designed well and made of decent grade material it should be fine.
Where did you read that they might be dangerous?

Dave

 

[Pete]

Hi Dave,
Not sure where I read that they were dangerous, I was googling all over the place to try and find some information on them. The one that actually used the word 'dangerous' I remember was an American site, and I think it was MB orientated. A few others said they had been 'warned of the dangers' sort of thing. I do a fair bit off road, but it is only tracks, paths, mud etc and must admit that was what set me thinking. It was interesting though that SJS cycles, who are well thought of on here, actually say about another similar product "Not Recommended by SJSC" see here Parkers Barbitz stem fitting handlebar adjustment So I was taking the lack of a negative comment on the one we are talking about as a sign that it should be OK. You wouldn't normally take much heed of what was said on a suppliers site, but here, when they clearly do say something when needed it is possibly a little different.
I will be interested to hear how you get on with it as I already have more than enough paper weights! Hope you don't have to extend all your cabling.
Pete

 

[CeeGee]

I note that the one SJS don't recommend is made of plastic - I certainly wouldn't trust that on or off road.
As long as everything is tightened up correctly you shouldn't have any problems with the ones in the first post.

Colin

 

[Old Timer]

Hi Dave,
Not sure where I read that they were dangerous, I was googling all over the place to try and find some information on them. The one that actually used the word 'dangerous' I remember was an American site, and I think it was MB orientated. A few others said they had been 'warned of the dangers' sort of thing. I do a fair bit off road, but it is only tracks, paths, mud etc and must admit that was what set me thinking. It was interesting though that SJS cycles, who are well thought of on here, actually say about another similar product "Not Recommended by SJSC" see here Parkers Barbitz stem fitting handlebar adjustment So I was taking the lack of a negative comment on the one we are talking about as a sign that it should be OK. You wouldn't normally take much heed of what was said on a suppliers site, but here, when they clearly do say something when needed it is possibly a little different.
I will be interested to hear how you get on with it as I already have more than enough paper weights! Hope you don't have to extend all your cabling.
Pete

Pete

Talk about funny. I E mailed the place where I was buying my extender (parker bolton) to find out where it was and they sent me an E mail back informing me(after 3 days and having taken my money) that it was no longer in stock)

I had a look at your other link and phoned them up to chat about them. This is the one I settled on because it offers more adjustment for height up to about 3" Ahead Stem Raiser for 1 1/8 Inch to 1 1/8 Inch
I saw the negative comment that you speak of. I asked the guy what the difference was regarding the one I`ve chosen only having one bottom allen bolt clamp as opposed to a black one on there that has two allen bolts.
He pointed me to that £19.99 extender and said that it wont be a problem only having one bolt and it is a decent bit of kit.
He seemed to know what he was on about so I took his advice. A couple of extra quid seems well worth it to get the maximum adjustment if needed. I was offered courier next day( being Friday now) for £10 rather that (I think it was £3.50) for post so I just went along with post so probably wont have it till Mon-Tues.

Out of interest, I was in contact via the web with a guy they call" Mr Handlebars" as he is forever changing bars and stems and he didn`t show any signs of the extenders being dangerous.
When I said MTB off road stuff might be dodgy I meant the the full blown acrobatic stuff that some people get involved in

I`ll soon know if it will be safe just by the fit and quality. I have a stem on my other MTB that you might well be a bit wary of but it has taken the wear and tear with no problems.

It `s all about fit, if that bottom section is a good tight fit over the riser then it should be fine.

Dave

 

[barrycoll]

Pete...
I have a height extender fitted to my unpowered Specialised Rockhopper....but I also have the shortest stem available, so not only are the bars the same height as the saddle, they are also closer to me, to give me an 'almost upright riding position, that I find very comfortable, especially around town ......

to give me some variations, I have a pair of bar end extenders, that allow me to lean forward when the mood takes me, and makes gettting up and out of the saddle for hills, a really 'nice' feeling

all the best with this one.....

cheers barry c.

 

[Old Timer]

Fitted the extender

Got the extender from SJS and fitted it today. Haven`t been out on the ice yet so can`t tell what height to set it at. Stem extender photo - david chilvers photos at pbase.com
So I put it on max and will drop gradually if need be. As far as I can tell it`s very well engineered and tightened up I can`t turn the bars when holding the front wheel between my legs, it`s solid as a rock. No forward or backwards play either.
I was a bit worried about the single fixing bolt at the bottom where it fixes to the riser but rather than it being a clamp as such, as you tighten the allen bolt it pulls two wedge shaped rounded sections inwards towards each other and the wedge parts press against the riser and lock it in place. Seems OK to me. Just need to get on the road and see how the height is.

 

[Pete]

Thanks for posting back Dave, especially the photos. It looks good and solid and you can usually tell once you have something in your hands whether it is likely to be up for the job. Obviously you need to get it out on the road to get it set up but seems to have plenty of extension available.

I had a look at your other link and phoned them up to chat about them. This is the one I settled on because it offers more adjustment for height up to about 3" Ahead Stem Raiser for 1 1/8 Inch to 1 1/8 Inch
I saw the negative comment that you speak of. I asked the guy what the difference was regarding the one I`ve chosen only having one bottom allen bolt clamp as opposed to a black one on there that has two allen bolts.
He pointed me to that £19.99 extender and said that it wont be a problem only having one bolt and it is a decent bit of kit.

I am not sure what you meant about this one - Delta Ahead Black Stem Raiser for 1 1/8" Was the gist of what you were told on the phone that they were both satisfactory but that the Black one offered less extension? 55mm against approx 75mm for the one you got? I wondered because your bars, like mine, are black and I am leaning towards the black one for looks if it gave sufficient adjustment, and you can confirm the above.
Would still be interested in your opinion of whether it still feels nice and solid when ridden.
Pete

 

[Old Timer]

Thanks for posting back Dave, especially the photos. It looks good and solid and you can usually tell once you have something in your hands whether it is likely to be up for the job. Obviously you need to get it out on the road to get it set up but seems to have plenty of extension available.


I am not sure what you meant about this one - Delta Ahead Black Stem Raiser for 1 1/8" Was the gist of what you were told on the phone that they were both satisfactory but that the Black one offered less extension? 55mm against approx 75mm for the one you got? I wondered because your bars, like mine, are black and I am leaning towards the black one for looks if it gave sufficient adjustment, and you can confirm the above.
Would still be interested in your opinion of whether it still feels nice and solid when ridden.
Pete

Pete

Yeh ! I`ll report back as soon as the 6" of snow we have is gone Black might have been better match but to be honest Pete at my age something that works is better than anything and the guy on the phone pointed me to that one and said I wont have any problems and it will fit easily.

Dave

 

[Pete]

Barry, I am probably being a bit dense but can't visualise what you mean by this, any chance of a photo?

I have a height extender fitted to my unpowered Specialised Rockhopper....but I also have the shortest stem available, so not only are the bars the same height as the saddle, they are also closer to me, to give me an 'almost upright riding position, that I find very comfortable, especially around town ......

Pete

 

[JamesC]

The Satori HeadsUp4 stem raiser is available in silver or black. Often sold as a Raleigh Avenir part, and often available on ebay (example).

The HeadsUp4 gives the greater lift, having 5 spacers all of which can be fitted below the stem to give maximum lift.

Reduced amount of lift can be achieved by putting some spacers below the stem and some above, although it can look a little unusual to have a raised bit above the stem.

The HeadsUp1 gives less lift - I can't remember how much.

Check that the stem raiser is for 1-1/8" steerer tube diameter because I think that they are also available for 1" diameter.

The picture below shows the stem raiser on the Pro Connect - worked fine for me on tarmac and cinder trails - no hint of it coming loose. Obviously it puts more leverage on the steerer tube (part of the fork assembly), so is less safe on serious rough stuff.

James

 

[JamesC]

For interest, the stem raiser in the post above provided approx 80 mm of lift and was used on the standard Pro Connect solid fork - shown on the left in the picture below.

More recently, I have changed the fork to the Pro Connect S suspension fork (made by RST).

The uncut steerer tube of the S fork was 40mm longer than the standard solid fork tube, as fitted to the 49cm diamond frame.

The extra length, plus a little more angle on the stem, provided a sufficiently comfortable height without the stem raiser, with much less wear and tear on the shoulders thanks to the suspension.

James

 

[Old Timer]

For interest, the stem raiser in the post above provided approx 80 mm of lift and was used on the standard Pro Connect solid fork - shown on the left in the picture below.

More recently, I have changed the fork to the Pro Connect S suspension fork (made by RST).

The uncut steerer tube of the S fork was 40mm longer than the standard solid fork tube, as fitted to the 49cm diamond frame.

The extra length, plus a little more angle on the stem, provided a sufficiently comfortable height without the stem raiser, with much less wear and tear on the shoulders thanks to the suspension.

James

James

Thanks for that.
My bike also has front suspension(makes a big difference) That stem extender looks the same as mine but in black. I notice you have an adjustable stem as well! did you fit that to give more fine adjustment without having to dismantle?
Changing the fork would give you the chance to leave more of the riser length so good move.

I didn`t go down the adjustable stem path, I did some scale drawings and realised that it would have only given me around half the lift of the extender.

 

[JamesC]

James

Thanks for that.
My bike also has front suspension(makes a big difference) That stem extender looks the same as mine but in black. I notice you have an adjustable stem as well! did you fit that to give more fine adjustment without having to dismantle?
Changing the fork would give you the chance to leave more of the riser length so good move.

I didn`t go down the adjustable stem path, I did some scale drawings and realised that it would have only given me around half the lift of the extender.

The adjustable stem is standard to the Kalkhoff Pro Connect, so I simply refitted it on top of the stem raiser.

However, there is an advantage to using an adjustable stem when fitting a stem raiser, to do with the length of the cables up to the handlebars.

The point at which the cables are most stretched comes when trying to get the stem over the top of the extended steerer tube before tightening. Once over the top, the stem slides down some 30 or 40 mm to its final position.

With an adjustable stem, it can be angled downwards for fitting to give maximum slack in the cables, then readjusted upwards once the stem is in place.

James

 

[Old Timer]

The adjustable stem is standard to the Kalkhoff Pro Connect, so I simply refitted it on top of the stem raiser.

However, there is an advantage to using an adjustable stem when fitting a stem raiser, to do with the length of the cables up to the handlebars.

The point at which the cables are most stretched comes when trying to get the stem over the top of the extended steerer tube before tightening. Once over the top, the stem slides down some 30 or 40 mm to its final position.

With an adjustable stem, it can be angled downwards for fitting to give maximum slack in the cables, then readjusted upwards once the stem is in place.

James

James

Yeh! that could be a problem if cables were very tight. Mine were OK and the front brake cable is just about passible from lock to lock.

I notice your extended has two allen bolts that clamp onto the riser! Mine has only one but it`s not a clamp as such but more pulling two wedges into place. Seems very rigid and if it ever stops snowing in North Norfolk I might be able to test it on the road

Thinking about it, I think an adjustable stem would maybe have been a good item for me to have added when I fitted the extender, if for nothing else but to have easy one touch(sort of) fine adjustment.

Cheers

Dave

 

[Old Timer]

James

With adjustable stems! how do they arrive at the length? where do they take the measurements from?
My fixed stem is approx 75mm from allen bolt down the centre of the riser to the centre of the handlebars.

Thanks

 

[JamesC]

James

With adjustable stems! how do they arrive at the length? where do they take the measurements from?
My fixed stem is approx 75mm from allen bolt down the centre of the riser to the centre of the handlebars.

Thanks

I don't know the answer, but I would suspect that it is not standardised.

Sheldon Brown has some pages on stems - you might find it there.

James

 

[JamesC]

Ergogel grips

On the subject of comfort, I have found these grips to be comfortable and good value.

They suit wider hands, and have a large flat area for spreading the weight.

I think that this contributes to easing shoulder discomfort.

Also available with 1 short grip for Shimano/Rohloff gear shifts, I use them on both the Pro Connect and Agattu.

If you are trying various handlebar arrangements, it is helpful to have grips that can be released with an Allen key, rather than relying on friction and glue.

James

 

[Old Timer]

On the subject of comfort, I have found these grips to be comfortable and good value.

They suit wider hands, and have a large flat area for spreading the weight.

I think that this contributes to easing shoulder discomfort.

Also available with 1 short grip for Shimano/Rohloff gear shifts, I use them on both the Pro Connect and Agattu.

If you are trying various handlebar arrangements, it is helpful to have grips that can be released with an Allen key, rather than relying on friction and glue.

James

Thanks for all your trouble James.

I`ve ordered a set of the 1 1/2 type as I have my throttle on the RH side.

Cheers

Dave

 

[Pete]

Me. too. Thanks for the info, been looking for something like that for ages

Pete