At 4:22 PM -0400 8/4/04, chasds@mindspring.com wrote:
>I recently acquired a truly lovely tandem
>from a list member. A Jack Taylor from
>the early 80s with the old graphics, box-
>lining...white. Really pretty.
>
>I'm just dying to get it together, and ride it,
>and it's getting there. But I ran into a snag
>and I'm hoping someone here will have a better
>idea than I do.
>
>The stem that came with it is drilled for a brake
>cable, but that stem is too long and too low for
>my use.. I'm putting a Nitto Technomic deluxe on it
>instead (no yowls from the peanut gallery: my
>cervical joint health is more important than looking
> good on the slopes, 'kay?)
>
>The problem is, the steerer tube is, as it should be,
>oversized, so a standard head-set fit cable stop
>will not work. I'd need an oversized one, or I'd
>have to file one out.. not a big deal on an aluminum
>one, and I may do that, assuming I can actually FIND
>an aluminum stop that will work... the part that
>fits over the steerer would have to be quite thin, because,
>most unfortunately, the steerer tube has been cut rather
>short.. (you can see the comedy of errors here)
>
>I could just have the stem drilled, and I may yet, although
>the idea doesn't exactly thrill me. It's a hassle, and more
>delay, besides (find machine shop to do work, take to shop,
>explain problem, explain they have to drill it twice, once
>for the cable, and again for the casing, to make a stop)..I'd do
>it myself, but I really don't have the proper tools for the job,
>like a good drill-press.
>
>I had one suggestion, a good one, from Chuck Schmidt, to have
>a stop welded or brazed onto the lock washer, which isn't a bad
>idea, but again, finding the shop to do it might be a challenge, it's
>a tricky job I suspect. I may go that route in the end.
>
>For now, what I have is an aluminum stop I found at an LBS (these stops
>are not easy to find anymore, now that cantis appear obsolete at
>most bike shops) I filed
>it out to fit, but it's too thick, there aren't enough threads for the
>lock nut with the stop in place. So, at this point, I'm thinking of just
>duct-taping it to the top of the lock-nut, and using it that way until
>I can figure out a better solution. Ugly, but it should work. I
>will probably end up trying to grind the clamp area of the stop
>down to a thinness that will make it work clamped into the
>head-set assembly, but I'm afraid if I do that it'll be too weak
>for the job, and break. I need to find someone around here
>with a nice grinding wheel I guess.
>
>Any other better ideas would be much appreciated, and if you just
>happened to have in your possession a nice aluminum headset cable
>stop that is quite thin where it clamps to the headset, I'd be happy
>to buy it from you..<g>
>
>Thanks for any insights you can provide.
We've got housing stops that fit on the stem itself, with a pinch bolt to keep them from spinning around. $11.95. Sorry, no pix.
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--
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
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