Ron Gurth wrote:
>Re-building a Schwinn Le Tour, 1982? or 83, I think. Found out the
>stem, an SR, has a 25.4 clamp and the stem is about a millimeter
>smaller than a normal 22.2 road stem. Any comments about why
>Schwinn spec'd this odd size on a road bike?
>
It wasn't "odd" when Schwinn started using it about a hundred years
ago. This used to be the standard size for all American made bikes.
It's 21.15 mm, a.k.a. 13/16" (vs 7/8" for the English size.)
Schwinn was about the last to give up on this size for "road" bikes, though it's still alive and well for kids' bikes.
See my Bar/Stem Cribsheet: http://sheldonbrown.com/
> Also, as I wanted to put on a 26.0 handlebar, I have a Nitto
>Technomic stem to use, but would need to remove a bit of metal to
>make it fit the headset. I thought I saw a thread about this
>earlier in the year, so if you can direct me to the proper archive
>thread, cool.
>
> Otherwise, can the stem be reduced in diameter safely? If sanding
>is involved, any tips as to type of sandpaper would be helpful.
>Lathe? Other suggestions?
>
I often recommend sanding 22.2 stems down to the 22.0 size used in
older French bikes, but would be nervous about going as far as that.
Better to get a correct size stem.
See: http://harriscyclery.com/
Sheldon "Standards" Brown
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| The nice thing about standards is that |
| there are so many of them to choose from. |
| --Andrew S. Tanenbaum |
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