Help: Seatpost and Stem Choices

[tuscanyswe]

So i got a steel frame coming in in a couple of weeks or a month or so.


I know most of my build. Even tho a classic steel frame (tommasini tecno) it will have a modern 11s campy group. A zipp contour sl carbon bar, record 1" a headset.
Most likely an Smp saddle and some nice carbon wheels.

The parts missing from my build list are the stem and seatpost.

option 1.

Black lightweight parts. Have a black on black extralite stem in 12 degrees laying around. Can match it with whatever carbon post i find deda superleggero rs or similar.

I like this look but the stem looks abit chunky vs the thin steel tubes of the frame so its not ideal. Cant seem to find a slim stem that is in the region of 10 degrees and still take a 1" or 11/8" steerer but with a 31.8 clamp.


option 2.

Go with silver bits for stem n post to get a bit more classic look. Same problem here, cant seem to find a stem thats slim to fit well on the thin steel tubes of the frame with a 31.8 clamp.

Found the chromed Nitto Craft 5 which i like the look of but its a whopping 285g in 120 length. That kind of ruins any other weenie aspect to keep the weight down which id like to get to sub 8kgs when done in a size 60ish.
Not that easy while still looking proper.

What seatpost looks good in silver and are relatively light weight that i may have missed. Or other stems in silver thats slender looking?

Could one possibly polish a titanium seatpost to "match" the chromed nitto stem reasonably well?

Cheers
B

[FlashUNC]

I wouldn't bother polishing the Ti post and go with it as is. That's the right bit of sprezzatura for the bike if you're going silver for the other cockpit bits.

But if you're going Ti, why not a Cinelli Grammo? Those are still out there.

Oh, and would strongly recommend looking at 26.0 bars for a more classic steel frame.

[tuscanyswe]

I wouldn't bother polishing the Ti post and go with it as is. That's the right bit of sprezzatura for the bike if you're going silver for the other cockpit bits.

But if you're going Ti, why not a Cinelli Grammo? Those are still out there.

Oh, and would strongly recommend looking at 26.0 bars for a more classic steel frame.

Thanks but not that fond of grammos. Are there grammos for 31.8 bars?
I like going the extra length and a regular ti post with rest of the bits chromed would nag on me a bit then i would prefer black. I dont like almost matching.

Not changing bars as i love the contours and spend 3 months searching for them .) They are staying. If i did go with a 26 bar this quest would be a lot easier tho as slim 26 clamped stems are not that uncommon compared to the 31.8s.

[FlashUNC]

Thanks but not that fond of grammos. Are there grammos for 31.8 bars?
I like going the extra length and a regular ti post with rest of the bits chromed would nag on me a bit then i would prefer black. I dont like almost matching.

Not changing bars as i love the contours and spend 3 months searching for them .) They are staying. If i did go with a 26 bar this quest would be a lot easier tho as slim 26 clamped stems are not that uncommon compared to the 31.8s.

The aesthetics of a 31.8 bar on a thin tubed steel bike are more jarring than any color mismatch, imo. The proportions get all wrong.

If the slight shade difference on the Ti post is that off-putting, then you're better off full black. It'll hide the bar size a bit better anyways.

[tuscanyswe]

That is probably true. hmm

[dbnm]

What size is the seatpost?

[tuscanyswe]

27.2

[Gummee]

On my Spirit-tubed bike, I've got Ritchey Classic bars and stem. I have the post too, but I've got a D/A post in there instead

M

[cadence90]

Need photos of the frame and wheelset, to see the colors/decals and make more informed recommendations.

If you want all silver, Deda HPS ("High Polish Silver") bar/stem/post is great stuff; even better Deda "Dark Metal" but that finish is very rare now.

Are you looking for a straight seatpost or setback? If straight, then your Zipp bar + tune Geiles Teil stem + tune seatpost, in whatever color. Great colors, great components, elegant, unique.

If carbon 26.0/27.2 might interest you, I have NOS Oval Concepts bar/stem/seatpost (https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=213770) listed here for sale. Nice looking + great working stuff.

I'm very much looking forward to seeing this bicycle, finished and built.
How was the whole cable-routing issue resolved between you/your shop/Tommasini?



Could one possibly polish a titanium seatpost to "match" the chromed nitto stem reasonably well?
No; would look pretty terrible imo, reflecting light completely differently.
.

[tuscanyswe]

Thanks keep the ideas coming .)

Well after i got to fiddle a bit and play with the anniversary blue one they had in the store i was convinced (more or less) that the full length housing wouldent cause any significant mushy feel so we just went ahead with the original way they did the full housing, only i got to reposition the front entry point. The rear stayed at 1 a clock. The front ended up at 3 after fideling with another bike at another shop i liked that possition. I also moved both entry and exit points a bit closer the to ht and st. Some 2-3 cm or so closer for the front i believe less for the rear.

Yeah hopefully it will be great! I got to build up my "his n hers" bikes today so i got a sneak feel for steel again..


The wheels are undecided, its a budget thing. Im out of monies trying to start up the new business and all. Not so much coming in at the moment.
Seatpost will be slight setback i think. Was thinking of dedas 1.5 cm when we were sizing it up. But i can ofc move the saddle rails around a bit with another measurement seatpost.

High polish deda is idd nice. Currently im leaning towards black as the polished look is so much heavier.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1745/27751678457_be42a6ac14_b.jpg

[cadence90]

But what color will your new Tecno be? Blue?

So you can go either straight or setback on the seatpost?
I would really look at the tune stuff, then. It looks really good on "slim" metal bicycles, imo, especially if you want to keep 31.8 bars.
.

[exapkib]

I faced this dilemma with my Yamaguchi. Originally had a Thomson stem and 31.8 bars (Ritchey NeoClassic--old shape (still my favorite bars, by the way)). Came into a Yamaguchi stem that I ran for a while before admitting it was just too long for me. I used a Soma Hwy1 bar with that stem, and only then realized how bulky and out of place the 31.8 bars had been on that frame.

I really fell in love with the improved aesthetics of the slim stem and narrower bars with the narrow tubes of the frame, so when I let the Yamaguchi stem go I replaced it with an old 3T Mutant, which is its own kind of weird, but still fit better (in my eyes) than the Thomson. Still using the Soma bars, which I've really come to love.

Can't wait to see your build--your bikes always look so nice.

You can find photos of each iteration in the thread linked in my signature.

tl;dr--the considerations and sacrifices involved in building up a steel frame with classic lines and dimensions are different than with other frames. Aim for the build that keeps you excited about the bike.

[tuscanyswe]

Yes it will be blue. I will check on the tune stuff.

Thank guys.
I think i will try to build this up first with modern lightweight parts in black and then if i find out i dont like the visuals i will change out for a 26bar in silver and will then have ample stem and post choices.

Yeah that yamaguchi really present the problem im dealing with well .) Its not easy. I to prefer your current setup over the bulky thomson. I think nitto has a few stems i would settle on for a 26 bar silver combo perhaps have a look at them for your yama to. Thanks for the kind words.

It just not seem to exist a slim silver stem for oversized bars and the black extralite black on black stem i allrdy have is rather slim and discreet (well for an expensive modern bike part atleast).

[colker]

I faced this dilemma with my Yamaguchi. Originally had a Thomson stem and 31.8 bars (Ritchey NeoClassic--old shape (still my favorite bars, by the way)). Came into a Yamaguchi stem that I ran for a while before admitting it was just too long for me. I used a Soma Hwy1 bar with that stem, and only then realized how bulky and out of place the 31.8 bars had been on that frame.

I really fell in love with the improved aesthetics of the slim stem and narrower bars with the narrow tubes of the frame, so when I let the Yamaguchi stem go I replaced it with an old 3T Mutant, which is its own kind of weird, but still fit better (in my eyes) than the Thomson. Still using the Soma bars, which I've really come to love.

Can't wait to see your build--your bikes always look so nice.

You can find photos of each iteration in the thread linked in my signature.

tl;dr--the considerations and sacrifices involved in building up a steel frame with classic lines and dimensions are different than with other frames. Aim for the build that keeps you excited about the bike.

Go w/ black stem and post or black stem and titanium seatpost and silver campagnolo headset. I like to match stem and handlebar brand.

[Lionel]

deda superlegerra post and stem.

[Kirk007]

ti pmp post from Rose Imports and ti stem from ti cycles. They match pretty well.

[soulspinner]

What Kirk 007 said. Like those posts both carbon and ti.

[doomridesout]

Compass stems are available for 31.8, and lower stack versions are available from Nitto/SimWorks that are quite slim and nice looking. Boat anchors, though.

[tuscanyswe]

Yeah ti post and stem is a quite good option but its not perfect :)


Compass stems are available for 31.8, and lower stack versions are available from Nitto/SimWorks that are quite slim and nice looking. Boat anchors, though.
Thanks have to check out the compass. Yeah the nittoncraft os 285g :/