How do you get a quill stem on Soma Hwy One bars?

[Lewis Moon]

I'm trying to get a 12cm quill stem on a set of Soma Hwy One bars and the bends are too tight and the reach too long to flip the stem around so the narrow part is in the right spot. HELP!

[cgolvin]

I had this problem, I couldn't do it with the stem installed and moving the bars around, I had to take the stem out and move it around the bars. If that's what you're already doing, I got nuttin'

[cinema]

i did it. carefully, and twisting it to get just the right keyhole entry. spread the quill with a flathead first with the cinch bolt uninstalled. like CG said i did it with the quill itself, uninstalled from the bike turning it and contorting it just the right way. mine was not 12cm but still frustrating, took a while and maybe a bit of pushing

[zzy]

The tightest bend before the tops with tough. I had to use a large screwdriver to pull the face open while rotating the stem so the smaller part of the clamp was hitting the inside of tightest part of the bend. Way easier with the stem off the bike.

[Veloo]

Can you use that trick with a washer or dime to open the stem clamp and get more room?
See if I can find a visual example of that trick.

[Lewis Moon]

Originally Posted by cgolvin

I had this problem, I couldn't do it with the stem installed and moving the bars around, I had to take the stem out and move it around the bars. If that's what you're already doing, I got nuttin'

Yep. Hosed I might be.

[Lewis Moon]

Originally Posted by Veloo

Can you use that trick with a washer or dime to open the stem clamp and get more room?
See if I can find a visual example of that trick.

I wish...I use that trick all the time.

[Veloo]

Post up some pics. Might help spur ideas/ solutions.

[grumpus]

I just went through this. Took me about 20 minutes trying every which way, but it eventually went through. Definitely a job to tackle with the stem removed from the bike. Take a close look at your stem to see if there's any spot that's narrower than the rest, and try to make that hit the sharpest bends in the bar. And don't force it. When I finally found the right maneuver, it slid right through with almost no resistance.

[charliedid]

a little grease helps

[rohan]

I have had difficulty with this as well. It's always worked in the end (sometimes the next day), but I have had to try multiple times from both sides of the handlebars and really rotate the stem around. Good luck.

[robt57]

I once used a Kore MTN bike stem with a road drop bar. I dremel cut and filed 1/4 circles about 2CM radius under the bottom either side of the bolt.

Even used a red sharpie to color the silver alloy close to the red it was. The 1/4 circles allowed for the getting it around the bends, it was never happening otherwise.

Eloquent? No...
Worked? Yes.

Or use Origin8 Drop Ends on a MTN bar??

[Steve in SLO]

What kind of a stem is it?
Some have a little more “meat” around the bolt hole.
Maybe try another stem?

[robt57]

I know Kalloy has a selection of quill stems with removable face...

[woolly]

Originally Posted by Steve in SLO

What kind of a stem is it?
Some have a little more “meat” around the bolt hole.
Maybe try another stem?

Wow, what a small world! I literally was wrestling with this *exact* same situation last night! After 20 minutes, I gave up on the Nitto stem I really wanted, and decided to try another that I had readily available (3TTT). The Nitto tapers down narrow, but as others have mentioned the tight bends of the bar end up preventing one from flipping the stem around to take advantage of that narrow area of the stem clamp. The 3TTT has a narrower clamp overall - just enough so to allow it to be finessed around the bar curves.

I'll admit that halfway through the ordeal I was talking to myself, reminding myself that, "this, THIS is why we said that we're done with quill stems FOREVER!!!" (famous last words. . . )