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Currently 9 quid on wiggle.
I'm tempted to buy one as i need to cut a steerer down, though that is about what my lbs charges to cut one, and they do make a perfect job.
https://www.wiggle.com/p/lifeline-saw-guide
But £9 is cheap and is it worth buying.
I wonder if it is too thin, and will that or is there a chance rather than it can wobble a bit during cutting ?. Which might give a wonky cut.
The park one looks twice as thick, and thats going to sit more securely on the tube, which will probably be the reason it is as thick as it is.
So has anyone used this particular guide, and did you find it ok to use, no problems etc.
Ta 🙂
I've used that one a couple of times now without any drama and would happily dig it back out of the tool box if I needed to cut another steerer down. Might not be quite as solid as you can get but if you take it easy and keep the pressures on it light its fine.
Angle grinder is way more fun.
Clamp 2 old stems to the steerer. Perfect gap for a hacksaw. Works great.
@pembo6 today doesn't answer the question at all!
The lifeline guide is fine, is a clamp and a slot, what can be wrong?
I have only cut one steerer with mine but it was perfectly good at doing so.
Look fine though other models (I think mine is a Pedro's) have a shim that you can put between the body and guide when using a carbon blade.
I can also use a hacksaw but a guide is more reliable and you don't need to be off by much to cause issues.
Yep, got that exact one, used it at least three or four times now. It’s got a handy bit for putting in a bench vice (if you’ve got one).
My biggest gripe is my crap hacksaw blade which I vow to replace after each time but never do.
I'm surprised people need a guide to cut through 1 1/8" of pipe.
How cack handed are you that you need a guide?
I’m tempted to buy one as i need to cut a steerer down, though that is about what my lbs charges to cut one, and they do make a perfect job.
The Lifeline one is fine. I've had one for ages and used it many times.
Do people really use an LBS to shorten a steerer? I suspect they do 'a perfect job' because they use a cutting guide or a pipe cutter. and a file to finish it off
Regardless of all this, even if you cut a steerer slightly wonky, it's hardly the end of the world, given that it's completely hidden under stem and headset spacers and nothing bears down on it directly. The most important thing is simply not to cut it too short as that's pretty much irreversible.
You could spend the nine quid on a nice bottle of wine or a top quality cake maybe.
I literally use the first cutting tool to hand, disc cutter, hack saw...and deburr with a file
As above, doesn't matter how square it is really
I can't remember if I have the Lifeline one or a similarly priced Brand X but it's been great; handy for trimming bars too.
I don't like pipe cutters (they flare the steerer) and I'm pretty sure that they shouldn't be used on carbon steerers.
I’m surprised people need a guide to cut through 1 1/8″ of pipe.
I've done with and without the guide. Without is fine, but if you're struggling to secure the forks somewhere the guide is definitely simpler, and you can screw it to the edge of your work bench to make it even easier!
Perfectly straight cut on a steerer isn't needed as you always have a spacer above it, but it is nice when it's easy and perfectly straight.
The gap is too narrow to fit the lifeline carbon fibre hacksaw blade though.
This! So I shimmed it outbut apparently shimmed it too wide and now have a squint cut ☹️
Might as well just have eyeballed it...
Not needed to start with, is it?
Recommended. Use mine for cutting steel/alloy/carbon steerers and also alloy and carbon handlebars. Mentioned already but simply acting as a good base to hold the bar/fork when you're cutting makes it worth it alone.
If I’m being picky, the slot for the saw is a lot wider than it needs to be
Have a look and see if there's an adjuster plate in there?
I have a very similar looking one, no idea who makes it but there is a removable plate to adjust the size of the gap for different type blades.
On the pipe cutter V guide debate i find the guide quicker by the time I've filed the burr down the pipe cutter causes.
How cack handed are you that you need a guide?
I saw through a steerer maybe once or twice a decade. These are a simple way to ensure you get a straight cut for something that I could maybe do by eye and with some patience, but means I don't need to spend any time or effort on a job that's otherwise entirely routine and unimportant. Tools like star nut setters is another good example or a headset press is another. They maybe redundant for some-one who does the task daily, but for casual users they make it straightforward, stress and mistake free and simple.
stevious
The gap is too narrow to fit the lifeline carbon fibre hacksaw blade though.
Unbolt the front, two disc bolt washers in, refit, and it's perfect.
Have one of these at home (as, for the life of me I can't cut anything in a straight line). Have only used it to cut some bars down but think it does the job fine.
Its fine but you need to add your own shim / washers to use one of those fancy carbon-cutting blades as they're too wide. For a fraction of the price of the Park Tool guide though its a nice bit of kit to have for occasional home use.
Pipe cutters flare the tube slightly in my experience.
@alpin you probably do a bit more sawing than the average rider though.
Have you seen Dyna-Ti's handiwork?
Yeah, works fine...
In the spirit of STW tool one-uppery, I thought I'd google for proper posh precision steerer cutting guides and discovered that the Unior one is a cool £125 or so. Admittedly it has two cutting slots, one wide and one narrow, and comes with inserts for optimum fit on different sized tubes. The recommended Unior hacksaw is another 30 quid on top of that. Works for me 🙂
The right tool for the right job. And professional bike mechanics use a saw guide.
Some on the other hand ...
Angle grinder is way more fun.
That will certainly bring the cut edge up to temperature 😯
........
Fork is a brand new factory 36, and the uppers for that are about £350.
I’ve used mine on alloy and carbon steerers as well as bars and it’s been spot on.
So far I've only used mine for bars but still manage to cut them ever so slightly off 90 degrees, but I've always been really crap at sawing.
I’ve never experienced* flare when using a pipe cutter. Just nip it up a teeny tiny amount every couple of revolutions and you get a lovely clean cut, no filing required. Hell, I reckon I could perform a circumcision with one.
* half a dozen steerers, probs the same amount of bars and a few seatposts. No foreskins so far.
And professional bike mechanics use a saw guide.
Because they aren't regular saw users.
You can hand cut dovetails. You can do a bit of hacksaw engineering.
Its good - cuts are nice and straight now. However I have been cutting them freehand for 20 years previously with no issues. Some were well wonky but it makes no difference. Why on earth would you take it to a bike shop??!!
I'm terrible at DIY but have no problem cutting steerers freehand with a hacksaw. One of my favourite jobs, weirdly satisfying.
Don't forget the Tommy C Hype method of dragging the freshly cut end across a bit of tarmac to smooth the edges, rather than using a file 😀