[Closed] Someone should have thought of this YEARS ago

Using the same set of eyes that you don't trust well enough to align your stem to set a tool up to align your stem.

Hah fools and their money are easily parted.

That would actually be very handy in the workshop...

I would buy one if it said " [b]Target Aquired[/b]"

Ben ,I am sure you could make one in a few minutes using an old laser pointer 😉

Seems reasonable to me for workshop use, particularly where you're doing a lot of very high end builds. Not really one for the home mechanics, but at £60 or so it's cheaper than a lot of tools that would get less use!

Im not sure that really works, would be far better if it projected a 90° line.

What if one arm is slightly longer than the other like mine are. Then the bars need to be slightly on the piss. What then? Maybe custom angle charts laser printed on the stem?
For that reason I'm out.

Ben ,I am sure you could make one in a few minutes using an old laser pointer

I have just been thinking that, yes 😉

Besides, their web shop only seems to ship to Germany.

Im not sure that really works, would be far better if it projected a 90° line.

Know what you mean, I reckon it would struggle on oversized carbon stems too, but interesting nonetheless.

3 lasers,just to be sure.

[img] [/img]

I already use a laser system for frame alignment [s]because I don't have space for a surface table[/s] because it's more precise and high tech 😉

I have wonky eyes, can never line up a wheel first go, if it was cheaper I'd be quite tempted.

Might have an addition to the 'what's the last thing you built' thread

Reckon somebody could knock something up with a 3D printer + a £2 laser pen that would be just as good.
You could even use a laser line pointer to make it better than their design as it wouldn't rely on the dish being perfect (you could align the direction of the line with the edge of the tyre rather than just centering the dot).

If it was £15 I might buy it just to save the few minutes fart-arsing about, E69 though, not a chance.

Off work today, but I have just sketched up a job* for the 3D printer later in the week

* different design to the original mind 🙂

Can't say I've ever had a problem with it. I once used a plumb bob from the stem to check the wheel was straight and decided that even that was overkill.

Or a bit of string and a weight on the end !

Trimix - Member
Or a bit of string and a weight on the end !

if your bike is perfectly vertical at the time

That's a lot more effort than using this tool though. The only thing that detracts from that is the price, and frankly it's cheaper than a workshop quality chain tool, so if you're doing a lot of bike builds it seems to make sense.

I just use my eyeballs, if I cannot tell if it is discernibly out either way by looking at it, that's good enough for me.

But a proven laser tool for the job would be good for shop use.
Both for saving time and for demonstrating the bars are true to an awkward customer who may think try are not.

If I had that, and my handlebars were therefore perfectly aligned, I'd be riding in circles as my handlebars have never been perfectly aligned before.

My squinty eyes always balls it up! Often it's because there's a front mudguard fitted that deceives as it's never perfectly straight, other times I'm just too tired/tipsy to manage....

With 50mm stems and fat bars I'm finding it difficult to great them straight first time - but 60 odd quid. Hmmm...

I have a solution...
[img] [/img]

As with another poster, since I shortened one side of my collarbone by a centimetre or two, I now ride with my bars deliberately a little off-centre too. A calibration system is definitely required!

I'm not too fussy about the setup of my bike generally, but I get fully OCD when aligning bars, to the point where it drives me to distraction. Then you take it out to find it's still not perfect. So if it works, it gets a thumbs up from me.

iolo - Member
What if one arm is slightly longer than the other like mine are.

then you are a freak.... 🙂

If there are at least 2 iPhones (or other similar device) in your household with the digital spirit level app (or you have an actual digital spirit level) then you already have what you need to do this. Easiest with an assistant, stand the bike up on it's rear wheel and place one device across the stem face plate and one across the fork crown, get them both reading the exact same, and tighten the stem.

I use the front edge of the handle bar and the tips of the dropouts to line mine up (do both dropouts come into view at the same time as I move fore and aft).
This technique may not work so well with my new Lefty equipped bike - first world problem 🙂

ffs ) sight up the front edges of the fork dropouts and the front edge of the bar at equal distance either side of the stem, ideally where it's not tapering. Easy at the right viewpoint.

clearly aimed at people with better cash flow than eyesight

[img] https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQGydsCiXYcLfvs1H3gJaqgoN_ZXHmWogvkPKRp-DXZjeyX29267g [/img]

Easiest with an assistant

That's where your method becomes considerably more hassle than just eyeballing it 😉

My annoyance is when building a bike, I get to a point where I have to take it off the stand, get the bars straight and tight, then put it back in the stand again to continue building. It's a bit of a faff. Worse when building Bromptons, because they can be harder to eyeball. So for me, a gadget that I can quickly put on a bike in the stand to get it straight would be handy.

That's where your method becomes considerably more hassle than just eyeballing it