# headset spacer stack height on S-Works Roubaix



## dantheviking (Feb 13, 2006)

I recently purchased a 54cm '07 S-Works Roubaix. I am 5' 9" and my custom steel bike is also a 54cm with a 54cm top tube. My S-Works is set up with a pretty high handlebar height, such that it is more that the recommended 40mm (1 1/2") stack height of spacers.
I have not discussed this yet with my shop, but am wondering if anyone in this forum can shed some light on stack height. Can this height be fudged a bit? Is the recommendation of 40mm to appease corporate lawyers?

I have enclosed some pics of my current handlebar and saddle height? I came into my decision to buy this bike that I would get a 54cm, but would a 56cm have been better?


Thanks,
dantheviking


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## luv2cruz (Oct 30, 2005)

Good looking bike. Can't you flip the stem and get the same handlebar height with less spacers? I don't really know if there is a safety issue involved with spacer height. Ask your LBS.


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## dadat40 (Mar 27, 2007)

do you have the stem flush with the top of steer tube,I think it should have no more than 5 mm below top of stem. maybe you should have gotten the 56 frame.


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## OneGear (Aug 19, 2005)

work your flexibility and ride it like it's mean to be ridden 

maybe get a stem with some rise? it doesn't seem like yours has any so flipping it won't really make a diff.


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## bcubed (Jul 12, 2007)

I have a 56cm Tarmac SL. I am 5'10" with a 30" inseam and the bike fits like a glove. You can flip the stem and you will get some rise out of it. Check mine out.


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## bcubed (Jul 12, 2007)

...rest of the bike.


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## cbart330 (Mar 2, 2006)

Like OneGear says above..work on the flexibility and ride it like a pro! Take a look at Boonen/Bettini/Lepheimer etc. Look at their frame sizes/seat height etc. I am 5'10 with a 30 inch inseam as well, and the 56 just feels to big. The 54 set up properly feels more nimble and better aerodynamically. It just fits! That's my two cents!


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## 2wheel-lee (Apr 23, 2007)

I can't imagine that you have that much steer tube. Was that fork off of a 56? My 56 S-Works has the same amount of spacers shown on one of the bikes above. 
I agree that if you need that much height, you should flip the stem, instead of relying on so many spacers.

The downside with going with a 56 is that your top tube will be about 20 mm longer. Can you fit that with your torso? Perhaps you could go with a shorter stem to make up for the longer top tube.

Another odity is how far forward you have your seat. Do you use this bike exclusively for time trials? The seat position leads me to believe there are some fitment issues or setup problems with your bike. If I were in your situation, I'd speak to a professional fitter. Considering fitters have different beliefs, you may want to speak with more than one.


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## DM-SC (Jul 18, 2007)

2wheel-lee said:


> Another odity is how far forward you have your seat. Do you use this bike exclusively for time trials? The seat position leads me to believe there are some fitment issues or setup problems with your bike. If I were in your situation, I'd speak to a professional fitter. Considering fitters have different beliefs, you may want to speak with more than one.


I noticed that, too. I was also wondering what the OP's inseam measurement is? I'm 5'8" with a 29.5 inseam and I'm riding a 52cm Tarmac. And, I don't have that much seat post showing.


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## dantheviking (Feb 13, 2006)

Thanks to everyone for responding to my OP. I have yet to get the bike completely dialed in by my local fitter (Cronometro). My question was whether or not the high stack height made it a dangerous bike to ride given that it exceeds the 40mm limit that Specialized states. I've since heard from some local respected bike mechanics that the 40mm limit is rather arbitrary. In any case, I may flip the stem and remove one of the spacers. I do think the bike is the right size for me. I am 5'9" and have an inseam of 30". My custom steel Waterford fits me well and that is a 54cm X 54cm. 

Thanks again for all of the input.

Dan


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## Tschai (Jun 19, 2003)

dantheviking said:


> Thanks to everyone for responding to my OP. I have yet to get the bike completely dialed in by my local fitter (Cronometro). My question was whether or not the high stack height made it a dangerous bike to ride given that it exceeds the 40mm limit that Specialized states. I've since heard from some local respected bike mechanics that the 40mm limit is rather arbitrary. In any case, I may flip the stem and remove one of the spacers. I do think the bike is the right size for me. I am 5'9" and have an inseam of 30". My custom steel Waterford fits me well and that is a 54cm X 54cm.
> 
> Thanks again for all of the input.
> 
> Dan


Yea, I don't think your question was answered directly. The stack height is just a number. I know guys with more stack height than that on a mountain bike. The only issue is that the stack height does affect handling, but I wouldn't say that it makes the bike dangerous. I don't think the steerer/fork, or any other part, is more likely to fail or anything like that from a high stack height.


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## dantheviking (Feb 13, 2006)

I guess what made me nervous about it was going from an all steel bike to a carbon bike, and especially carbon fork. I seem to recall a lot of horror stories from the early days of CF forks. I didn't want to have a lot of unsupported CF fork tube to give me the heebie jeebies.

Cheers,

Dan


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## dantheviking (Feb 13, 2006)

*My bad!*

:blush2: I've got egg on my face. I actually measured the spacers and lo and behold there IS 40mm of stack height. I guess I just assumed that mm's were smaller than they actually are. The bottom spacer is 10mm, then 5mm, 5mm, and finally 20mm. So this whole time my stack height was within range. Sorry for wasting anyone's bandwidth.

I am not including the coned spacer, although I supposed that is part of the height.

I did get my bike fitted last week at Cronometro. They dialed me in a bit in the saddle fore/aft (as another poster noted) position, but otherwise left everything else alone, including my stem height. I'll post some pics this weekend.

Thanks again for all who responded to my OP. Sorry I wasn't applying due diligence before I posted.

Dan


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## RobertBGfitter (Jan 10, 2008)

The LBS that you bought your Roubaix from. Do they have a BG Fitter there? One thing that I know as a dealer with Specialized is that if the shop needs to change stem,saddle,cranks, or any other fit issue they can get replacements in size needed from Specialized. Its a common practice around here to change a stem or saddle for rider during a fit.Check with them and see.
Robert
Competition Sports


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## dickey (Jan 15, 2008)

dantheviking said:


> :blush2: I've got egg on my face. I actually measured the spacers and lo and behold there IS 40mm of stack height. I guess I just assumed that mm's were smaller than they actually are. The bottom spacer is 10mm, then 5mm, 5mm, and finally 20mm. So this whole time my stack height was within range. Sorry for wasting anyone's bandwidth.Dan


You have at least 6cm of stack height. That one on the bottom is 2cm.


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## Tschai (Jun 19, 2003)

Looking at the picture, it loooks like 60 mm of stack height if you include the coned spacer. While I am not sure if this is unsafe, it does seem to be high. I would get a riser stem to compensate. 

As to all the others yapping about working your way to flexibility, don't they realize that to do so you will need to start at the position you are at now and slowly work your way down?


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## dickey (Jan 15, 2008)

Either that or your bike is just to small and need a longer headtube. Your stem should not be more than 5cm or 6cm lower than your bars anyway.


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## mercurymike (Jun 2, 2003)

*Get a headset extender*

Specialized makes a press in head tube extender that effectively extends head tube 40 mm. I have one and it looks like it came that way. I have 40 mm spacer on top of that.


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## artnshel (Jun 29, 2004)

mercurymike said:


> Specialized makes a press in head tube extender that effectively extends head tube 40 mm. I have one and it looks like it came that way. I have 40 mm spacer on top of that.


That would be a pretty revolutionary item for me. Do you know if it's on their site anywhere? Do you have a picture of it?
You must have had to buy a new fork to take advantage of it.


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## PJ352 (Dec 5, 2007)

I'd like to see a picture of that myself. Serotta makes something similar, but theirs extends the steerer tube, not the head tube.


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## artnshel (Jun 29, 2004)

*Wow, there is such a thing as an extender*

Here's the link to the specialized site.
*http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCEqProduct.jsp?a=b&minisite=10029&spid=30014&language=US

I was skeptical but I doubt Specialized would offer this if it wasn't safe. This opens a whole new world to me.
I wonder what other frames use the campy standard?*


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## mercurymike (Jun 2, 2003)

*Further extender info*

My 07 Roubaix uses the 48mm Campy bearing extender. Apparently other models use a 46mm extender. I found this item in their catalog, store was not aware of item. Also check out carbon headset cone. It takes the place of carbon spacers, is nicely tapered, and comes in 20,30,and 40mm stack height. Designed to finish off look of extender. I have extender and 40mm cone, looks great to me. I am starting with a new bike so fork length not an issue for me.


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## Roadrider22 (May 24, 2006)

Mercury Mike: Could you post a pic or two so we could see how it looks?


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## mercurymike (Jun 2, 2003)

*spacer pics*

Will try ASAP. Probably tomorrow.


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## mercurymike (Jun 2, 2003)

*pics*

photo of just pressed in extender, extender and 40mm spacer, and pics with handlebar in place. As you can see I haven't cut my steering tube yet. hope these photos upload, if not I will keep trying.


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## Roadrider22 (May 24, 2006)

Thanks for the pics. The extender presses in with a headset press or by hand? Is that a 40mm cone spacer from Specialized?


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## mercurymike (Jun 2, 2003)

*answers*

The extender is pressed in, the bike shop offered to do it for me and I let them but it would be easy to do with some threaded rod, washers and nuts. I would recommend using regular spacers to arrive at best height and if you like the looks of the Specialized spacer, it is available in 20,30, 40mm.


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## Magpie (Sep 13, 2004)

I have an 06 Tarmac. I love the bike, but am having some serious back problems. I've been thinking of getting a Roubaix, which has a stem length of 215mm, compared to 180mm for my Tarmac. The 40mm spacer will increase the effective HT length to 220mm, right? That could be the answer for me, as my back is fine on the Roubaix. Do you know whether the spacer and/or extender would work on my stem? Will the length of the steerer be an issue?


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## artnshel (Jun 29, 2004)

Magpie said:


> I have an 06 Tarmac. I love the bike, but am having some serious back problems. I've been thinking of getting a Roubaix, which has a stem length of 215mm, compared to 180mm for my Tarmac. The 40mm spacer will increase the effective HT length to 220mm, right? That could be the answer for me, as my back is fine on the Roubaix. Do you know whether the spacer and/or extender would work on my stem? Will the length of the steerer be an issue?


You're right, the extender will add 40mm and get you to 220mm but you will need a new fork with longer steerer to take advantage of using spacers above the extender.

I just found a used Tarmac SL and ordered an extender to use with it. I'm looking for a fork that's long enough now. 

Art


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## Magpie (Sep 13, 2004)

*extender*

Thanks for the response. With just the 40mm extender (no additional spacers), would I need a new fork? I would think an effective 220mm headtube length would be enough.


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## artnshel (Jun 29, 2004)

Ok, the steerer tube is what limits how high you can put your stem. I assume there are a few spacers under you stem right now? Right?

If there are 4cm of spacers and the cone shaped headset cap then you can replace the spacers with the headset extender however you won't have raised you stem at all. To raise your stem the 4 cm of the headset extender you'll need a longer steerer and to continue to use all your spacers or you can use the extender with fewer spacers to not get the full 4cm of additional ht. The spacers are an important part of the current and future equation.


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## Magpie (Sep 13, 2004)

No, I don't have any spacers in there right now at all - the bike is completely stock. I tried a shorter and steeper stem, but that didn't have much effect. This would be my first foray into the world of spacers/extenders.


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## Magpie (Sep 13, 2004)

Oops, my mistake, I've got 20mm of spacers in there and didn't realize it. I think I'm going to end up on a Roubaix.


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## Dr_John (Oct 11, 2005)

> Oops, my mistake, I've got 20mm of spacers in there and didn't realize it. I think I'm going to end up on a Roubaix.


Yeah, I was going to point that out.  Most 'off the shelf' Specialized bikes will come stock with at least 10 mm of spacers under the stem. Easier to cut a steerer than put it back.


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## California L33 (Jan 20, 2006)

Magpie said:


> No, I don't have any spacers in there right now at all - the bike is completely stock. I tried a shorter and steeper stem, but that didn't have much effect. This would be my first foray into the world of spacers/extenders.


 What size and angle stem did you use? Specialized makes some with awfully steep angles, and at their site they even have charts as to how high and far different sizes will put your handlebar. I think it's Specialized.com, then click on Equipment, then Stems- it's not hard to find even if that's not exactly it. 

And as you make your adjustments make sure you don't pull the bars in too close to you in an attempt to get more 'upright'- it could force you to arch your back.


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## Magpie (Sep 13, 2004)

California L33 said:


> What size and angle stem did you use? Specialized makes some with awfully steep angles, and at their site they even have charts as to how high and far different sizes will put your handlebar. I think it's Specialized.com, then click on Equipment, then Stems- it's not hard to find even if that's not exactly it.
> 
> And as you make your adjustments make sure you don't pull the bars in too close to you in an attempt to get more 'upright'- it could force you to arch your back.


Thanks for the heads-up regarding the stuff on the site...I'll go back and find it. And also for the advice on bringing the bars in too close.


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