Geoff Roberts Framebuilding course - first and second, and third frames. And fourth (now finished). And fifth.

I've had to fit a new stem while we've been out in Mallorca. When I built the bike I added a probably-unnecessary 10mm stem spacer, just in case I'd been over-optimistic when designing the frame. After the first day's riding the spacer went from underneath the stem to on top, and it was clear that it wasn't necessary. As shown in this picture (compulsory shot of the bike at the Tunel de Monnaber), with the stem spacer on top of the 120mm 6 degree 3T stem.

Confident that the spacer wasn't necessary and feeling offended by its presence, I borrowed a hacksaw from the owner of the hotel we're staying in and chopped the top 10mm off the fork steerer. All went well until I tried to refit the stem, at which point one of the retaining nuts for the stem bolts snapped in half. They're little top-hat shaped metal pieces which go in the stem clamp opposite the bolt, presumably due to the fact it's a carbon stem and 3T don't think that threads in carbon fibre are a good idea. The trouble is, the top-hat shaped bit appears to be made not from an engineering material like titanium or steel, but from something more akin to a mature soft cheese. I was using a torque wrench, and was nowhere near the 4Nm I was aiming for when it snapped.

So, emergency stem purchasing time. No stems were to be found in Soller, so I got a replacement from the bike shop in Bunyola. The closest size they had which wasn't available only in white (I'm not fussy, but I have some standards) was a PRO XLT 130mm 10 degree stem. Quite a bit longer and lower than the 120mm 6 degree 3T stem I had fitted.

But actually, I rather like it and prefer the position with the new PRO stem. It's a bit noodly and a bit heavy, so I'm now in the market for a decent carbon 130mm 10 degree stem...