wsrobert wrote:
I believe the OP mentioned something very specific about his setup that could be impacting the performance of the bike. That being how long and low he rides it. Mind sharing a photo of your bike? I'd bet its not exceptionally long and low.his photo is going to look like my photo because it's got the factory stem on it. i have a theory. i have no idea whether my theory has any merit.
you'll note that this frame, in front of the head tube top, where the steerer exits, slopes up. this is okay if you use the factory stem, or a stem that follows this profile. but as you can see even the factory stem is built to really hug that profile. in my opinion it would be a mistake to try to use this bike as a long/low bike beyond the longness, lowness it currently exhibits.
in my opinion, just my guess, a downward sloping non-factory stem [EDIT, LATE ADD: or a slammed factory stem if an insufficient gap is maintained] is going to exhibit, along with the steerer, a natural bounce that's going to hit this frame from time to time, and that's why kiley's stem offsets. the stem hits the frame, on its bottom, and the bottom of the stem is forced to slide to one side.
this isn't a manufacturer defect. this is a poor frame choice given kiley's riding position and stem requirement, which kiley wouldn't have known about prior to buying the frame.
see where LAI is? that's where kiley is. he has precisely the same variance from the norm. it's not that there's anything wrong with kiley's position, but as you can see his position requires a very specific frame geometry, or a very specific bar. i just about always tell people with positions like this, your purchase is a tririg alpha x. that's your "frame". the bicycle frame is now the "component" that attaches to what is your primary necessary purchase.
in my opinion, but i'd have to calc this out, a tririg alpha c on the standard andean stem, or a similarly low profile bar like perhaps a PRO or an enve, that is the way to build kiley's bike up for him.
maybe i'm wrong in my analysis. i have zero data other than my gut instinct. but this is what my gut tells me. that factory stem is rock solid on the steerer. it's a round 1" carbon steerer. if you tighten your stem correctly and it still offsets, my explanation is what makes the most sense to me. that's the only way i could imagine force being applied in a manner so as to exhibit kiley's handlebar offset.
Dan Empfield
aka Slowman