tomatocity said:
Asked this before and did not get an answer.
Will the Excel Throttle Control work with the ProTaper Contour Raptor handlebars?
I wish I could help you here, Tim...
But I'm still on the stock bars. I did discuss, at length, with Tom about aluminum bars during development but I honestly can't recall if the Excel is sized to go into the bars or not. That said, I do know this - during our discussion I was playing around with the idea of aluminum bars, and I did figure out a way to make the Excel work even if it only fit into a thin-walled steel bar. The only key to making that work wold the necessity of using threaded inserts into the aluminum bar rather than any universal expanding ones, as the distance into the bar would be very mission-critical.
I already had my prototype Excel in my hands (look at the pics early in the thread and you'll see mine is a bit different than the production one) so I was was faced with either figuring out a way or...
Here's where I have to stop and explain that the prototype Excel I have has a circular boss that goes into the inside of the stock handlebar, and it mates with the welded in insert inside the bar that the bar end weight bolt screws into. This circular boss is very important, as it is threaded onto the Excel, and screwing it in or out provides the proper clearance with end of the bar and the throttle tube so that everything fits together right for proper free throttle action yet the ability for the friction ring to press down on the end of the throttle the proper amount when the Excel is actuated. Yes, it has the little "daisy wheel" for fine adjustments, but the initial clearance is set with the threaded collar on the insert boss (Note: Tom has the production ones set pretty close so most folks don't have to fiddle with this on the production models).
OK, on mine this threaded collar/boss (again, look at the pics in various threads of mine prior to installation and you'll see what I mean) I believe is too large to go into a thick-walled aluminum bar, so again, I figured out a way to make it work even if it was too large. OTOH, I asked Tom about it and he said it would be no problem, if I bought aluminum bars, for him to machine down the collar/boss so it could fit into the aluminum bars... Just measure the ID of the bars, send him back my prototype Excel, and he would do it. Only I never got around to installing any alloy bars, and was riding too much and didn't want to be without the Excel that long.
OK, the point of this long explanation? Well, three things...
1.) It's possible that after our discussions Tom took into account that there might be folks with aluminum bars out there buying his product and sized the boss accordingly.
2.) Two, he didn't, but there still is a way to mount it even if it doesn't fit. Just PM me for details, though it would be easier to explain over the phone once you have one in your hands.
3.) Just tell Tom up front the inside diameter of your bars and I'm sure he can machine you one accordingly. I do not know if it will incur additional cost to do it on a production unit.
Best thing to do is simply to call or e-mail Tom and ask him. He's a great guy, and easy to talk to. Tell him what you need and he'll figure out a way to fix you up.
Hope all this helps somehow...
Dallara
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