Touring - Looking for 1" quill stem with 31.8 clamp

Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.




ginsoakedboy
07-24-07, 09:25 PM
This may not even exist -- yet -- but does anyone know if any manufacturer offers such a creature? I have an old Raleigh tourer with 1" threaded headset, but the bars I would really like to use are 31.8.

I am already aware of the available adapters that fit a 1" threaded and allow a 1-1/8 or 1-1/4 threadless stem to be mounted, but that seems like an awful lot of excess hardware, and I would prefer to use just a quill stem that has the larger clamp -- if there is such a thing.

Thanks.


SoonerLater
07-25-07, 07:19 AM
Did you post this in the Bike Mechanics forum? If not, you should. This forum is pretty much just tourers and wannabes, but the BM forum gets lots of action from real bike mechanics (people who actually make their livings working on bikes in LBS's).

BTW... is your interest in the 31.8 handlebar just to get a larger diameter bar to hold, or for some other reason? I've very large hands and am interested in the 31.8 for exactly that reason. In the meantime, i've put some carefully cut 3/8" thick closed-cell medium density foam under the outer wrap (of two) on my traditional drop bars and it seems to help a lot. I think the added cushioning and the larger diameter fits my big hands better and gives me a more comfortable ride.

squeakywheel
07-25-07, 07:54 AM
Get a 1" quill to 1 1/8" threadless converter. It is inserted in the fork like a quill stem. Then you have a 1 1/8" post extending up out of the fork. You can clamp modern threadless stems onto it.


ginsoakedboy
07-25-07, 12:53 PM
Thanks -- yes I did post this same thread in Mechanics, and one person did alert me to the availability of a Kalloy adjustable quill stem with the 31.8 clamp size. My main reason for wanting the 31.8 bar is for strength. I have a 31.8 bar on my other bike, and I love it and feel stable with it. I think it's a genuine advance in strength and safety, and I wouldn't be surprised by next season that there will be several other stems on the market. Plus, the bar I really want to use comes only in 31.8 size. The other issue is aesthetics -- this old '80's vintage Raleigh tourer I have is old school, with all the polished aluminum components for that era, so I've tried the adapter with a threadless stem, and it just doesn't look right.

Thanks squeaky -- I tried to cover the adapter issue in my OP.