Road Cycling - Favorite stem type

Hi all,

I was recently thinking: Though i've never had a threadless style stem, they really don't seem like a big leap forward in usability. Sure, they are better for the manufacturers, as they only need to make one size of fork, but are they really more usable? They probably are lighter i'd guess, and allow for carbon fork steerers etc, but are they really better? They would seem to be a lot harder to adjust.

I know very few people like not being able to remove the handlebar without taking the grip tape off, but they make both quill and threadless stems that can do that, so don't consider that as a difference between the two. Assume that the handlebar can be removed the same on both options.

I really don't know which way this one will go, my vote is going to be for quill though. If you have a good point why you like one more than the other feel free to share, logical or emotional is okay.

take care,

Jester

i had a carbon steerer snap on a french descent in august, that's one of the flaws in threadless - they can nearly kill you if you do the bolts up too tight (or the ****** in the shop put the wrong expander bolt in).

weight wise you can save loads with threadless and carbon though so it got my vote,

Since I ride touring-style bikes mostly, I prefer the easy height-adjustability of a quill stem. The weight difference is trivial on a bike like this.

But while the weight/strength advantages of threadless are meaningful (if not really important to most riders), I think their biggest associated benefit was to popularize the removable stem faceplate. Since these are common on threadless stems and uncommon on quills, and since they make life easier in oh, so many ways, I'm glad two of my bikes have them.

A quill stem with a removable faceplate would be optimal, however.

RichC

A quill stem with a removable faceplate would be optimal, however.


I have two of these, a 90 and 110mm, they aren't all that hard to come by, but are a bit rarer than the threadless equivalent. I think profile makes them in pretty much any size or rise/drop.

take care,

Jester

A quill stem with a removable faceplate would be optimal, however.I completely agree.

I have two of these, a 90 and 110mm, they aren't all that hard to come by, but are a bit rarer than the threadless equivalent. I think profile makes them in pretty much any size or rise/drop.
Jester

If only they were taller.

RichC

I think main reason I would go with threadless is because it is the standard now, so you have alot more options as far as stems go other then that I can't see a major advantage other then weight.

Salsa also has a comprehensive selection of quill stems with removable faceplates, though I've had some trouble with them having all models in stock.

I switched to threadless when I changed forks.

If you want height adjustment the best choice for thread or threadless is the LOOK ERGO stem. It gives adjustments in both height and length.

I've considered this for my tourer.

For my racing bike I use a stock ITM Milinnium threadless stem.

The number one advantage of a quill stem is that bike shop employees can quickly adjust a bicycle to fit a reasonable range of people. By switching to clamp-on stems (stupid stems) the bike companies are making it harder to fit bikes (especially road bikes).

a bike shop can cut a steerer off to fit the size of the person they're selling the bike to. unless it's going to "a range of people" this seems ideal. i know a guy who rode the tour and was a top pro in his day who says the new setup is so much simpler. he was also an engineer at Jaguar cars when he retired from pro bike riding so has some credentials.

Hi Rich,
the Salsa stem looks perfect on my Airborne, the faceplate has a ti-like finish, and the little chili looks great. You can special order it in the 1" size. This is a pic of it, looks better up close and personal.

http://www.touringcyclist.com/gear/model_11034.html

This (http://rivendellbicycles.com/webalog/handlebars_stems_tape/16088.html) has got to be the coolest stem ever. Only $200.00 for a quill stem! And it is out of stock.

I've actually been looking at that thing for years and have never seen it in stock.

it's heavier than my forks and stem put together, and uglier too.

I voted Quill because I like the ability to raise or
lower without having to resort to spacers, and don't
have to worry about cutting the fork too short to allow
adjustment.
TTT Mutant and Motus stems are both open face
quills. Modolo also has a few that are front opening
quill designs.
The Riv stem may be heavier than your fork and threadless stem but will still be functional long after your
threadless has been sent packing to the dump. Ugly?
thats a matter of taste, personally I like it, but then
I think almost all threadless are Mugly!
Marty

but once it's fitted there's no need to adjust it for height or length or anything!!!

I've seen a lot more bikes where they cut the steerer long put spacers on the bottom, add a stem, and then put a few spacers on the top...

Now you can slide the stem around by taking it off and moving the spacers around..

P.S. One of the disadvantages of a QUILL stem is that you can get moisture between the stem and the inside of the fork causing the quik to rust into the fork (Aluminum oxidize, same thing).

The wedge sometimes also gets stuck causing you to take a mallot and a center punch to drive it free. One hopes that the wedge does not get dammaged by this process because that will mean buying a new stem/wedge/bolt and if the system is truly frozen one may have to cut the stem oir possibly even the fork to replace/remove the quill stem.

Threadless at least the stem is outside the fork so if you had to destroy the stem to remove it from the fork you only risk losing the stem (of course carbon fork steerers are a problem as stated earlier).

This getting frozen in biz was the other reason (besides going with a lighter newer fork) that caused me to change over. I nearly destroyed the quill when I was doing my yearly dissasemble/reassemble/and/grease/stuff/so/it/wont/freezeup... It did freeze up and I nearly broke the wedge/bolt to get it free again...

This (http://rivendellbicycles.com/webalog/handlebars_stems_tape/16088.html) has got to be the coolest stem ever. Only $200.00 for a quill stem! And it is out of stock.

at 200 bucks and 383 grams for a 10cm, stem I would never stock this thing...this is heavier than some carbon forks! :eek:

I've actually been looking at that thing for years and have never seen it in stock.

threadless is pretty cool, not only is it lighter and simpler, you can use a carbon steerer. but I voted for quill because they are beautiful. forget about the removable face plate, I want one bolt hidden on the bottom. I'm not going to swap the handlebars, you still have to swap out the brake levers which means retaping anyway...and why would one swap out handlebars?

My next will most likely have a threadless. I know what length I will need by meassuring my current bikes, so adjustability is not really an issue for me. This might be an issue for new riders to the road.

The reason for the two-bolt/four-bolt clamps is it makes for easy travel. Just remove those bolts and take the handle bars off!

Also go one step further and place quick-disconnect cables inline and now you can remove the bars, levers and all, from the bike.

My S&S tandem is built up this way.

If I went back to quill it would be a MUST HAVE that it uses the two/four bolt system for easy bar removal.