recbike

I have a 2001 Lemond Buenos Aires and just yesterday while commuting to work my handlebar snapped in half. It has a threaded headset with a quill stem. I would like to upgrade to a threadless headset and carbon handlebars and a different fork than it has now. I am not wanting to spend a lot on the upgrade so I went to Performance website to look for those items. What I found is the following which comes as a package:
Forte Pro Road Stem
Cane Creek S2 Threadless Headset
Forte Carbon Fiber Headset Spacer Kit
Forte Axis Pro Carbon Road Fork
at a price of 189.99
I was also looking at the Forte Pro Carbon Handlebar for 99.99 to complete the set.
My question is are these components any good and are of good quality? Does anyone else have any experience with any of these items? Is a good upgrade for a threadless setup? Any comments will be helpful if I want to purchase these items.

cydewaze

Your handlebars snapped in half? Why not just get a new set of bars? Just curious.

genericbikedude

wouldn't catastrophic component failure tend to make you want carbon LESS rather than MORE?

barba

Make sure you know if you need a 1" or 1 1/8" set up. I am guessing since you have a quill your frame will accept a 1" fork, but you should check that before buying anything.

Threadless setups are nice, but the major reason to do it would be that you want to upgrade the fork to carbon (I am assuming your current setup is steel). It probably wouldn't do anything to stop the failure you experienced. Are you alright, by the way?

recbike

Wouldn't going from aluminum to carbon fiber be stronger strength wise? Is there a reason why I would want less carbon than more?
Answer to barba: I have a 1" setup and your right about the quill. It has the stock carbon fork which is a Icon Carbon Classic fork. The LBS I got it from says its an ok fork but it can be a lot better. I am ok by the way. I was climbing up hill so I was at about 10 mph at the time of the failure.
I went to Performance to check out the items in question and its for a 1" steerer tube setup. I handled each item and they seem in very good quality but thats not saying much if there not assembled on a bike. The shop said I have 90 days to return it if I don't like it.
I thought about just getting handlebars but I thought I might get something a little lighter, hopefully stronger and stiffer. I partially disassembled my headset and quill to measure the tube and the quill and handlebar setup is much heavier than the stem/handlebar I was looking at. I want to do as much research as possible before the purchase of a whole steering group. I spent a lot of time researching new wheels when that came about also. Thanks for the input. Please don't hesitate to give more advice.

bsyptak

That' is a good price for all of that stuff. You won't find that deal anywhere else for that price. Don't forget to join their "club" for $20. It entitles you to 10% rebate (for use in-store, not cash) on all purchases. So, on that $300, you'd already be $10 ahead.

I'm sure all of that stuff is fine. Good thing about Performance is you can always take it back if you have any problems with it. Most of their products are made by names you've heard of before. Most of their brake stuff is made by Tektro, saddles by Velo, pedals by Wellgo, etc. I've had good luck with their stuff whenever I've bought it.

It would also bring your bike "up to date" as well with the new stem type.

bsyptak

Also, if you're buying it online, don't forget to use one of the coupon codes on this web site to get another 10% off.

operator

Your handlebar snapped ergo, it must be the threaded headset and stem.

Very logical. There's no reason to switch a perfectly ok system out for threadless. And besides steel fork warns you of impending doom or at least there's a chance it would vs a CF fork.

dekalbSTEEL

1. Pay no attention to the naysayers, if you want to upgrage, UPGRADE!
2. You should have no problems with Performance branded products, and if you do, they have a great return policy.
3. Post some pics when you're done!

the beef

I've personally had some pretty frustrating experiences with threaded - specifically, the threading inside the headset was damaged from the start and the damn setup would NOT stay tightened up. The whole threaded headset deal ended up being a whole lot of grief instead of anything that helped me. My new bike's threadless, and it's a lot stiffer. None of that damned play when I hold the front brake and move the bars forwards and backwards. I hated that.

Otherwise though, I'm not sure where the whole threadless thing relates to your snapped handlebars. But aside from that, the $180 deal is pretty good. You do understand that carbon fibre is more prone to random snappages and won't especially help you in that department though, right?

fogrider

I went through this upgrade last year. the performance stuff looks pretty good. but I couldn't bring myself to put the performance stuff on my top end bike. I found a campy record headset...the carbon cap is a nice touch. the thing that I found was that the lightweight stems were too flexy. as you can see, I went with an older interloc stem. its a steel stem with ti finish...not as light as a ritchey wcs but it is rock solid. Since the frame is a kestrel ems, I wanted to stay with a kestrel fork, but they are one of the few that don't have a carbon steerertube. I did find a kestrel fork with a ti steerertube and a kestrel handlebar. the thing I like about the kestrel handlebar is that it is one of the few that allow the mounting of aero bars and has a life time warranty. at the end I spent about 200 bucks on ebay and got the stem from interloc directly.

cyclintom

No. Especially if the carbon bar is light. It can snap off just about as easily as a light aluminum bar and it more liable to scratching damage.

Yes, because carbon is not a reliable material most especially for everyday use. It is an exotic material that should be reserved for the most part for racing.

Carbon forks is one of the exceptions to the rule since these forks really are made massively and they tend to be about as reliable as a light steel fork. They ARE more likely to shatter whereas steel bends. I'm not sure that makes any difference though I was able to ride home on a bent steel fork whereas a shattered carbon fork leaves you cally a cab.

My personal opinion is that threaded headsets are better than threadless. You can more easily adjust them in fine increments and they hold their settings more reliably. What's more, a quill stem looks better, has a more graceful rise and it can be replaced without screwing up the headset tension.

oilman_15106

If they have a store anywhere in your state you will have to pay sales tax even if bought online.

StanSeven

'm surprised a 2001 bike came with a threaded headset. Anyway I went to threadless on one of my older bikes. You'll find a considerable weight savings. The CF fork gives a much better ride. I've tried CF bars but noticed little difference in ride quality over Al. But CF looks cool.

I've never had a bad experience with anything brought from Performance. Their return policy is excellent so I doubt you will ever have any regrets.

As someone else said, just go for it. You'll enjoy the upgrade and you can't beat that price.