Originally Posted by
pdlamb
Works fine as long as (1) you get it right the first time, and (2) you don't need the height to change. If you keep the same bike for 15 years and get to the point that you need the bars 3/4" higher in March than in September, threadless "adjustability" sucks.
Pretty much every bike out there has at least an inch of spacers. My race ready roadie has 3cm. Usually it's a good idea to leave a bit more than 3cm even if the steerer looks silly with the stem slammed. You also get an inch difference by flipping a 7 degree 120mm stem. That's 2 inches with even the more racy models. And that's not even considering larger angle stems such as 17 degree.
The minus in this is that you need to have a selection of stems for maximum adjustability. Then again it's never a bad idea to have a few extra. And having different lengths means you can keep the reach constant with height adjustments. With a quill this is more difficult if they arent faceplate removable.
Not to mention quills usually cost more