Not really.... the stem on the GT in the first pic was actually damaged, so I would have had to buy the 1 1/8 quill extender+1 1/8 quill stem or the quill stem extender+ 1 1/8 quill to threadless adapter, and then used a threadless stem I already have. Either way, I think it would have just been somewhat of a "kludge" that i would never fully like or trust.

The Hardrock is just going to work out better.
Bruce