If I remember right, Joe built it so that he could get lower and cleaner than any current quill adapter that you'd just put into a threaded headset (lighter too). I bought one because I want to get one of the Cigne stems from Velo Orange and you need a taller clamping surface than is available on most quilled insertion adapters. And it just looks so much nicer than most of those (most people who care about looks - on a previous drop bar converted mtb commuting bike, looks wasn't something I cared about - try to cover the gap between the clamp area on the adapter and the headset with spacers, but many adapters don't allow that and the changing diameter means they rattle a bit). And I needed a new headset anyway. And I wanted to try out a new toy.