martinarlaw

to go with this ( for example) ? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-Ahead-Th...#ht_500wt_1156

fietsbob

Its going to go UP, its an auction. kid. and what if the reach is wrong?
the tube quill type things are reduced at the bottom
so OD down there is ID at the top. they are for stuffing the same quill in the top.

Anyhow, many 1.125" hreadless stems come with a shim , down to 1.0" ..

Wolfwerx

We stopped using them in the mid 90's? I wish I had gotten the memo, I wouldn't have just bought that nice new Tange Seiki headset.

FastJake

Ok, so you hate the look of a quill stem. Fair enough. I don't agree with this but I understand. The products you posted should work, just make sure if you get a 1" adapter you get a 1" stem, or 1 1/8" with 1 1/8". As long as the clamp diameter is correct.

As far as other upgrades, I would advise that you do nothing. Fix anything that breaks and save up for a better bike. A dual suspension BSO is about the last bike worth upgrading...

jimc101

Well Mountain bikes did; road bikes seemed to be the late 90's before they changed, but I was still using intragrated Bontrager bar/stem till last year which had a quill stem, and Nitto still make some very nice quill stems, looking at some on the images from this years NAHBS, threaded headsets seemed to be making a bit of a comeback.

Wolfwerx

My post was jest. I'm retro-grouchy, mostly.


NB: Everything Nitto makes is nice-looking, IMO.

hueyhoolihan

it is possible that you could use the fork on a new frame, but most bikes/frames come with a suitable fork anyway. to make it worth your while you would have to purchase a bike/frame without a fork and then only those that would be compatible. not very convienent, i think, but as i said possible.

bobotech

All I'm going to say is that if you use a threaded to threadless stem adapter like the one in post 3, you still have a quill. The quill is the threadless adapter itself. The attachment point is identical. The only difference is that you can use threadless stems but the basic underlying structure is still the same. I just want you to realize that even after you change the parts out, you are really no further ahead than if you left it alone.

Except as DialboScott said, you now have 2 clamping surfaces to fail compared to 1 with just using a standard quill. Something to ponder. On a real threadless system, the steerer/fork is basically 1 unit with the stem attached at the top of the steerer for 2 parts just like a threaded system. Using the threadless adapter just introduces another fail point into the equation.

surreal

I'm not going to pass judgment on anyone, nor am I going to repeat any of the decent advice already offered. I just have to ask: WHAT YEAR IS THIS?!?!?!

This question is sooooooooooo ten years ago. At the turn of the century, some ppl with older bikes wanted to convert so they could run the hott new schtuff. By now, ppl who like quills get bikes with quills, and ppl who like threadless buy bikes with threadless. Money is no longer a deciding factor, as you can get cheap bikes or expensive bikes with either set up. What would possess someone to buy the style they dislike, only to convert it?

-rob

fietsbob

well the threadless changeover for New stuff, began in the 90's.. by the manufacturers..

some small builders will still make precision custom stuff to go with the older gear type.


and cheap bikes sold in toy, and general merchandise stores
to people who cannot pony up the 4 figure price .. for a real FS bike .

surreal

Yeah, i remember... in the 90s, high-end bikes made the threadless switch first, and it trickled down. Even today, some low-end bikeshop bikes come with quill stems, as do many of the dept store bikes and whatnot. (Some walmart bikes come threadless, too, though...) Of course, there are still custom and retro (thinkashley) makers who no the quill stuff. But, let's not forget the used market; it is there that you can get bikes with all kinds of componentry at all different pricepoints. You can definitely get a used "real" FS bike for under a grand; of course, the tech will be outdated, and it'll likely be either thrashed or neglected....but still.

Looking at my stable, as well as projects in the works, I see that I've got a definite preference for quill set-ups. I even have a few bikes with 21.1mm quills. Much easier to make fit adjustments, and they look better to my eye...but on an mtb that's going to see real offroad use, you can't beat 9/8" or greater threadless set-ups.

-rob