Can someone school me on the advantages / disadvantages of threadless. I have an older frame ( Schwinn Tempo without a fork) that I am contemplating putting together for some casual group road rides. I have to find a fork for it and if it's plausible I was considering a threadless carbon fork.
Thanks

They make 1" threadless headsets still... lots of choices on the big sites and an LBS should be able to order something basic or beyond. A threadless setup should be stronger and stiffer since the steerer doesn't have to be 22.2mm on the inside and threaded on the outside. I find they tend to hold adjustment better than threaded headsets too and are far easier to set up than a threaded headset, you don't need many tools to adjust it. There's also a wider range of threadless stems available these days. About the only disadvantage is that once you trim the steerer tube you're kind of stuck with a limited height adjustment with your stem but you can buy stems with more rise and/or re-arrange spacers to tweak the setup. Some folks will install a whack of spacers and ride for a while before trimming the steerer tube. This topic gets beaten to death often around here so you can search the archives for more information if you want.

The major "advantage" of threadless forks and headsets is they are now, by far, the most common type on newer bikes so a much wider variety of stems and matching handlebars are available. They have the potential to weigh a bit less too.

The major disadvantage of them is the reduced adjustability, in particular limited adjustability once the steerer has been cut to the "correct" length. If you change your mind later, there isn't a lot you can do.

Thanks for the replies guys.

Oh, I know, but I looked at my stats and I haven't started enough threads yet.

Maintenance: Assembly/disassembly is much, much easier

Adjusting: Its much easier to adjust, usually a single allen key will do it. The feel is different but the procedure is easier.

Handlebar height: If the steerer is long enough you can move above/below the stem and flip an angled stem upside down to raise/lower the bars.

Swapping stems: No need to unwrap the bars and remove a lever.

I have almost never started a thread, can do all forum functions. Besides, you can just used Google and add bikeforums.net to the search. If you want ONLY results from here it's site:bikeforums.net

Tough ask, almost all the good ones are no longer in production. Here's a few lesser ones, still being sold:

Dimension RT-10, 625g, $150ish
Mystery fork, 560g (300mm variant), 75 Euro
Origin8 Pro Pulsion Synergy, 565g, $220ish
Ritchey Carbon Comp 540g, $180ish
Trigon RC38-S, 440g, $250ish

And then there's the Columbus Minimal - 330g, $250ish... but I'll eat your children if you buy the last one before I'm done shopping.

I've sent an email to Easton literally begging them to resume production of the EC90 Aero 1", but I won't be holding my breath...

Shortening steerer tubes isn't really a problem... if you're worried about adjustability, just put the spacers on top of the stem, and you don't need to cut it. It might look funny but you won't need to cut the tube.

maybe you can find a [used?] long threaded fork for a big frame ..

then ignore the threads and treat it like a threadless fork ..
same headset , outside spacers, stem (shim out to 9/8") star nut. and etc..

I was thinking about the one from Nashbar. I know it's a little hevier, but I'm not concerned.

I'm 6'4" and ride a tall frame. It might be pretty hard to find one of those.

That mystery fork looks like the best bang for the buck... pretty hard to go wrong for 75 Euro.

I wonder what shipping would be.

.... although there are some quill stems with removable face plates available. I think I have at least two. Makes you wonder why the industry didn't think of that earlier.

But permanently riding like that does add some risk.
If, say you're out of the saddle, pushing hard and something in the drivetrain should fail, causing you to come down heavily over the bars, an uncut steerer protruding upwards has greater potential of doing damage than if it's sitting flush with the stem.
Also why it's sensible always to use a top cap, even if it's not strictly required once bearing preload has been set.

Well, just get padding from the top tube/handlebars of some kids bike and duct-tape it onto your top cap then. Simple.


Just kidding I see your point.

Riding with spacers above the stem is no more risky than riding with a flush stem. The top cap can be left in place just as with the stem. I haven't seen too many people running stems without caps and there's no reason to remove the cap if you have spacers above the stem.

I've also experienced many crashes of many different types including a pedal shearing off and a crank breaking and going over the bars. I haven't once come down on top of the stem. It's a small target and there are lots of other things to hit on the way off a bike.

I also don't think anyone is talking about leaving a huge amount of spacers above the stem. An inch would be a lot to leave.

If one cuts the steering tube short and wants to raise the bars, there are stem risers on the market. I would not use one on a CF steering tube though. Aluminum seems better. I have seen a bike or two with all carbon forks and stem risers.

I've seen bikes with a couple of inches of spacers above the stem while the owner decides where they really want the bars but that's strictly a temporary measure.

I always leave my steerer about 10 mm longer than I need and use a 10 mm spacer above the stem for two reasons: 1) to assure the steerer is completely supported inside the stem, particularly for carbon steerers and 2) to give me a bit of adjustability if I decide I want the bars slightly higher in the future.

So you came here rather than a bike shop or a framebuilder..


I can type some words , but they can order or make stuff .

there lay your solutions..

measure the length of the steerer tube , crown race seat to top of the stem data.
and ask about that number