been looking for an economical option to a taller quill since all my vintage stems of the classic 7 shape are about 3cm's too short to get to saddle height. a new technomic at 225mm is much too tall, but it does atleast have the style of bar clamp i'd like. in searching for options, i recently discovered there are stems of 180mm height...taller than the average vintage stem, but shorter than the technomic. origin8 has one and do a few other makers, but ..again....looking for that technomic style clamp. here's one example in the price range i'm shooting for....

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3296...2210467&isdl=y

now, i've never bought anything through aliexpress, so i'm totally unsure of the reliability. anyone have an experience with them? and, aside from that, does anyone know of other budget sources for this style/height of quill?

perhaps someone has one they'd trade? it wouldn't have to be in perfect shape, but i do need the 180mm height and of 70mm/80mm reach. either 25.4 or 26 will work, too. been trying to use this 1" 90 deg salsa threadless stem with a quill adapter and it gets me the fit, but the style against my super le tour is bugging me.

If you're paying $13 for a stem, there are going to be compromises somewhere. For example, the one you posted does not specify whether it is forged or cast. With Nitto you are paying for a very strong forged stem. The one you posted might be a weaker cast stem. Regardless if cast or forged, the quality control on these can't be great at $13, not something I want to gamble on with a structural component such as a stem. Also, the listed weight for a very tall Technomic with 100mm length is 304 grams. The weight listed for the one you posted is 314 grams, and that's an 80mm long stem that is not as tall as the Technomic. Another casualty of the price.

You can get a brand new Technomic for $35. Or you can go on eBay and get a used one for $20-25. I think the extra $10 is well worth the quality.

Technomic or maybe Soma Sutro. Check them both out.

And yeah, $13 is crazy cheap for a stem. The shot of the bottom and wedge makes it look pretty lightweight (thin walled). Is that a good thing? How hefty do you need your stem to be?

If you want the Nitto Technomic and it is too long, have it cut down. I have an older one and there is nothing magical about it; diameters appear consistent. You just want to do it right so the wedge seats parallel to the quill. It will cost a bit more, but you'll get what you want.

John

i had thought about cutting down a technomic should i get one, but i'd considered there may not be enough length of threading on the bolt to allow me to do that thereby also needing a shorter bolt. and, trivially, i thought it perhaps silly to pay the extra $ (because one is paying also for the extra metal of such a tall stem) only to cut it off

i know....$13 is cheap for a part, but i've bought cheap kalloy parts enough (uno, zoom, etc) and none have ever failed on me catastrophically. so, i wasn't really too concerned in that regard. it's not a mtb, so no...it doesn't need to be hefty. though it may a valid point. now that i think about it, for over time fatigue failure <<hmmm>>

weight penalty? pssht...lol. i need to lose 30lbs!!

yes...i've seen the soma stems. those are sharp!! like the nitto, of course. but, i've been keeping an eye for any nice taller used stems for a while and they're just harder to come by at the shorter extensions. plus, on the rare occasion they come up, with shipping, they're always as much as anything new. you know...you pay for that vintage stuff!!

thanks, guys. i'll keep watching. i may break down for a new technomic, afterall. unless i relinquish my attachment to the clamp style. origin8 make a nice enough looking 180mm quill at a more budget price. they just have the aero style clamp like my original SR custom

Generic quill stem with stainless steel shaft. Available up to 300mm height.

Shim 22.2-25.4mm, shim 25.4-28.6mm, threadless stem of your choice.

Result.

If you cut down a Technomic, remember the bolt only has so much threading. You may need to find a new one, which maybe won’t be so easy in the length you need.
Sounds like what you really want is a Technomic Deluxe, but those are more $ than the regular version. Beautiful stems though. You get what you pay for.

Many questions for this.
Primarily though- why not just use the quill stem and a 26.0mm(or 25.4, whichever it fits) handlebar? You would get the bars at the same height and only probably 1cm closer to you...that seems quite minimal in difference and less of a process than purchasing a threadless stem plus 2 shims.

This bike is quite interesting either way though.

1. Because i am using a wide bar. 700mm. The easiest (ie cheapest and most common) way to achieve it is a 31.8mm bar. The longest generic 25.4mm bars i have seen is 680mm. I could use 22.2mm bars but they are usually much higher rise (ie different geometry and gets in the way of the cables).



2. Easy to swap stem. This was decided before i decided on the length.

Go through the stem boxes at your bike coop of store and see if you can find a bolt and wedge of the length you'll need. Have the stem cut to that wedge. There's no magic here.

Edit: That bolt doesn't have to do a lot. A quality bolt of that threading from a hardware store with a nice head you can both look at and get a wrench on will do nicely, If you strike out there, go on-line. (Ace Hardwares tend to have good choices. Take the stem and wedge in. At the very least, you will know exactly what you need even if they don't have it.)

I did think about the thread length on the bolt. I’m pretty certain the threads are roll formed, but if you needed more threads I would think a die could be used to extend them. Rolled threads are generally stronger, but also cheaper, so I’m not sure if more strength is really needed.

It has been years since I’ve used a die, but I think it could be done fairly easily.

I know all of this will go far beyond $13, but there might be a point in time where you are glad you spent more.

John

thank you for all the suggestions...

as for cutting a technomic, i think i'll just keep it simple and wait for something to pop up on ebay/elsewhere that falls close enough to my budget goal. there's an SR on ebay right now. with shipping it comes to as much as a new nitto, but regardless of that it would save some minor labor. <<hmmm>>

oh, and plus...haha....those same china $13 jobbers are on ebay for $20 free shipping. i'll pass, though

unfortunately, the only co-op we had closed years ago . so. nothing's cheap/free around here, anymore. unless, you luck out a thrift store....which i do often enough, surprisingly. i found a set of 41c knards in really good shape for $4 just the other day. 120 tpi so, maybe something will happen that route.

Is it a good thing? Maybe... it means it weighs less, and some bicycle riders are into that. And less material means less cost. It's hard to say if it effects the strength of the stem in a negative way. First, not many of stems I've experienced fail across that section. Usually, they fail near the bolt common to the handlebars, or in the cutouts near the wedge bolt (to allow them to expand just a wee bit). We need a Classic and Vintage Institute of Greater Knowledge and Stuff (C&VIGK&S), so we can get these things tested. If I had one in hand, I could give it a FAR Test along the theory of SOYPE, which stands for "Feels About Right" test per Seat of your Pants Engineering. Too light, or tell tale signs of poor quality in other features usually sets off the cautionary spidey senses, and for good reasons.