Believe there was a thread on NON-UGLY Titanium 1'' quill stems, what say we delve into NON-UGLY Threadless Stems?

My two favorite threadless stems are about as opposite as they come:


Curvy, elegant, weird.


Cheap, light, minimalist, cool face plate.

There's a lot of bad out there.

I like these from Velo Orange, Soma has a version too.

What makes a threadless stem ugly? Knowing that will help answer your question.

I think basic Alloy 7 UL stems are 'non-ugly', but others might dry heave at them.
I like em because they are simple, lightweight, decal can be easily removed, come in -7 and -17 degree, and are not bulky.

Comparing it to almost any quill stem.

I agree with bboy about the Velo Orange offering. I also find Cannondale's One Stem to be incredibly simple and pleasant. Nice smooth transitions from the main body to where the bolts screws in. The only knock against it is that it's only offered in black. I'd also group the Wren stem in with that Cannondale One Stem. This Blue Lug Select, Dixna made stem is also quite pleasing.

Had a silver and black one of these on my last threadless stem bikes.

Nitto x Fairweather MT-31

https://global.bluelug.com/fairweath...em-silver.html

This Nitto example shimmed down from 28.6 for the 25.4 steerer won’t win any aesthetic awards but to me it’s not completely out-of-place on my c. 2005 Alberto Masi. If I cared more I’d remove the branding but it’s what it is.



In my mind this is what threadless stems are up against and this is about as good as it gets…



Nitto also do what I reckon is a pretty fine CNC-machined threadless stem which looks ok in certain situations…

So subjective. I like this one.

I still so no real benefit and a major disadvantage in height adjustment to threadless.

the number / supply of high quality positive rise threadless stems - and especially combined with proper length steerer / spacers - far exceeds the number of quality positive rise quill stems and the height gained through adjustment

it’s not even close

Because you need an allen wrench to change height on threadless, and you need an allen wrench and a mallet for quill?

But the weight savings are about as significant as any other thing you can do to a bike.

This..

Is there still that significant weight savings when you consider the additional steerer length?

The Steel Salsa Moto ones look nice to me. The old Specialized S-Works from about 1995 looked awesome.
Phil

You need an allen wrench and spacers for threadless, and an allen wrench for quill. I've never needed a mallet.

Torque wrenches are never needed for quill and it it's properly greased and not tightened far more than needed, any old object of weight works just fine. No mallet needed. I love that I can change height mid ride and the adjustment is typically a lot more than can be had with most stock threadless steerers. (And no spacers on top when the quill is slammed.)

Maybe one day you will become a pro mech. You get a mallet with the cert.

The most beautiful threadless stem I've seen is the Nitto UI-87. Hard to find a picture that captures it, but I swiped this picture from here.

Much more impressive in person if you can appreciate the CNC aesthetic. Thomson stems aren't bad but the Nitto is more elegant.

Looks like the same answer applies to this thread topic as the Titanium stem one:

"Nope."

The spacers would already be on the bike - you are just moving them from above the stem to below.

So your quill stem bolt is so un-tight that the wedge just falls out of the bottom when you loosen the bolt, no matter how long it has been there?

"If the bolt is loose but the stem will not come out, strike the bolt using a mallet and punch. This will break the wedge free from the head tube."
https://www.parktool.com/en-us/blog/...on-quill-stems

You don't need a torque wrench to tighten a threadless stem ever if the steerer is steel, and only need it with carbon if you don't have a decent feel of how tight the stem is supposed to be.


I guess I don't understand why someone would need to change their stem height on a ride other than when they are fitting the bike. But I'll add another advantage of threadless: On small bikes, the shorter steerer will often not allow a quill stem to go as far down as a threadless stem due to a taper on the inside of the steerer.



I like threadless and quills, but it is strange how people re-invent the universe to make one seem better than the other.

I know they have practical and mechanical advantages.
I just think they are inherently ugly.
Yep, all of ‘em.
Even the ones on the bikes I own.

the Ritchey Comp with the cast (machined?) plate is nice. Still ugly?

Very.