Jeff did make this stem. Weigle's next bike which is in the jig right now will have a threadless stem, but it will be a stock Nitto sold by Compass. It's also going to get a Velo Lumino stem switch for the lighting system.

Anton
velolumino.com

I've seen some examples that this has worked out well on --- I have seen some pics In the Centurion Ironman thread of old IM's with modern groups and threadless setups , and it looked good,

but those had the whole kit -- modernish wheels , brifter groups , etc.

On the OP's bike (or what we can see of it) -- I'd rather use a Technomic if getting some more height was needed

Zombie thread, but I'll comment anyway... I think it can work, but try to exercise some taste. I'm pretty happy with how a threadless stem and adapter looks on the PX10 I'm currently rebuilding. I do think you have to go with silver though, or matching paint. Black with white logos/graphics is never going to work aesthetically, for me at least.

Also, let's not forget Alex Singer and probably others were using threadless stems decades ago.


Sorry for the bad phone pic, but you get the idea.

2 things. First, I see what you did there sneaking in the fact you are going to be Weigle'd. so sweet man, dream bike stuff!

Second, I may need to chat with you soon about a couple lighting setups... still trying to decide what i want to do.

all the best

OK, let me just sneak in and say:

1. Quill stems are beautiful.
2. Threadless stems are not.
3. End of story.

OK, I admit that some custom threadless stems can be made up to look not quite as hideous as most of them, but that's as far as I'm willing to go. Flame away!

OK.

Quill stems were always a weak design. They eventually will kill the steer tube if the bike is ridden long enough. They do of course have the obvious advantage of easily adjustable height.

I'm not convinced that threadless stems are inherently ugly, though I actually do concede that the vast majority are hideous. That most quill stems looked nice was mostly because of the design sensibility of the times. Certainly there were also some hideous quill stems by the late 80s.

I'm not fond of the setup on my Cannondale. The adapter I found was pretty heavy steel and does not allow for a stem cap. I picked the stem because it was branded Cannondale but it was designed to line up with a sloping top tube and it's not level. The bar came with the stem and also says Cannondale but I don't much like it either after trying it.

This bike came with a polished hatchet stem and anatomic handlebar. I found a dinged up black hatchet stem and painted it yellow, a Bianchi branded anatomic handlebar that I painted flat black, and will try that next. Someday eventually.

Photo from during build, yes I know the front brake is not connected.

Untitled by Darth Lefty, on Flickr

is this something we c&vers should worry about?

my bikes are pretty old and are ridden a lot.

when you say "kill," does this render the old bike useless? can it be fixed?

if a reynolds 531 bike is from 1973, for example, when will its steerer be killed?

Specifically, the steering tube will tend to bulge out after a long time, and then it's in danger of fatigue cracking. Can't be fixed other than by brazing in a new one. It's not the age, it's the miles, and probably the size of the rider and terrain the bike was ridden on. Honestly, 99.9% of people don't have to worry about it. Think 50,000+ miles. (see what i mean.... ) Just inspect the steer tube as it is very obvious when it sets in.

I pretty much agree with these opinions and observations:

Threadless Steerers and Headsets by Jobst Brandt

Your frame will most likely crack way before your steerer tube gives out.

My '54 Hetchins has a threadless stem, because the integrated headset effectively requires it. I get the negative aesthetics of clashing colors and/or design sensibilities between adjoining components. I also get that threadless is much more common today than it was "back-in-the-day", but characterizing threadless as "not vintage", is not accurate.

Ha! I wish I were sneaking in that fact, but alas it's not a fact. I've been partnering with Peter to do the lighting design and installation on his bikes destined for integrated lighting. So I just get to ogle and fondle them, I don't get to own or ride them

Well i suppose thats pretty cool too. right on, building anything on a Weigle is an honor!

So I was thinking about this... I recently got a bike that accepts a 1 inch steerer tube and a carbon fork with a steel un-threaded steer tube to match and I just don't like the way "ahead sets" and bolt on stems look on a C&V bike... SO I was thinking about a combination of the two things

the idea would consist of a two pieces A & B.

A = a replacement stem bolt that would thread (A1) in to a standard (star nut???) "C" nut... only the user would need to push "C" further down the steer tube of the fork
B = a bolt on collar that would essentially pull the rest of the system C & D together.

What i don't know is how it would keep the stem from rotating.. @Drillium Dude ... got any ideas? maybe a third collar that sits of the upper lip of the fork's steer tube that would interface with "A" and stop the stem from swiviling?

In 2009 a Colnago became a part of the current stable of bikes. I really was attracted to the concept of the threadless stem configuration and flexibility. So I tried it out:
[IMG]BHBDS Cropped, on Flickr[/IMG]

No matter which angle I looked at this configuration, all I could think of was yuck! Oh and the lack of cables in my face was really disorienting!

Today it looks like this:
[IMG]1983 Colnago Superissimo, on Flickr[/IMG]

I have actually encountered this a number of times, most recently on a 90's mountain bike but also on a couple of 70's roadies and a few others. It has nothing to do with miles or age or rider weight or trail use; in all cases I've seen the bulge was caused by people over-tightening the stem to the point that the steerer starts to bend outwards: If rider weight or rough terrain / hard impacts were to blame the steerer would be bent rather than bulged around the quill wedge.

On topic, I would recommend staying away from the threaded-threadless adapters for all the above mentioned stylistic reasons and that they actually make the bike a little less safe; running an adapter means you have two friction joints holding the bar to the fork rather than just one with a quill, increasing the potential for slippage. Also consider that when you add up the cost of spacers, the adapter, and the new bar you will be paying more than the cost of a high quality bar that fits the original stem and has none of the drawbacks.

That said, I do think a threadless stem can look as nice as a quill on a traditional frame, but getting it right is not an easy or cheap trick. The best examples I've seen are from people running a modern fork on a classic frame.




In short, threadless stems are for threadless forks; either go all the way with your upgrade or don't, half measures have a way of nipping you in the ass.

I don't know about the availability of these in the states, but I think these chromoly stems look pretty slick. Not cheap, though.
Fairweather UI-7 by Nitto.

Fairweather MT-31 (Nitto)

Do you know the weight on this by any chance? Trying to decide between this and the Velo Orange Tall Stack and I was curious how much the Cro-Mo Nitto stem weighs in comparison

Sorry, I don't know the weight. Looks-wise, though, I think this wins hands down over the Velo Orange.

Wrestling with this issue on my early 90's LeMond restoration. I'm planning to convert the LeMond threaded fork to threadless by cutting off the threaded portion and welding in a 2" internal sleeve. Then weld on the appropriate length of 1" non threaded section. Luckily I have both a Bridgeport mill, Lathe and Tig welding equipment.

Here are my favorite examples of this being done to perfection.

Well this thread has convinced me to never put a threadless stem on my Schwinn

Its not always so bad...
[IMG]Weigle ready to go by Matt.zilliox, on Flickr[/IMG]

Agreed! Another very nicely executed version. If done well I see nothing wrong with it. If not done well it's visually a disaster when compared to the quill design...

its very true, i much prefer a sexy quill any day