Changing headsets on Pista?
 

how difficult is this? and how much is one looking to spend? I want to use a classic quill instead of the threadless. it just isnt doing it for me.

cost wise you've got the price of a new headset, new fork (unless you can get the one you have threaded) and stem. then depending on your mechanical ability labour charges...

that's a lot of money to spend just to get a quill stem.

you're looking at:

fork: $75-125
headset: $30-50
stem: $25-60
labor: $30-60

total: $160-295

if you know how to do the labor (or a friend does), you could do it much cheaper.

find a used fork for $50, stem for $20, get a headset from nashbar or elsewhere for $30 and do the labor yourself.

Tange chromo fork - $40 http://www.universalcycles.com/shopp...1&category=633
Tange cheapass headset -$9 http://www.universalcycles.com/shopp...&category=2688
pick a stem 32-40 bucks - http://www.universalcycles.com/shopp...?category=1728

this is a cheap-ass way to go, but if you remove the "ass" part, you're left with "cheap."

under $100 bucks, do the labor yourself, it's not that difficult. i'm sure you could find something online that will explain it fairly well. you're going to need some specialized tools, hope you know someone. any particular reason you want a quill instead of threadless? seems like a lot of work just for aesthetic value. because i'm pretty sure with a different stem with the right angle/length you could get something functionally similar.

Damn, well I guess i didnt know i would have to be buying so many new things. maybe its not the best idea. maybe over time with the right deals. no real particular reason to change it. just fun. thanks guys.

i'd experiment with a different threadless stem. i'm about to as soon as i get some cash/time/inclination. i'm guessing you have an 06 pista too? out of the box i think the steerer tube is way too tall. right now i'm experimenting with stem height by swapping spacers on top of the stem (measure twice cut once, right) and i'm liking it closer to the head tube. i'm also finding that lowering the stem like that requires something shorter heh. i'm wondering though if i just get a steeper stem would i need to cut the steerer tube... i'm kinda thinking i will anyway just because i don't like having all those spacers in there. just get a shorter stem of the same angle. i'm also trying to decide if i like the stem that came with it at all. i'm leaning towards no because when i really wrench on the bike i feel a lot of flex in the bars. i don't think it's just the stem, but the bar/stem combo feels a little noodly under pressure.

on the plus side, when you do it your bike will look like this

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...n/10a0c238.jpg

Damn that's sexy. However I would want a 90 degree quill. I don't ride too low.

Hey Srsly, I swapped the stock stem a few weeks after riding with it. I opted for a longer one from the bin at recycled cycles. With a quillstem my bike will be 100% complete... After I get custom wheels from Wright Bros ofcourse. Here she is now. I named her Meryl:

http://davidnssbm.gaban.com/meryl.jpg

I love when people have threaded stems with absurd angles raised up.

You don't need to buy a new fork. You can have yours threaded. It'a a bad idea anyway though. Threaded headsets have been abandoned on all but the cheapest bikes for a reason... they suck.

they seem to be still going strong on keirin bikes...
whats so bad about them?

i thought bike companies changed to threadless because its cheaper to make?

It depends how you define keirin.

Inherent flaws:
The aren't as stiff, They weigh more, they allow for no adjustment without serious compromise, they get stuck in steerer tubes...
Real world flaws:
Not many angle choices available, even less with front opening, none for anything other then 26mm bars, alot more expensive for cheap ones if you want to try new postions...

If they were cheaper to make why would they only be found on bottom of the line bikes?

i find both my threaded stems to be quite stiff. the weight i agree with. I like the adjustability from threaded stems in that you can raise or lower them. never had one get stuck on me, and this includes both old as hell ones and new.

There are less angle choices because of the ability to raise and lower them, and i dont really like front opening stems anyway, nitto makes 25.4 and i believe other companies make 26.2. Threaded and threadless ones have comprable prices on businesscycles.

flat stem wouldn't give you that precise position. that precise position was just right for street. other precise position was lower and that was just right for track.

problem with that you ****ing ******?

the manufacturer needs to make many dif sized threaded forks, but with threadless all forks are the same just cut to your length.

i do the same thing on my 3rensho. i had the stem, it was a bit low. Raised it up and its just a touch lower than where a straight road stem would put me. more comfortable. besides, why buy a new stem?

Bussiness cycles doesn't sell any cheap stems though. The lack of adjustability without compromise comes with the fact that as soon as you start raising the stem above it's maximum instertion there is a dramatic decrease in stiffness. With a threaded you can both move the stem up and down the steerer tube(at least till you cut it) and switch out stems cheaply to try new positions. While this isn't as easy as moving a threaded up and down you never end up with a wet noodle becuase of the stem/steerer tube connection.

By 26mm I was really getting at the lack of 31.8mm options.

Eddie the clamp is just barely above the headset he could have easily gotten that position with a threadless or if he has already switched to threaded he could have gotten a flat one that would have been alot stiffer.. Especially because that deep drop is probably pretty close to the minimum insertion line.

I don't understand the attraction to a quill stem.

I like threadless because it has allowed me to experiment with many different angles and lengths of stems without spending that much money.
Once I found a cheap angle and length of stem that worked for me (about six stems into it), I bought a light, strong (and not-so-cheap) stem of that length and angle.

Threadless impresses me as the stronger, cheaper, and more versatile way to go.

Quill stems seem primitive, inelegant and an all-around bad idea perpetuated by fashion and tradition.

Please don't take my opinion personally.
I mean no disrespect.
I like traditional-geometry lugged-steel frames for the same reason, I think, some people like quill stems.
Personal aesthetics.

fair points. eddies stem still has at least 1/2" to go before he gets any change in stiffness if its anything like mine. Whats the appeal of 31.8 bars, btw?

Also, have you ever posted pictures of what you ride? You have a lot of opinions, I'm curious to what your ideal build is like.

Personally, I think on a traditional looking, round steel tubed bike, anything but a quill stem looks hideous and out of place.

ditto. but im a bit of a retro grouch. :)

stiffer and lighter. In practice it just means you have more options. I for instance was replacing my aero bars and found I could get a base bar super cheap with them but it was 31.8 which I figured would come in handy for tts at some point. However now I need to get an adaptor and a threadless stem for my fuji.

What my ideal build is and why I ride are two very very different things.

For instance my track bike is a stock fuji track with the saddle and pedals replaced. Ideally I would have a custom frame with a disk rear and front trispoke....

yeah the stock stem is too long for me. i need a shorter one. i did some searching earlier about threadless stems becuase it seems to be a pain in the ass to find a 1" threadless stem with a 26 bar clamp, at least in silver. but luckily it seems the thomson elite stems come in silver from 80-130, 1-1/8" but whatever, i'll shim it. i was thinking about getting a deda magic stem/bar combo, but that means new bars too, and i'm feeling like a cheap bastard right now.

and i think you're the only person in seattle with a pista that has the puke green one. where the heck did you get it?

jesus WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? i ride the bike on the street daily and at the track occasionally. for street riding this is the ideal bar height. for track it gets dropped an inch.

that is the one advantage that threaded set-ups have over threadless—you have versatility without changing stems.

why don't you understand simple stuff like that? stop hectoring, lecturing and condascending.

Aesthetically, nice quill stems win in a walk. As a matter of engineering, you have to give the edge to threadless.