So as many of you may have heard, I have recently acquired a bicycle frame necessitating the use of a threaded headset and fork. It has been a struggle worthy of Homer's voice, but I have finally identified treatment strategies for this irritant known as the 'quill stem'. One must note that certain attributes are untreatable (flexy, risk of seizing, street cred overload).

1. More stems for more bars, or "accept the inferior system for it is beautiful and NJS". This strategy is most expensive. Nitto Dynamics, jags, pearls, etc aren't cheap. However, it is true that I use a different handlebar for each stem, for the most part.

2. A stem with a removable/hinged faceplate for multiple bars, or "the loose woman that shall command respect, like that Sasha Grey or Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman." This strategy is great, but, like prostitues of a classy nature, the selections are few. I have done enough research to make a list of them, but for the most part they are expensive and NOS (inferior in cred to NJS). There is, however, the Origin8 Ultim8 Quill stem for maximum cc700 cred. Hopefully it is as stiff as my Nitto Dynamic.

3. A threadless stem adapter, or "I will do anything to fit and be cool like that Mark Cavendish fellow." This is the most inexpensive of the options, as these adapters are cheap and I have a good selection of (cheap) threadless stems on hand already. It might look ugly, however, and the increase of bolted points may minimize stiffness.

I call on this committee to vote upon the option they see most fit.

wait, what?
if i lived in a world where rocking anything origin8 would give me "cred" i would off myself right then and there.
threadless adapters are nasty. if you need a removable faceplate, get a deda murex. or get a new fork and go 1" threadless with an alter.

Regarding your first comment, it's a joke.
Could not find a Deda Murex on ebay. There are a couple 3TTT options out there, though. I just haven't heard about those stems at all. Maybe someone has some input on the 3T Motus or Evol?
As for your last comment, I failed to mention that the fork is a wound up, so I'd like to keep it for now. Replacing it would be a long term thing, as it would be a bit expensive. Alters are beautiful, but also expensive.

I like option #1

But I need guidance, Mr. Miyagi. How am I supposed to make my own decisions if I don't know what my peers will think of them?

EDIT: Gino, you would :|

I favor option #1 too - but for the money spent on all those Nitto stems, you could just buy a new fork (which is what I would do if faced with this "problem").

n+1 is really the only correct answer to this question. Stop swapping stems and bars, and start building new bikes.

Scrod, do you know where I can find one of those 1 inch s805s that cinemattic has? Or are they completely phased out now?

One advantage of option #1 is that you can get a correct fitted stem to your corresponding bar. Say if you had bullhorns and drops, you could pair the bullhorns with a shorter stem, and the drops with a longer one. I sourced all my stems/bars used so I did save myself quite a bit.

On a some what unrelated note, I did run into a problem with the quill of one of my stems being too long (not that it was a long quill in the first place, a Pearl) to go down my butted fork so I had to get that shortened at my LBS for a less than inexpensive amount for the labor. I probably won't do that again to another stem. So I guess that was one fault of the threaded system that I ran into.

I should note that I'm obviously being a little humorous in this thread. I don't really have that much against quill stems, and it sounds like it's working for you.

That issue with long quills will probably be a problem for me at some point. Small frame, short headtube, you know.

edit: Oops...you were talking about the steel/carbon fork. I'll check to see if there are any more hanging around somewhere.

i have a jag AA and b123 aa just hanging out until i find my next 1" frame. for maximum cc700 cred.

@redpear since you at least tried to cover up the snarkiness of your op with a claim of humor, here's some help...

apparently you are aware of the 3ttt hinged quill stems so if money is no object to you why not? i think they are pretty cool, but have been using this zenith & am very happy with it



i think coghouse has the same thing at a higher price & origin 8 you also mentioned is likely the same thing but they ruin it with their logo

super easy to change-out bars & it is pretty stiff for a quill...

Quills are sexy. You could always try a Ti quill.

this is really more of an ongoing joke with me than an attempt to be a jerk. Thanks for the help. I'll check coghouse.

Everyone I talk to tells me to keep it. It's mostly a financial thing for me more than anything, so the most inexpensive option would be the best.

and yes, n+1 is always the correct path.

Very happy with this.

there is this
https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-6061-ALU...5#ht_993wt_698
exact same thing as the deda murex.

Nice quills baby!

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/LEADER-S805-C...item1c17c6ba28

ಠ_ಠ

yea, that's the one i have on my affinity lo pro. i think i may have gotten a large, cause the headtube on the large lo pro is kinda long, and i had them thread it up for me.

i've been feeling back and forth on my lo pro being threaded. i love the look, and am completely happy with bullhorns for most of my riding, however sometimes i crave drops. i'd say just get a nice stem for whatever position you like having the most (for me, horns) then have a second/backup stem and bar combo just to swap out. i think, after all in the end, doing a 1" quill swap is faster than doing a 4 bolt threadless swap.



but then again, money.....

Wasn't this what you were looking for?

Almost. I do appreciate the link, but if you follow back a bit, the whole mentality behind getting a new fork would be to go threadless, thus ended the problem that caused this entire thread.

I didn't mean to cause offense, I actually thought you were trolling me, haha.