quill stems

[mig]

maybe i'm romanticising the past but what is actually wrong with them? and how are ahead set-ups better?

i find ahead sets tend to loosen in use and tend to allow water in. okay so they're more adjustable but i find i rarely, if ever, move my 'bars around. looking back the quill stem set ups i had (and one i still have) just 'work.'

am i a luddite?

[pwa]

Quill stems get stuck. That's a good enough reason to abandon them. I've had no problems with Aheadsets.

[pete75]

No you're not a Luddite. They are quicker to adjust and far more elegant. Yes they can get stuck but so can seat posts. It happens as a result of poor maintenance.
The way steerer tubes seem to be cut on many new bikes means ahead stems often have next to no height adjustment. IMO ahead stem bikes should be supplied with an uncut steerer so the purchaser can choose to cut it or not once he's set the bike up to his correct riding position

[pwa]

No you're not a Luddite. They are quicker to adjust and far more elegant. Yes they can get stuck but so can seat posts. It happens as a result of poor maintenance.
The way steerer tubes seem to be cut on many new bikes means ahead stems often have next to no height adjustment. IMO ahead stem bikes should be supplied with an uncut steerer so the purchaser can choose to cut it or not once he's set the bike up to his correct riding position

They do look nice on bikes with thin tubes. I've had a couple stuck. Yes, more grease on a regular basis would have avoided the problem, but that is one bit of maintenance that is not needed with Aheadsets. And when I abandoned quill stems there were few available that had an open clamp. You had to thread bars through with no tape, levers, etc. A real pain if you just wanted to change the stem to adjust the reach.

[Brucey]

the stem and the headset come in the same breath, more or less. On a bike for road use, for a variety of reasons, I prefer a quill stem.

Maybe I'm a luddite too!

cheers

[mig]

i tend to climb quite hard - out of the saddle in a fairly big gear. using a quill stem set up this always seems more solid. maybe it's just the bike that stem is on.
i seem to remember that a selling point for aheadsets was adjustability and ease of changing the handlebars. whilst i see that - i just don't change my handlebars at all often!
anyway - back to my handloom.

[Mick F]

Quill stems get stuck.

No they don't.
People don't grease them. People stick them.

[pwa]

Quill stems get stuck.

No they don't.
People don't grease them. People stick them.

You're right, but I prefer not having to worry about it. My main gripe was with the old stems that did not have a removable clamping plate and had to have the bars passed through. A real pain when all you want to do is swap a 100mm stem for a 90mm stem.

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,

Quill stems get stuck.

No they don't.
People don't grease them. People stick them.

You're right, but I prefer not having to worry about it. My main gripe was with the old stems that did not have a removable clamping plate and had to have the bars passed through. A real pain when all you want to do is swap a 100mm stem for a 90mm stem.

Us luddites do that daily

[hamster]

I hate that too many shops chop the steerer too short and slam the stem.

However, for touring, having a setup that requires a single allen key to dismantle and adjust is definitely better than two huge spanners. But my tourer still has a quill stem as I cannot be bothered to replace the forks...

[Brucey]

...However, for touring, having a setup that requires a single allen key to dismantle and adjust is definitely better than two huge spanners....

you would think so, wouldn't you...? But IME you will need to fiddle with an Ahead system far more often than a decent threaded headset, for all kinds of reasons.

I have a tool (that weighs virtually nothing) that I would have to use to tighten a loose headset, that I carry on tour. I've never had to use it. My boring old threaded headsets (mostly Tange Levin, but built with loose balls, or campag record) often go five years at a time without requiring adjustment. I recently inspected such a headset (that has done tens of thousands of miles without being touched) and I needn't have bothered; it was fine.

cheers

[nirakaro]

I was in the Netherlands recently, where, to judge by the numbers, they know a thing or two about bicycles. An Ahead-style stem was a very rare sight indeed.

[MikeDee]

http://yarchive.net/bike/threadless_headset.html

Threadless is better. Greasing the stem only works for a short time. Sweat gets in there.

[robc02]

and how are ahead set-ups better?

They are easier and cheaper to make and require smaller stock levels due to only needing one fork column length per fork model. Any benefits to the user are a spin -off.

[Mick F]

Greasing the stem only works for a short time. Sweat gets in there.

What??
Gets in where?

New quill stem.
Apply grease on it and on the wedge system, and inside the steerer too.
Fit it and forget it.
If you need to take it out YEARS later, out it comes.