[laffeaux]

How are you supposed to adjust a quill stem on a ride? Bring and allen wrench and a hammer? Or just use you shoe to bang the wedge loose?

A 5 or 6mm allen wrench (depending on the stem) is all that is needed. Cinelli-style stems are harder to adjust as you need a hammer to loosen them, but wedge-style quill stems (which are incredibly common) only require a single allen wrench and do not require that the headset pre-load be reset (as is required on threadless headsets).

If you understand how to adjust pre-load on a threadless headset (not all people do) changing the height on a threadless stem is not hard, but not nearly as easy or as fast as a wedge-style quill stem.

 

[Kontact]

A 5 or 6mm allen wrench (depending on the stem) is all that is needed. Cinelli-style stems are harder to adjust as you need a hammer to loosen them, but wedge-style quill stems (which are incredibly common) only require a single allen wrench and do not require that the headset pre-load be reset (as is required on threadless headsets).

If you understand how to adjust pre-load on a threadless headset (not all people do) changing the height on a threadless stem is not hard, but not nearly as easy or as fast as a wedge-style quill stem.

I've seen a lot of quill stems in my time, and most all of them require being struck if they were reasonably tight and in there for awhile. When I started working in shops, all bikes had quill stems.

 

[nixie313]

NVO makes an adjustable threadless system (ATS). It allows easy adjustment of the stem height with an allen wrench and it's continuously variable. It doesn't use any spacers. It also doesn't have any chance of getting jammed like a quill stem.

 

[wim]

NVO makes an adjustable threadless system (ATS).

If you're interested, keep in mind that you can only use NVO one-bolt steerer shim clamp stems if you go this route. Not saying they're bad stems; just pointing out a limitation that NVO literature isn't very clear about.

 

[mikerp]

did you really just go all the way back to february of '08 and dig up this thread? really? :shocked:

Make that June of 11 this time around. LOL

 

[Herbie]

for me it is strictly looks. non of my bikes with threaded will be changed. non of my threadless will be changed. I don't notice any difference in performance. In all my years of riding I have had one threaded headset come loss and one threadless come lose.

 

[nixie313]

For the neurotic who are highly agitated by an old thread showing up,

Old threads such as these show up while searching the web about a particular bike issue and when someone wants to add more recent helpful information to a thread that was discussing the same issue.

 

[drako365]

Who currently makes bike with threaded headsets? Curious.

lots of walmart bikes have threaded headsets, I have multiple bikes, one of them is from WalMart, a Kent Dual Flexor 29er, and it had a threaded headset

 

[drako365]

Threaded headsets are also less expensive to manufacture and assemble into a bike. Most folks that ride bikes are not looking for ultimate performance and cost is a factor.

that doesnt really make sense though, even though its true, considering that threaded headsets are so much more complicated and require a lot more parts

 

[MDM]

Holy thread dredge Batman! This thread was dredged up not once, but twice! CX is going to have a conniption!