Quill stem vs Threadless headset

justo

I've recently bought a 1980s Dawes Super Galaxy. I want to replace the Headset as part of an upgrade.

The bike has a quill stem. This is new to me. My other bikes had threadless headsets and stems that lengthen the saddle to bar distance.

My question is this: Apart from the obvious mechanical differences between Quill stem and Threadless headset/ stems, do quill stems lessen the options in terms of saddle to bar distance and the ability to raise the 'pitch' or degree of the bars?

I would like to stay with the quill to keep the integrity of the bike, but am used to threadless headsets and stems that are angled at about 30 degrees.

Any comments/ observations?

Alek

Quill stems actually ADD the ability to raise your bars quite a lot, they also come in various lenghts to adjust saddle to bar distance.

Check these guys for some cheap and good quill stems: http://www.planetx.co.uk/s?q=quill


Also, you can use a quill to threadless adapter. Adds some weight but offers full compatibility with 1 1/8" threadless stems.

Seaswimmer

justo wrote: »

I've recently bought a 1980s Dawes Super Galaxy. I want to replace the Headset as part of an upgrade.

The bike has a quill stem. This is new to me. My other bikes had threadless headsets and stems that lengthen the saddle to bar distance.

My question is this: Apart from the obvious mechanical differences between Quill stem and Threadless headset/ stems, do quill stems lessen the options in terms of saddle to bar distance and the ability to raise the 'pitch' or degree of the bars?

I would like to stay with the quill to keep the integrity of the bike, but am used to threadless headsets and stems that are angled at about 30 degrees.

Any comments/ observations?

I cycle bikes of a similar vintage and I find that while you cant adjust the stem length or angle, you can adjust the height of the bars fairly easy compared to a threadless headset. Also I think because of the geometry of those bikes the handlebars are not much lower than the saddle giving a very comfortable position anyway. I found it a huge improvement going from the compact type frames with the angled stems and low bars/high saddle combo.

eeeee

I have both and I much prefer the modern threadless headset. Unless your bikefit is spot on, the options for adjustability are almost nil with the quilt stem, you can't adjust reach etc. I'm stuck with too much reach on one of mine. They're more awkward to service (quill) too. None of mine had bearings in a race, which resulted in a bearings going Everywhere, and all the layers of nuts, threadless is much easier.

They are prettier though. Swings and roundabouts!

Whilst the bar to saddle angle may not be as far a drop on vintage machines, I find the top tubes longer so I'm more stretched out on them. I ride in the drops more for comfort.

Ole Rodrigo

I recently upgraded mine from threadless to a quill and replaced the forks, headset along with the stem ( one of the cinelli that Alek has linked to ). The standard angle is about 70 degrees which compensates for the headtube angle leaving the reach length pretty much level when fitted.

There is a minimum point where the stem length ( into the headset ) cant be raised past. This leaves you with about 60-90mm in stem height adjustment depending on your headset. This is important if you are replacing a threadless headset with lots of spacers or if the saddle is raised high. The reach length ranges from 90 to 135mm depending on the make and model. In the pic below, the reach is 135mm and height is 80mm above the headset.

eeeee

Just to add there's a maximum point beyond which you can slam it too. The wedge at the bottom of the quill stem has to wedge against something, if you go down too far it can damage your fork. I slammed mine right down and found myself going straight on track in a race despite the bars turning!

justo

gadetra wrote: »

Just to add there's a maximum point beyond which you can slam it too. The wedge at the bottom of the quill stem has to wedge against something, if you go down too far it can damage your fork. I slammed mine right down and found myself going straight on track in a race despite the bars turning!

Ouch! Thanks.

Lumen

I love the adjustability of quill stems.

I TT'd my crappo Raleigh last year and it took about 30 seconds to drop the bars a couple of inches.

The lack of reach adjustment is only a problem for initial bike sizing and fit. After that you can raise or lower the bars as fitness varies without pissing around with loads of spacers.

justo

I thought I would provide an update to thank the contributors and allow anybody with quill queries to use the post to help their decisions.

In the end I bought a new quill and bars from Velo Orange. I went with a threaded quill with a longer stem and higher pitch. The original stem was quit short and gave me a kind of upright position that I did not like so much.

Jimmy's bike shop in Malahide did the work and replaced the cables, etc. I can highly recommend Jimmy's. Simply put, he took an interest in the project and gave me the feeling he would look after the bike as if it was his own. For me this goes a long way when considering a bike shop for repairs.

Photos here of the quill and stem and the bike in general to follow when I not on Mac. BTW the more I search around this bike, the more excited I am. It has its original parts including Suntour gears and derailleur, Weinnman wheels and Maillard hubs. The hubs have a date stamp of 1981.

justo

Photos here:

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-v02bDP6EcnI/VNfFoQ0Q54I/AAAAAAAATD4/VME0udz_Rhc/w670-h693-no/10988489_10153013737143847_5950875906635408759_o.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-xwqmhd1BNRM/VNe_AKL7mnI/AAAAAAAATDA/BT8k2dJAXTs/w518-h693-no/IMG_6461.JPG

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-x-lTSNxv_1I/VNe_BQ82kSI/AAAAAAAATDM/4mJPLgyYut0/w928-h693-no/IMG_6460.JPG

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Ip7gZiT1gxw/VNe_C3YBeMI/AAAAAAAATDY/A-ImDsmPLPc/w928-h693-no/IMG_6459.JPG