Not ugly quill to threadless: Can it be done?

[Bob K.]

I am exploring moving on from my Sam, but I want to give a drop bar setup the ol’ college try before I do. I like the Salsa Cowbell 2 bar, but it’s only available in 31.8 clamp diameter, and I don’t want to pay the $80 premium for the VO quill stem with removable face plate to match it.

And so, I’m considering the dreaded quill-to-threadless conversion route. I find them to be highly ugly. I’m wondering, though, if anyone has a method I could use to mitigate the ug-factor. AKA is there a way to cover up the skinny part of the converter stem below the threadless stem’s base?

If this makes any sense whatsoever, I would welcome any/all ideas. After all, I can’t have my Sam looking weird.

Bob K. in Baltimore

[drew]

Velo Orange has a quill stem with 31.8 clamp that isn’t gorgeous, but way better than an adapter to my eye.

[drew]

Well, I’m an idiot and missed that you don’t want that one.

[George Schick]

Well, I had the same problem with an old '71 Fuji frame onto which I wanted to mount Ritchey BioMax bars.  The bend in the bars is so sharp that a quill stem would not go around them without spreading the quill opening with a pry bar, which could lead to a catastrophic failure of the aluminum stem.  So I used a regular threadless stem along with an adapter, but I added the right size spacer between the adjusting nut and the lock nut at the top of the headset.  It doesn't look t-o-o-o-oo bad that way.  Here's a pic:

[Bob Keal]

Drew wrote:

Well, I’m an idiot and missed that you don’t want that one.

That will likely be the way I go unless anyone has another idea. I’m cheap and feel like that’s a lot of money for a not beautiful stem. 

George, thanks for the picture! I agree that it looks much better than without the spacer. I think I need a bit more stem showing, though, so it might not work, but it’s a nice solution for your setup.

I could also get in the shop and turn a “spacer” out of wood to cover the skinny part, but that may be a bit too cute for my taste.

Bob K. in Baltimore

--

Bob
443 278 4265
http://www.smallsur.com

[E Fong]

Only available in a 9cm extension, but there is also a stem from Factory Five, called the "Titan".  I considered it, but never purchased one.
https://wearefactoryfive.com/products/titan-stem

Ernie

[Justin, Oakland]

https://alexscycle.com/products/nitto-clamp-on-ui-13

Nitto UI12.

-J

[JohnS]

Hello Bob,

FWIW, I like the look of the VO adapter, the radius makes for a nice transition. As for hiding the narrow stem, I would recommend mounting a bell on it.

JohnS

On Saturday, January 20, 2018 at 4:41:41 PM UTC-5, Justin, Oakland wrote:

https://alexscycle.com/products/nitto-clamp-on-ui-13

Nitto UI12.

-J

[Joe Bernard]

I thought of the bell, too, but really I think the quill adapter looks good enough for a tryout. I've used mine on several builds with a variety of threadless stems I have lying around, then bought a proper quill stem once I'd dialed in the fit.

[Bill M.]

Frankly, I think that's uglier than the VO adapter / VO stem combo.  I used the VO setup on my old Riv Road and found it to be very convenient and adjustable, and actually lighter than a traditional Nitto stem.

Another option would be to use a different bar, like a SOMA Hwy 1, that doesn't require a 31.8 mm stem clamp.

Bill

Sockton, CA

[lum gim fong]

Bob

Cowbell 2 looks like my NittoM151F bar I have.
I live in Ellicott City if that makes life simpler if you have a 25.4 clamp stem for it.

[Austin B]

Bob, there is the Stop Swap and Save meet coming up in Westminster on Feb 11: http://www.stopswapandsave.com/

You might be able to find something to your liking for just a few $$. Maybe even the VO stem if you have sharp eyes. I go every year (I'm in Eldersburg) and usually walk away with something. Though if someone's unloading Albastache bars cheap this year, I call dibs! 

Austin

[Jim M.]

On Saturday, January 20, 2018 at 1:41:41 PM UTC-8, Justin, Oakland wrote:

https://alexscycle.com/products/nitto-clamp-on-ui-13

Nitto UI12.

-J

I was going to suggest the UI-12 also. Cheaper than VO and it's Nitto.

I had an adapter for a while for Jones bars on my Bombadil. I don't bother much with aesthetics, but even to me it was ungainly and ugly. Also, it required an unusually large amount of tightening to keep it from slipping.

jim m

walnut creek, ca 

[Bob Keal]

Thanks for all the ideas! The bike I’d likely buy (if I do sell my Sam) comes with a stem with a 31.8 clamp diameter, so I could just migrate the Cowbell bar over to it.

Garth may be onto something, though. I could spend a bit and buy the Nitto 31.8 clamp stem—it’s cheaper (and uglier) than the VO one, but I can get it in 60mm reach—I’m just not sure if it will have the height I need. The “column” is only 140mm according to the Alex’s Cycle image. 

I’m also just hoping that changing the setup on my Sam will convince me to keep it, in which case this would all be a moot point, but we’ll see. The new bike tractor beam is powerful, and I’d need to sell this one to buy another.

[Matt C.]

I have had this idea to make a stem cap that allows you to use a quill bolt. Then you could use a threadless adapter+threadless stem as one quill stem and just use spacers to cover the ugliness. Does anyone know if such a stem cap exists? Or perhaps a bolt that would work with the normal stem cap?

I have been thinking of using this set up on my Burley tandem. It has a 1 1/8" threaded fork.

Matt Cook
Bristol RI

[Coal Bee Rye Anne]

I've considered a similar DIY shim for my quill to threadless adapters using a leftover piece of 1-1/8 threadless steerer tube (25.4 I.D.) to take up the space and then use alloy 1-1/8 alloy shims over that.  Ideally it would have a 22.2 inner diameter as someone noted above to ensure a proper fit but never got around to trying it since I ended up changing the build before it came to that anyway.

I have both VO and Soma adapters.  The VO with the radiused lower lip has a cleaner look as long as the threadless stem has a 40mm stack height to exactly match the available clamp space and then sits flush with the top.  The VO is one piece with solid top counterbored to take the quill bolt and requires no top cap.... this makes stem changes very easy when dialing fit since you could just leave the adapter in place and pull the threadless stem with ease.

The Soma is MUCH taller and has a hollowed out top and loose stem cap.  The Soma also has no lip on the bottom of the clamp area so the stack height of the threadless stem is a little less important (still should be in the ~40mm range however) and gives you more flexibility to center the stem on the available clamp area of the adapter.  So any clamp overhang would only be exposed on the bottom of the clamp and top is covered by the cap vs the exposed overhang on top on the VO version.  Because you need to install the threadless stem onto the Soma before inserting the quill (the long bolt compresses the top cap and quill wedge simultaneously) it makes stem swaps a little more cumbersome vs the VO version and just not as convenient for swaps while dialing in fit with new bars. 

I agree they are not aesthetically pleasing but considering the convenience I've learned to appreciate them for short term experimentation and keep 'em around just in case.  If I happened to need to use one long term for any reason I'd likely try to shim it out for a smoother transition from headset top cap but as long as they only serve a temporary purpose I've abandoned any further thoughts of shimming the quill part.  But in think my prior idea would work even though there would be excess space between the 22.2 quill and 25.4 ID steel tube shim because the radiused lip of the VO and tapered transition of the SOMA should keep the shim centered and stop it from slipping once everything is tightened down (I hope.)

Brian Cole

Lawrenceville, NJ