Decisions...

[SkipdiverJohn]

Fugly too compared to the elegance of a quill stem.

So true, they do look horrible. With a quill stem, whatever height reserve you aren't using is hidden neatly out of sight. With a threadless you've got this thick pile of spacers that are twice the diameter of a quill stem and a hundred times less aesthetically pleasing to look at. Mind you the sort of bikes they are normally fitted to are generally pretty ugly anyway, so the ugliness just sort of blends together with that of the oversized frame tubes and garish decals etc.

 

[raleighnut]

So true, they do look horrible. With a quill stem, whatever height reserve you aren't using is hidden neatly out of sight. With a threadless you've got this thick pile of spacers that are twice the diameter of a quill stem and a hundred times less aesthetically pleasing to look at. Mind you the sort of bikes they are normally fitted to are generally pretty ugly anyway, so the ugliness just sort of blends together with that of the oversized frame tubes and garish decals etc.

Don't get me started on Carbon fibre forks.

 

[I like Skol]

 

[Milkfloat]

This talk of quill versus threadless is pointless . Some of you are stuck in the past, that is fine, but you don't have to keep banging on about the good old days. Whilst I like a good quill stem, threadless is lighter, mechanically better, stronger and easier to maintain.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

Don't get me started on Carbon fibre forks.

Oh, you mean the type of forks that look like someone has sawn a couple of the legs off their kitchen table and then jammed a bike wheel in between them? You obviously also think they look pig ugly too!

 

[DCBassman]

OK, here's the plan.
1) Find a 20-559 freehub wheel for the Trek.
2) Fit the Alivio rear mech and cassette currently fitted to the Scott.
3) Return the Scott to full Sora groupset and sell.
4) Sell the Claud MTB.
5) Do the alloy disc frame rebuild just because...

Nope, changed my mind...

I'd keep one of the MTBs and something different rather than 2 MTBs

Definitely. @raleighnut and @I like Skol gets it right, that's the two I should keep. I've done a lot on the Scott, and I've had that Trek for years, so there it is. I'll still upgrade the Trek rear wheel, so I can put the 8-speed HG41 11-34t cassette on. The megarange freewheel originally considered has too large a step to the dinner plate.

 

[12boy]

For a different approach take the Mtn bike that fits the best. If the same take the lightest. Buy a couple pair of new wheels with the proceeds of the other bikes. Set them up with different tires, i.e. road slicks or light cyclecross, studded if you deal with ice/snow, knobbies if you ride single track , etc. If you want to go whole hog get some other bars...flat, drop or perhaps moustache (you can flip for down low or up high as you like). If you are threadless its easy to switch out. If quill, get stems to go with the bars. I have an old surly steamroller that I can change in 10 minutes or less from a Sturmey Archer 3 speed to a 80 gear inch single or fixed, or a 70 gear inch single of fixed, and with lighter 35 mm road tires or 35 mm studded snow. The 3 sets of wheels make this very easy. For me my moustache bars are the best all arounders but I could swap between bull horns and flat easily enough with appropriate brake levers already on each one. I have a cannondale Mtn bike I can do the same just as easy. It seems to me what makes Mtn bikes slower than road bikes is not so much the frame weight as the tires and riding position.

 

[Alan O]

Some of you are stuck in the past, that is fine, but you don't have to keep banging on about the good old days...

Yes we do - it's a privilege of old age that I've been waiting for for years, and I'm not giving it up!

 

[DCBassman]

Yes we do - it's a privilege of old age that I've been waiting for for years, and I'm not giving it up!

I absolutely agree with this. I've earned my right to bang on about the good old days, even if I don't actually do it that much...

 

[DCBassman]

This talk of quill versus threadless is pointless . Some of you are stuck in the past, that is fine, but you don't have to keep banging on about the good old days. Whilst I like a good quill stem, threadless is lighter, mechanically better, stronger and easier to maintain.

I'm quite happy with either, to be honest. Until I acquired the Scott, I'd only dealt with threadless while on the basic course I did in 2017. Apart from adjustments, I've never delved deeper into either type. That will quite likely change in the medium term!

 

[Drago]

This talk of quill versus threadless is pointless . Some of you are stuck in the past, that is fine, but you don't have to keep banging on about the good old days. Whilst I like a good quill stem, threadless is lighter, mechanically better, stronger and easier to maintain.

I'd question some of that.

Sure, A-set is stronger, but it's not like quill had a major problem with bikes exploding.

I would question whether it's any easier to maintain - no better or worse either way in maintenance terms.

Mechanically 'better'...it allows a set of forks to pivot left and right around an axis. Both do an identical job.

I can see that A-set is liable to be a bit lighter, but perhaps one in 2000 riders is a top flight athlete carrying no excess body fat who would benefit from a gram or two less.

I can see that A-Head is liable to be neater, but then a high quality quill set up can be a thing of engineering beauty in its own right.

Being the awkward bugger I am I tend to fence-sit a lot, be it brexit, helmets, or Coronation Street vs EastEnders. I'm inclined to fence sit on this one too - my bikes are split 4/4 quill/A-set, and I can't see that either gives a genuine, substantive, worthwhile advantage in maintenance, longevity or function. Different answers to the same problem is all. Lets just be honest and admit we simply prefer one to another, rather than make up questionable reasons to justify our choice.

 

[12boy]

And then there are quills made to be used with threadless stems, with easy height adjustment and removable face plates for easy bar swaps.