What old cycling technology etc would you like to see return?

[pawl]

I think these died out in the peloton long before current aero focus, so I think there's more to it than that. We need a racing tech historian!

They had tubes sticking out of the stopper.No need to remove the bottle from the cages .Good idea til you bent forward to drink.One tube up your noise the other squered your eye ball

 

[matticus]

You can still buy them, not sure about the availability in the UK, but their available online here in Germany:

https://www.bike-components.de/en/Elite/L-Eroica-Double-Bottle-Cage-p47776/

View attachment 592644

Never mind the eye injuries, the biggest thing putting me off that thing is the "L'Eroica" branding.

 

[matticus]

Yeah but you can get top-caps with your name, or inspirational quotes embossed. We never had THAT with quill stems, did we? Hmm?!

 

[chriswoody]

Forget your messages and compasses, you can buy stem caps that will open a bottle of beer.

Now try doing that with a quill stem!

 

[Oldhippy]

Not that's what I call a good idea!

 

[Oldhippy]

Now I meant.

 

[C R]

Forget your messages and compasses, you can buy stem caps that will open a bottle of beer.

Now try doing that with a quill stem!

View attachment 592818

Though opening the bottle like that is going to pour half of it down the head tube.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Bottle opener on key ring. None of this headcap rubbish

 

[Blue Hills]

It may be a better design from a bearing engineering point of view, as those who like to go on about false brinelling and water ingress and so on will be keen to tell you, but it's definitely inferior from an adjustability point of view.

have never had a bearing issue with threaded, despite at times scandalous lack of maintenance.
grease and passable seals will avoid water issues - helped of course if you use mudguards.
Only time i have ever had a headset bearing issue was on an integrated ahead-style headset with cartridge bearings on a dahon sports bike - they totally disentegrated.
In my view the toughest headsets use ball bearings on steel races. near bombproof.

 

[Ajax Bay]

@davidphilips - you deserve a (lauding) clap on the back for this thread:
What old cycling technology etc would you like to see return?
which captures the zeitgeist of CycleChat 2021 - 25 pages!

 

[houblon]

sorry misunderstood you - i was thinking of the stack of spacers Thorn seems to like to leave below, when I would just go for a bigger frame - but that's a separate issue of course.
On keeping the steerer with the conning tower until your back goes, is there a risk of impaling yourself on the thing?
I have two ahead bikes - both essentially cut - and several threaded headset bikes/builds - will admittedly probably have to buy new stems with latter as Ridgeback in their wisdom supplied short stem columns (or whatever they are called) as standard.
An adjustable stem would have sorted your back issues if the steerer had been cut?
I know some folk object to them - I don't.
German outlets tend to have a good range - but problematical these days of course.

Friend of mine just got a new bike from Thorn and, right enough, there's a Pisa Tower of spacers under the stem. Ugly as ugly can be, why not a longer head tube? Me, I like the Aheadset but it does mean you have to buy the right size frame. As of course you did with quill stems that weren't all that adjustable, really, regardless of the look back bores.

 

[Illaveago]

Polished alloy large flange hubs . I think they add a nice finishing touch to a classic bike .

 

[Smokin Joe]

Me, I like the Aheadset but it does mean you have to buy the right size frame. As of course you did with quill stems that weren't all that adjustable, really, regardless of the look back bores.

You are right there, they had very little adjustment available.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

27 x 1 1/4 “ wheels. Let’s take back control.

 

[houblon]

@davidphilips - you deserve a (lauding) clap on the back for this thread:
What old cycling technology etc would you like to see return?
which captures the zeitgeist of CycleChat 2021 - 25 pages!

Aye. I was much faster and thinner when my bike had quill stems, downtube shifters and Delta brakes, so bring em back! Along with the good tunes from the 60s/70s/80s (select according to which decade I lost my virginity)