what stem do you have?

[jiggerypokery]

Ah. I've never to my knowledge suffered from a loose headset.

I wonder how many of the owners of cheap bikes (like in the original thread) or even more expensive bikes would find ease of servicing an issue. You get a man in a shop to do that (or you leave it until the thing just falls apart). Witness how many can't even pump tyres up and oil chains...

Following on from Arch's comment - A while back I was in the LBS waiting to be served when an irate guy came in with a pump he had bought (frame with hose extender to fit to valve and pump) and had a right go at the shop owner saying that the pump he had sold him was duff and that there was no way he could fit it to the valve and that he wanted to exchange it for one with a right angled push on type head.

'Can I have a look' said Pete the bike shop chap - he then very quietly and without a raised eyebrow, smirk or word or sarcasm pulled the hose from the body of the pump, screwed it on, passed it to the customer, smiled and just said 'fixed'.

 

[Arch]

Quills all the way. I can't comment on whether or not threadless is better as I have never owned one but the quill headset has served cyclists well for over a 100 years so I wouldn't consider it a fault.

My thoughts too. And as for building in obsolescence, well maybe, but how long does the average stem/headset set up last? Years and years. There are bikes 20, 30, 40 years old, running about on the original gear. If you worry about buying a bike that has a part that might be hard to replace in 40 years, you're thinking too hard.

On an ultra cheap bike, true, the whole set will be crap. But then so will the whole bike, and I suspect a lot of other bits will have dropped off before the headset and stem fail.

The people buying this sort of bike won't have the faintest idea about the types of headset, the much more important thing is that the bike will be heavy and crap and put them off long before they learn that it's possible to replace bits.

I'm a conservative old sod, I know, but it irks me to have something that serves me well classed as a 'fault'. That's probably why I still have a B/W telly...

 

[User482]

My thoughts are that all things considered, Aheadset is a better system. Progress isn't always a bad thing...

 

[HLaB]

3 of bikes have the A-head type stem it seems far better than the one one on my other bike it has an adustable quill stem. the a-head set stem is far more easily swapped changed than the quill and once done so its feels and sounds better (I sometime get a creak from the quill type angle adjuster).

 

[Arch]

My thoughts are that all things considered, Aheadset is a better system. Progress isn't always a bad thing...

Well, no. Indeed, we wouldn't be having this discussion without progress, or it would be very slow, waiting for the post each day...

I suppose because I've never had a situation where I looked at my quill and thought "oh, if only I could adjust that headset more easily", I don't see it as progress. I do wonder about progress for progress' sake...

 

[fossyant]

Quills on both road bikes - looks neat with slim steel tubes. Quill on the MTB as that's old. Ahead on the Fixed.

I find Ahead can be quite ugly....hence I picked one that I liked the look of for the new bike. That said, Ahead is far quicker for changing bars, adjusting the headset etc. Only downside is the height adjustment - especially if you don't want loads of spacers on top of the stem.

 

[Arch]

(I sometime get a creak from the quill type angle adjuster).

Any creaks on my bikes are normally from my knees....

 

[User482]

Well, no. Indeed, we wouldn't be having this discussion without progress, or it would be very slow, waiting for the post each day...

I suppose because I've never had a situation where I looked at my quill and thought "oh, if only I could adjust that headset more easily", I don't see it as progress. I do wonder about progress for progress' sake...

If you'd ever had a perpetually loosening threaded headset, you'd understand why the aheadset system is better! It is also stiffer and lighter, so it's no surprise that it came in for top-end bikes, and then trickled down.

Having said that, as per Fossyant, I do like the look of a quill stem on a traditional steel bike.

 

[Arch]

Surely a perpetually loosening headset is a faulty headset. That's like saying plaster is better than vitamins, if you've ever had a broken leg...

 

[Arch]

Don't get me wrong, if I was buying a bike and it came with A-head, I'd still have it, and I probably wouldn't notice the difference. But quills have served me well enough.

 

[MajorMantra]

3 threadless, 1 threaded. The threaded 1 always seems to be loosening but that might be my fault.

Matthew

 

[User482]

Surely a perpetually loosening headset is a faulty headset. That's like saying plaster is better than vitamins, if you've ever had a broken leg...

Yes, but with threaded headsets, you can't fix them when you're out on the road. Bicycles developing faults is a fact of life, so it's handy if you can fix them with tools you can take with you on a ride.

 

[summerdays]

Ah. I've never to my knowledge suffered from a loose headset.

I wonder how many of the owners of cheap bikes (like in the original thread) or even more expensive bikes would find ease of servicing an issue. You get a man in a shop to do that (or you leave it until the thing just falls apart). Witness how many can't even pump tyres up and oil chains...

I have one of each ... but if you include all the bikes in the household (kids too) then its 5 quill and 1 aheadset.

And certainly one of my kids bikes had a loose headset which in true style I kept meaning to get around to tightening (but always noticing it not at home) and eventually saw a Dr Bike one day and asked him instead.

 

[tyred]

If you'd ever had a perpetually loosening threaded headset, you'd understand why the aheadset system is better! It is also stiffer and lighter, so it's no surprise that it came in for top-end bikes, and then trickled down.

Having said that, as per Fossyant, I do like the look of a quill stem on a traditional steel bike.

I think if your headset's always coming loose, you are either not tightening the lock nut enough or you need to put a drop of Locktite on the threads.

 

[User482]

I think if your headset's always coming loose, you are either not tightening the lock nut enough or you need to put a drop of Locktite on the threads.

It's not, but I have had the problem in the past. Still, you're proving my point - these aren't the sort of repairs you do at the roadside.