Vintage Quill Stem or adapter?

Back by popular demand, the general all-things Road forum!

Moderator: robbosmans

gaspard123
Posts: 26
Joined: Wed Nov 08, 2017 6:07 pm

by gaspard123

I am old fart who (as a kid) remembers the 70s weight weenie wars. I also have a semi-modern steel bike with first generation STI, which some may remember was HEAVY. Still going strong at 3 decades, but I've decided to treat her to a few more gears: 8 speed DA to 11s Ultegra. I had planned on using a modern/vintage Cinelli 64 but first mock up has me worried the modern shifters will not play well with the lovely shape of the classic Cinelli (that I otherwise love paired with brake levers that fall correctly on its curves). Simple question that has already been asked before: I suspect a single piece stem done in the lightweight 90s style of ControlTech currently on bike (and inspected to be crack and fault free) will weigh less than the standard quill adapter + modern stem, but the modern stem will have a removable face plate, which would make playing with alternate handlebars much easier. Right?
This is now of course a back up bike so no wrong answer, but curious if any of the older guys still have a quill or adapter and what you think of the setup. I am cheap so leaning to keeping Control Tech but shape of modern shifters may end up requiring a more modern bar, much to my chagrin and without a removable face plate, those older stems suck for changing out bars. mostly good riddance . Thoughts? (and sorry for length)

jih
Posts: 596
Joined: Fri Jan 29, 2016 12:54 pm

by jih

Modern shifters have more reach, so you might need a shorter stem (or bars with less reach) to keep the same position overall.

I'd go the adaptor plus ahead stem length, unless you like the look of the old quill stems.

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



satanas
Posts: 315
Joined: Sat Jul 04, 2020 5:45 pm

by satanas

There have been at least a few shorter reach bars in 26.0 (but probably not 26.4) that will fit in quill stems. For instance:

https://www.somafab.com/archives/product/highway-1-bar

Be aware though that the above bars have zero flare, which may or may not make you happy. There were various 3T bars that might work for you too. FWIW, I ended up with shorter reach bars even with ST-7400 levers, but of course YMMV.

Singular
Posts: 537
Joined: Mon Jul 27, 2020 8:59 am

by Singular

Keep in mind that modern compact bends are sometimes a pain if not impossible to fit through stems without a removable face plate (trust me...).

A good alternative to the Soma bar is the Deda Piega and Nitto M151. For a classic look/bend (although in a tiny format), Condor has its shop-branded 26mm bars.

jih
Posts: 596
Joined: Fri Jan 29, 2016 12:54 pm

by jih

Singular wrote:
Mon Mar 20, 2023 1:46 pm
Keep in mind that modern compact bends are sometimes a pain if not impossible to fit through stems without a removable face plate (trust me...).
Oh yeah, this is true. Sometimes straight up impossible without levering the stem open due to tight bends just after the hoods. Old one-bolt style stems not recommended on anything but a tranditional or neo-traditional bend.

User avatar
ultimobici
in the industry
Posts: 4460
Joined: Sun Nov 21, 2004 2:45 pm
Location: Trento, Italia
Contact:

by ultimobici

Singular wrote:
Mon Mar 20, 2023 1:46 pm
Condor has its shop-branded 26mm bars.
Bear in mind that the 26mm version is more of a classic bend and isn't the best match for modern levers.

gaspard123
Posts: 26
Joined: Wed Nov 08, 2017 6:07 pm

by gaspard123

well aware of both the change in reach and the mechanical torture/gouging to get a bar through old stem, which are reasons for the OP. I tolerated Chorus 10 on traditional bar but less confident about 11sp Shimano hoods. Hate to add weight/expense/anachronism to a classic bike if I can avoid it, and curious if anyone has gone that route.

gaspard123
Posts: 26
Joined: Wed Nov 08, 2017 6:07 pm

by gaspard123

should note for those aware of the model, it is the cinelli 64 top "ergo" that plays a little better with modern hoods than an authentic vintage bar, but still looks like it will be more drop to hoods because they will be mounted further down the curve, unless I rotate the drops to point at the ground, which is not happening ever. we old farts like properly set up drops, right?

Singular
Posts: 537
Joined: Mon Jul 27, 2020 8:59 am

by Singular

ultimobici wrote:
Mon Mar 20, 2023 2:37 pm
Singular wrote:
Mon Mar 20, 2023 1:46 pm
Condor has its shop-branded 26mm bars.
Bear in mind that the 26mm version is more of a classic bend and isn't the best match for modern levers.
Correct - it is almost impossible to fit certain modern shifters (as the clamp cannot go high enough before turning in).

joejack951
Posts: 1162
Joined: Fri Feb 18, 2005 6:50 pm
Location: Wilmington, DE
Contact:

by joejack951

I thought so much about the inconvenience of quill stems, lack of good handlebars options for use with modern shift levers, and the weight and general ugliness of threadless adapters that I designed my own solution. Happy to share details but I'll warn you ahead of time that cheapskates tend to hate it :-)

Mackers
Posts: 482
Joined: Wed Sep 05, 2007 2:02 pm

by Mackers

Use any modern bar wit this bit of kit

Image

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32846327332.html?mp=1

And if you insist on 26.0mm there's always the eyesearingly ugly Deda

glepore
Posts: 1408
Joined: Thu Mar 28, 2013 4:42 pm
Location: Virginia USA

by glepore

Mackers wrote:
Mon Mar 20, 2023 8:53 pm
Use any modern bar wit this bit of kit

Image

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32846327332.html?mp=1

And if you insist on 26.0mm there's always the eyesearingly ugly Deda
Any ali 31.8 quill I've seen is length limited-either 80 or 10
Cysco Ti custom Campy SR mechanical (6.9);Berk custom (5.6); Serotta Ottrott(6.8) ; Anvil Custom steel Etap;1996 Colnago Technos Record

schlafen
Posts: 165
Joined: Sun Mar 24, 2019 11:51 pm

by schlafen

A picture of your bike may help your case here. A Cinelli 66 handlebar will work for reach and stem length, with the Ultegra shifters.

Threadless stems or adapters look shockingly bad if not done very well, but, it really depends on your tolerance to ugly threshold at the end of the day.



c60rider
Posts: 872
Joined: Mon Feb 27, 2017 11:12 pm

by c60rider

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=148462

This is my own 30 year old plus steel bike that I refurbished to fit Athena 11 speed with some old components that I still had. I had no choice but to use the existing quill stem as the forks were already cut for a threaded headset. The stem I think is a Cinella xa without going to look at it. The bars are 66/42 and double wrapped bar tape if they look a bit fatter than you'd expect. There was no way I was going to fit anything other than period parts and it was a little tricky to source the alloy athena to match the older components. I think frames that are from a certain era need to be matched up to appropriate parts rather than some sort of Frankenstein thing but each to their own. It's not like you're trying to cut down every last gram here it's more about what it looks like.

gaspard123
Posts: 26
Joined: Wed Nov 08, 2017 6:07 pm

by gaspard123

that's a lovely old bike. I should have been less lazy and done some gallery surfing.
I run a pretty deep drop bar on my Foil, but I'm switching out an Easton EA70 traditional bend on the steelie that had just a hair too much reach and drop, very similar to the Cinelli 66--nice bar (thought only diff between it and the 64 was the drop), especially as I'm turning 60 next year and am already a 5'9" guy on a 52 (same for Foil; short legs). The Giordana XL has a perfect geometry for the time when we grabbed gears at the downtube, low and in drops rather than a hair taller but laid out on tops extended on long ass hoods. I'd rather buy a heavy Nitto quill adapter and slap on a modern stem (or suffer an imperfect marriage of old and new) than put that aliexpress stem on a bike with its pedigree. If the Deda is even uglier, forget it.

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



Post Reply