Quill stems

[SteelNipple]

Anything quill stems. Whats your favorite? Anyone had any failures or stem related accidents?

And my question about the OD on quill stems ment for 1" threaded steerers...
I meassured few quill stems and better made 22.2mm ones like 3ttt seem to have a OD around 22.05-22.1mm and one 22mm 3ttt stem had OD of 21.875, but I had some cheaper ones marked 22.2 (like quill to ahead adapters and kalloy stems etc.) that measured below 22.0mm. So what is retrobikes opinion on using a 22mm stem ment for french steerer on a 1" steerer tube? Is going from 0.1mm cap to 0.3mm too risky? And are the expander style stems generally considered to be better than wedge style quill stems?

 

[jim haseltine]

Not a problem. In my experience the issue is (sometimes) trying to get a 22.2 into a French steerer.
I've always preferred expanders over wedges but the heavy-handed can end up distorting a steerer tube with them.

 

[pigman]

Not a problem as it is. The expander will take up the slack. If it makes you feel better, use a slither of coke can as a filler

 

[SteelNipple]

What about torqueing the expander bolt? I've read somewhere that it's good to have the bolt torque set so that on impact the front wheel and stem/bars would turn and take some force from the impact.

 

[jim haseltine]

Yep, I still do that with my quill stems. They aren't loose by any stretch of the imagination though as even with the front wheel gripped between my knees it takes a fair bit of strength to move them. I fully intended to use the torque setting listed by 3TTT for my Evol stem (20Nm) but on tightening it I rapidly thought 'No more, that's getting tight' and stopped before the wrench clicked.

Early in the 1980s I often performed road race bike checks, I remember one Sunday morning failing Danny Horton's bike for an over loose stem shortly after he'd been reinstated as an amateur. Luckily for my health he was in a good mood, agreed that I was correct and accepted my loan of a Campag T-bar to tighten it.