After some unsuccessful hunting for an ultra-elusive quill stem that had a 25.4mm quill diameter to fit a somewhat uncommon 1-1/8” threaded headset, had a removable faceplate to fit either a 25.4mm or 31.8mm handlebar, and was of reputable quality, I gave up and decided to just settle for a quill to threadless adapter. However that in its own right was difficult as most I found online were asking more than reasonable for the part, or were completely beat up and something I wasn’t willing to trust the safety of my face to
Then I had a random thought. The shop that sold this bike new back in ‘92 (rhyme not planned but a welcome surprise) is still running, maybe they have a box of them somewhere in the back that’s been there longer than I’ve been alive (24 years). So I gave them a call and was unfortunately told they didn’t have any
I wasn’t really disappointed, I had expected them to not have it, but I’d hoped they would have it anyways. I started thinking of some other shops within a reasonable distance that had been around since the 90s when my phone started ringing. I was very excited to see the shop I had just called to pop up on my caller display and the employee said they found a box in the back that had plenty of the adapter I was after, and joked that it hadn’t been touched in like 30 years
I showed up to the shop about a half hour later to grab the part and chatted with the employee helping me as we both have early 90s Rocky Mountain Equipes (although theirs luckily uses the much more common 1” headset with a 22.2mm quill insert diameter)
The only half-decent handlebars I had laying around were some 780mm MTB bars that came off my full suspension a few years ago when I upgraded the bars, but I figured they were better than the stock bars so I put them on for now
Luckily I didn’t have to completely redo the cable and housing replacement that I did last week, only had to redo the front brake as the canti hanger was previously built into the stem and the housing was only like 6” long. I got a bolt-on hanger for the canti now, which also adds the benefit on not having to adjust my brake every time I want to change the handlebar height
I’ve ridden a couple dozen km since the swap and I’m already starting to get a better idea of what kind of handlebar I want for this bike long-term, and will continue to do “testing” (buying new sh*t and riding my bike)
Jaimemgn on
“Momma said stupid is as stupid does”. <— guess the movie quote
Nick__Nightingale__ on
Wide bars on a steep geometry bike can be too wiggly. I did a restmod on a mid 90s MTB. I put all the modern components I could. They all work great, but the wide bars were too loose of a feel. I cut the bars and put stubby barends on for climbs. It feels much better, being less skittish.
4 Comments
After some unsuccessful hunting for an ultra-elusive quill stem that had a 25.4mm quill diameter to fit a somewhat uncommon 1-1/8” threaded headset, had a removable faceplate to fit either a 25.4mm or 31.8mm handlebar, and was of reputable quality, I gave up and decided to just settle for a quill to threadless adapter. However that in its own right was difficult as most I found online were asking more than reasonable for the part, or were completely beat up and something I wasn’t willing to trust the safety of my face to
Then I had a random thought. The shop that sold this bike new back in ‘92 (rhyme not planned but a welcome surprise) is still running, maybe they have a box of them somewhere in the back that’s been there longer than I’ve been alive (24 years). So I gave them a call and was unfortunately told they didn’t have any
I wasn’t really disappointed, I had expected them to not have it, but I’d hoped they would have it anyways. I started thinking of some other shops within a reasonable distance that had been around since the 90s when my phone started ringing. I was very excited to see the shop I had just called to pop up on my caller display and the employee said they found a box in the back that had plenty of the adapter I was after, and joked that it hadn’t been touched in like 30 years
I showed up to the shop about a half hour later to grab the part and chatted with the employee helping me as we both have early 90s Rocky Mountain Equipes (although theirs luckily uses the much more common 1” headset with a 22.2mm quill insert diameter)
The only half-decent handlebars I had laying around were some 780mm MTB bars that came off my full suspension a few years ago when I upgraded the bars, but I figured they were better than the stock bars so I put them on for now
Luckily I didn’t have to completely redo the cable and housing replacement that I did last week, only had to redo the front brake as the canti hanger was previously built into the stem and the housing was only like 6” long. I got a bolt-on hanger for the canti now, which also adds the benefit on not having to adjust my brake every time I want to change the handlebar height
I’ve ridden a couple dozen km since the swap and I’m already starting to get a better idea of what kind of handlebar I want for this bike long-term, and will continue to do “testing” (buying new sh*t and riding my bike)
“Momma said stupid is as stupid does”. <— guess the movie quote
Wide bars on a steep geometry bike can be too wiggly. I did a restmod on a mid 90s MTB. I put all the modern components I could. They all work great, but the wide bars were too loose of a feel. I cut the bars and put stubby barends on for climbs. It feels much better, being less skittish.
You are reckless!!! Haha