I’m trying to swap out an old threaded quill stem for a new one on my 2000 Scott Timber. The brand catalogue from that time confirms that it’s a 1 ⅛ threaded steerer tube:
https://www.scottmtb.cz/_data/scott-a-katalogy/katalog-scott-2000.pdf
The headset has “OVER SIZE SEAL Ø25.44MM” written on it, and as such I purchased a 25.44mm quill stem online:
https://www.tradeinn.com/bikeinn/en/promax-pista-25.4-mm-stem/140593143/p?utm_source=google_buscador&utm_medium=google_buscador&attributionToken=kwHwkgoMCKTlpcYGEK7VrYUCEAEaJDY4Y2ZlODM3LTAwMDAtMmM3MC04NmFjLTk0ZWIyYzFmMDc5YyoVMTU1Njg3MjY4NC4xNzE1ODU1Njk1MiiQ97IwxcvzF8LwnhXUsp0Vjr6dFba3jC2c1rctqOWqLY6RyTCf1rctOg5kZWZhdWx0X3NlYXJjaEgBWAFgAWgBegJ3YQ&_gl=1*nstiz1*_up*MQ..&gclid=Cj0KCQjwwsrFBhD6ARIsAPnUFD26l_uvUGQMDK6cwctpeb9wYX0Qax52h7Z2ZCa3-zKJfs3mRnLaBpcaAjIDEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds&gbraid=0AAAAADvzHL-Z_3aTUYpzt6Djrb6jlUkiv
But it is clearly too small. I’m not sure where I went wrong here, and I’m not sure how to go about fixing it — is my only option to buy a new larger stem? And what size should I be going for?
This is my first bike rebuild so any tips or recommendations would be very welcome! 🔧
by sugarloaf237
6 Comments
Is the stem actually 25.4mm (1 inch) in diameter? Could be it’s mislabeled. IIRC 1” stem quills are 22.2mm
This is a good time to visit a local independent bike shop. Chances are a good mechanic can walk you through the process. A purchase may be necessary.
From the link that you have provided, the 25.44 mm measurement of the stem refers to the diameter of the handlebar clamp not the stem itself! It claims 1 1/8 for the stemm clamp, but cheaper parts are often mislabeled in my experience. Better to measure yourself
if you can stomach (or rather core muscle) the long length there are a plethora of 1/1/8 quillstems on ebay.
Most of those are of the welded steel type, the forged aluminium ones are mostly 22,2mm road types with 26mm handlebar bore. As stated before the 25,4mm in your stem probably refers to the handlebar diameter of yours, but the dissease of shitty product descriptions is unfortunatly widespread in the internet.
A 1 1/8 inch fork will have an external diameter of 28.6 mm, and an internal diameter meter of 25.4 mm.
I think you have purchased a 22.2 mm quill stem with a handlebar clamp of 25.4 mm.
25.4 mm quill stems are less common today. If you have a hard time finding one in the dimensions you would like, you can buy a 25.4 mm quill to 28.6 mm threadless adapter, which would allow you to use a standard threadless stem.
https://www.modernbike.com/product-2126190925?
It’s an unfortunate overlap that the quill diameter of a 1⅛ stem happens to be 1″ or 25.4mm. In other words, a 1″ steerer will fit perfectly inside a 1⅛” steerer.
You got a stem that’s for a 1″ steerer. It’ll measure 22.2mm.
There aren’t many new options, if any. Your best bet is the used market, or use a 1⅛ quill to threadless adapter. If you go this route, make sure the quill part is 25.4 and the threadless part 28.6mm.