I agree with Jon's logic, but the aesthetics of dirt drop or (heaven forbid) those horrid threadless stems or (even worse) threadless stem adapters completely destroy the look of a bike. The classic "7" quill stem is just a beautiful piece that enhances the graceful look of a steel frame. A very few custom threadless stems have been made that don't look too terrible, but they are still too fat relative to the rest of the bike. They don't work for me and I would not buy a bike that used them.