mazdaspeed

3t ergosum. The campy shifters work really well with them IMO, very natural feeling

ColonelJLloyd 

Yeah, they look complimentary to the Ergos. I like 'em.

thirdgenbird

i love it but i would use this:

mazdaspeed

me too, it's nice being super comfortable in every position

mazdaspeed

Never going back to quill stems again I'm sorry. They flex a LOT compared to the new stuff and even light quill stems / bars are still heavier than the mid level 3t aluminum stuff + adapter I have now. Not only that but with ergo shifters there just aren't any bars out there for 26 or 26.4 that I like half as much as 31.8 wing shaped bars. That's just me though, I feel like switching to fake threadless has made the bike a lot more comfortable and solid feeling. It's probably not as bad if you're not using a 120mm stem and 44cm bars like I do though.

thirdgenbird

ive got a 130 and 140mm stem so i understand your reasoning i also love the wing shaped bars on my modern bike.

mazdaspeed

Yeah, the only drawback is that it's easy to get sucked into spending way too much money on stems and bars lol And of course some would say it looks bad.

reflex99

Yeah I have the probably cheaper and weightier Profile Design 1 to 1 1/8" adapter with 1" spacers below. Works well while I'm trying to sort out the fit.

Agree with the previous post that there are a lot of pretty bikes on this page like this one!

Puget Pounder

I put my bet on ergonovas. EDIT: OOPS Mazda already said they were ergosums. I was close



It happens . This was before I got a long shim, which was also before I tore down this setup and sold it.

Which gives me an opportunity to post this:

JDMKidBill

I'm on my way to being "vintage-modern"... but I need help. If you folks don't mind, please check out my thread. https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...turion-Ironman

WalksOn2Wheels

Thank you for saying this out loud. Ever since I put the FSA bars on the commuter, I've been considering them for the bianchi, but have been struggling with how it might affect the aesthetics. Screw it. Imma go for it sometime soon.

revchuck 

I don't mind quill stems, it's just that they're too limited in height adjustment for this old guy. I use 6cm seat-bar drop, and can't get the quill stems high enough. Compact bars work better for me too, and it's a bear to get the tight bends through the clamp on a quill stem.

runningDoc

I hate to be a devils advocate here... but what if you went with a silver stem + seatpost? Keep up with the shiny campy stuff you've already got going?

Thomson makes a nice black stem shim https://www.amazon.com/Thomson-Bicycl...5354409&sr=8-1 (it used to be only $5.00 last year).

I used it throughout my old Trek 5200 USPS build that had a 1" steerer.

Its good to have a silver shim too if you decide to use a silver stem. I like my Ritchey Classic stem - its silver and very lightweight (111g for a 100mm length). The only thing I don't like is that to achieve that weight is they made the stem super wide with probably thin walls. The damn stem has a larger diameter than my top/down tubes.

ControlTech offers small diameter stems in both black and silver (the silver is heavier by 40g though). The key is to match a thin diameter threadless stem to clean up the look.

Also I found this (22.2-28.6) quill-threadless adaptor on eBay. (the seller also has a 25.4-28.6 version). It eliminates the need for a shim (directly clamping into a modern 1 1/8" stem). It also sits flush on the threaded headset for a cleaner look compared to tapered quill-threadless adaptor offerings. In my case I didn't even need a spacer (but a 1 1/8 spacer fits fine too). I did run a 10mm velo orange bell mount/spacer for a while and it sat securely without movement after hard rides.



I too was amazed to compute/figure out how even with a quill-threadless adaptor the modern threadless setups are lighter (stem + shim + adaptor+ spacers/ect) than a older quill stem (in addition to being a lot stiffer/stronger).

You could actually just buy a 1" carbon colnago star fork or a new 1" steel colnago fork (used on the modern master x-lights) and drop a whole pound of weight (I computed it - it really is a whole pound and almost drop two pounds with the carbon star fork), simplify and strengthen the whole set up by going with a modern truly threadless system:

It does seem like a expensive (colnago 1" carbon star forks and their 1" threadless steel forks are very very very expensive) solution for a problem that is alternatively solved with a $15 adaptor from eBay though. Plus you have to install a new headset (nothing less than a campy or chris king 1" threadless would be mandatory ) so the expenses keep on adding up (but at least with the chris king you can buy a threaded adaptor kit to keep your options open).

the modern colnago master x-lights with modern groupset and threadless headset systems look fine to me:

mazdaspeed

^ A colnago carbon fork would be nice but I'm not so sure about the 2lbs thing, iirc the columbus SL fork is less than 700g. I wouldn't mind a fork because mine is missing half the paint but it does ride nicely... I probably would have gone silver but the 3T stuff all matches and I need a lot of setback, plus I love their bars. Most of my choices have been to maximize functionality.

dwellman

Yeah. I replaced all my headset / forks with threadless / carbon setups (except for the "beater" bike, of course. Not worth it.)




None of my LBSs sell quills anymore. Not that I mind terribly, but. . . I was actually surprised by that.

lungimsam

I like brifters

revchuck 

Here's my '87 Centurion Ironman:



This was updated mostly with parts from my first road bike, a 2009 Cannondale CAAD9 6: Tiagra 4500 brifters, compact crankset and FD, plus Bontrager 26mm compact bars, a generic quill stem adapter and an Easton EA50 stem. The wheels on it are also from the Cannondale, Shimano R500s with 700x25 Gatorskins. This wheelset is my spare, and will be replaced by the original wheelset once the rear is rebuilt using a compatible hub and wearing 700x25 Michelin Krylion Carbons.

metabike

My two middle-age ladies all tarted up.

RobbieTunes

^ nice Ironman man
^ nice triple triangle Shogun and Dback

whatwolf

I finally have a bike to put in this thread!

Looking for opinions on whether my new-old Merckx would be ruined aesthetically if I went threadless (converted.) Considering it because I want to try bars with less drop and the stem length isn't quite right so it would make it easier to change things out, and that Colnago and Bridgestone up there^ have almost managed to convince me that it can work.



Other things to consider: it will get white tape when I change the bars, and I am thinking about gumwall Veloflex tires - I have an extra set.

gomango

That's an incredible bicycle.

A few points.

1) The stem that's on there right now should stay. I wouldn't put anything on there but a quill. Try looking for another Cinelli bar/stem combo that works, but definitely keep a quill. Maybe a 1a with a set of Model 64s.

Also put some miles on the bicycle before giving up on the drop. I don't prefer that much drop nowadays, but I have been called Grandpa lately by the students in my class.

2) Black saddle, black tape if at all possible. Yours matches nicely.

3) Veloflex tires are outstanding, but gumwalls don't work for me on this frame's color scheme. Go and find some Veloflex Corsa 23s in black. You can thank me later.

If you must, any of the Veloflex tires will give a great deal of performance for the $$.

whatwolf

1) I agree about the stem. Don't think I can go quill-less. I do need a slightly longer stem, as this one is only 70mm and I typically run a 90mm on this size frame. Will give the drops more of a chance, probably. I may pick up a soma hwy 1 bar just to compare.
2) and 3), not so convinced -- I know the rules about black/black but I still think it looks good:





Might even be so bold as to try red veloflex masters...

blilrat

I've been following this thread while switching my bike over to DA 7700. There are some great bikes in here. Only waiting on a new saddle and I'll post some pics.

So... Reason for post - I bought the Veloflex Corsa 23 at biketiresdirect.com for $81 / shipped for the pair. Not sure if it's the best deal ever, but it was around $20 cheaper than anywhere else I found. I think the sale ends tonight though.

jeebusaurousrex

IMHO Veloflex are great...until there's debris on the road...or if it's raining/wet...and you don't mind replacing your very expensive handmade Italian tires after about 1000 miles because the tread wears so easily.

Love how gumwalls look. If only Continental makes a clincher model with black chili treads.

runningDoc

as I mentioned before to go threadless it costs only around $16. it keeps your options as regards to figuring out your fit very open...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Eleven81-AHD...ht_2709wt_1064

you get the best of both worlds with those threadless quill converters because you still have great height adjustment options (by simply raising the quill adaptor up and down) and also the benefit of threadless (more brifter friendly ergo bars and stem options, lighter weight (even with the threadless adaptor, easy swapping out of handlebars, and less flex).

Once you figure out your ideal fit then you can look for quill options. Nitto actually makes brifter friendly drops in 26.0 diameters, also there are a ton of older mid 2000's easton carbon bars on eBay that are inexpensive, 26.0 diameter that are ergo/brifter friendly shapes - but still have longer reach (85-100mm reach compared to the 75-85mm en vogue right now).

There's no getting around that a quill is a lot more aesthetically pleasing. My only recourse was to find silver threadless stems and bars (ritchey classic line stem and ritchey classic curve bars - which have very compact drops and flat tops 73mm reach 128mm drop).

oh yeah NICE BIKE!!! we should meet up and compare builds. I'm in brooklyn too.