canklecat

There was at least one threadless stem from ye olden dayes of the early 1990s that adhered pretty closely to the quill stem appearance: the Ibis titanium stem. Single bolt clamp for both ends, the steerer and handlebar. Svelte appearance, but the trade-off was you had to strip the handlebar to swap it out, as with most quill stems. The later multi-bolt designs with detachable face plates were more practical, at least for racers.

Here's an amusing sale ad from craigslist, 2003, for the l-o-n-g Ibis titanium threadless stem: Ibis titanium stem -- long as a cat's leg


Ibis titanium threadless stem, approx 130mm. Not mine.

***


Cat and stem not mine. Considering it's a photo from 2003, the cat is probably long gone. The titanium stem is probably still going strong.

***
That Ibis stem from the old craigslist ad was designed to be horizontal when installed. Mine is angled slightly upward and can't be changed by flipping it. But the angle is comfortable for me so it's fine as-is.

My Trekenstein Trek 5900 bought from texaspandj last year came with the original Ibis stem. Lovely thing. At the time it was a little too long for my achy injured neck, so I replaced it with an FSA stem -- the typical chunky looking thing with 4-bolt detachable face plate. And an FSA Omega compact drop bar with shorter reach.


Trekenstein with the relatively sleek Ibis titanium threadless stem. Single bolts for steerer and handlebar clamps. No detachable face plate so it's necessary to strip the handlebar for swaps. Not great for pro racers, but not a big deal for us ordinary folks. (Essential Ironman relevant content: Most of those components on that '93 Trek 5900 came from an Ironman. So it's sort of a Centrekion Irontrek.)


Closeup of Ibis titanium threadless stem, single bolts for each clamp. At the time, using a lovely Nitto B65LL drop bar. Soon to be replaced with a Soma Highway One to shorten the reach and drop a bit to suit my creaky old neck.


However with lots of physical therapy I may be able to handle the Ibis stem again, particularly with a handlebar with less reach. I discovered the Soma Highway One bar is nearly identical to the FSA Omega and Gossamer compact drops. A couple of local friends use that Soma bar on their Bridgestone steel bikes. So while the Trekenstein is currently out of service waiting for headset repairs, I'm going to order that Soma bar, and put the original Ibis stem back on. That'll restore the sleeker appearance it originally had, with a handlebar better suited to my limited flexibility.

And the FSA Omega drop bar can go on the newer Diamondback Podium frame project, which will look fine with the chunky headset and fatter diameter handlebar.

robertj298 

My favorite

Last ride 76 

Too small for me, but how could I resist. It's practically NOS. Check out the big ring, and brake blocks (though it just shows how little it takes to leave marks on some anodized rims). The tires even still have the nubs on them. Going up for local sale, North Jersey CL.

Crazy cool, (except for the overly padded saddle).


A little basic maintenance, and a few bits soaked in evaporust overnight, some new bar tape... Ready for someone to start putting some miles on it.

RobbieTunes

Ace and bone clean.
Looks 56cm. 54cm and we'd be talking....

Last ride 76 

Robbie, you are no help at all.*


A month ago, I was told 54 cm, on an under 40 degree day, windy and raining - with the saddle slammed down, it was all I could do to ride it across the parking lot to feel it if tracked ok. It had black grease splattered all over, under the rain. In addition there was an impatient wife in the seller's passenger seat. At home. I made coffee,dried it off and squirted WD-40 into everything, and put it aside.

Head tubes with different color lugs, confuse me, apparently. I didn't even notice while cleaning and taking pictures this afternoon. I can't sell it, not before tuning the fit and putting some miles on it. Not gonna happen.

Actually I would have felt worse, if I found out later. So, Thx. Tomorrow is going to be in the fifties again...

seypat

Squeaky clean!

texaspandj

Cool and clean LeMans.

texaspandj

Any updates on your Miami Vice project?

ddeand 

Thanks for the interest. So far, I have the bike completely disassembled and all the parts have been cleaned and ready to go. But since it’s still winter here in the Twin Cities, I can’t get the touch-up painting done. I have about 20 little spots that need to be touched up, and I have most of the priming and leveling done (see pic). I plan on using an airbrush for the spot work. If that goes well, I might use the airbrush to paint frames. I’m also practicing re-covering bike seats. The Ironman will get a yellow leather seat with yellow bar tape, and white cables. The groupset will be 8-speed Dura-Ace (brifters). I may not be very fast on the bike, but people will know I’m coming! I’m also working on a funky-cool bike for my grandson. But again, I’m not allowed to strip paint in the house. I hope to be able to get a decent paint match on the MV - we’ll see.

RobbieTunes

I no longer live there, or it would be gone.

seypat

That's a very prestigious bike for that price. I'm saving up my Prestige buying for the 86 Lavender model that I could find one day, maybe. It will probably never happen, but a person can dream. I'd take an 85 as well.

canklecat

That Prestige is tempting. My size too. But I have a feeling my apartment manager would have a conniption if I brought another bike home.

seypat

For the Texas chapter, the wife attended a wedding in Waxahachie yesterday. It was held at a place called the Vine Barn. The bride lives in Crawford.

texaspandj

My daughter lives in Waxahacie an hour from me and Crawford is 30 minutes away.
You should've made the trip then you and I could've rode. I'd a let you borrow an Ironman. Man it was beautiful weather yesterday too. Sunny and 75. Maybe next time.

seypat

I had to stay home with the kids. A senior and a sophomore. Both had conflicting activities, so I was a chauffer.

Distanc3

These Centurion Ironman are pretty awesome, were there years that were more desirable than others (Paint scheme aside)? the Miami Vice is my favorite!

seypat

On the bike front, I built the Turbo with Suntour barcons. I had acquired a couple of sets and the Shimanos are on other bikes. I've been riding I around without bar tape until I decided if the Suntour barcons were keepers on that particular bike. I decided this weekend and also got a vision for the finished look. Since the beloved Sun ME14A rims only come in black, I need suggestions for decent silver rims. I already have some CR18s. I was going to order some Mavic Open Elites, but some reviewers said they are soft and flimsy. What say IM Nation?

seypat

I'm not getting any closer to an 86 Lavender Prestige, but I did pick up another bike with a color that is kind of close. I need suggestions for cable/bar tape color. I think gold metal cable would look good but not bar tape. What say the IM Nation again? I would post the bike, but it's not a Centurion. Here's a little bit of the frame. The brand decals are black with a gold/yellow outline.

texaspandj

I think it just comes down to personal taste as far as desirability. I think that's why I have my favorite one of each year offered....well except for '85. But someday I'll have it too.

TriBiker19 

Nice looking business cards you got there.

If it wasn't Texas and I hadn't convinced my husband to go to Disney last week (we took the kids, of course), I might just load up Bandit and race ya.

Amazing build. I'm so thrilled. What's the status on that seat post?

RobbieTunes

Seat post and frame are mates. It will not be an amicable break up. Time will tell. They are both doing drugs....so there is hope.

I may switch wheels to red spoked Bontager Race XXX Lites. I mean, red spokes...they are coming in on a different bike, an Italian carbon, and Do Not Belong On That.

Time heals wounds and re-organizes bike builds.

TriBiker19 

I would not recognize that ‘88 in a different set of circumstances.

Is it horrible of me to say, “thank goodness it wasn’t just my inexperience that led me to believe that post was truly *stuck*”?

RobbieTunes

Not at all. The post and frame were wed in 1987. 33 years is a long time.

seypat

Bumping this one so the Triple IM OP can introduce himself.

seypat

I took another look. Is that a carbon fork with a repaint? That looks so much better matching the rest of the paint. It doesn't look bulky at all. BTW, I should find out this month which weekend we will be moving the son to college late summer. I'm gonna try to make the HNH if I can. Of course with the current expanding virus situation, most of the events in the next 5 or 6 months will probably be cancelled. I think my annual birthday run(the Shamrock Dolphin Challenge) in 3 weeks will squeak by. After that, who knows. My wife works in the lab at a local hospital. They started putting up isolation tents today. I don't think we even have any cases in VA yet.