unworthy1

I just want to first applaud and second know where and how to buy it: If I search for "innicycles" on Amazon will I find your product? Or contact you directly?

nomadmax 

Very nice. Now you have me scouring CL for an older bike that has a threaded steerer tube.

joejack951

Thanks for the hand clapping

For now, it is best to contact me directly if interested. Amazon ordering will happen, just not there yet.

joejack951

Thanks! I am constantly looking myself, mostly just hoping for a screaming deal on something even nicer than my 660, and sometimes paying attention for something that will fit my wife...Plenty to choose from if you aren't on a tight budget, and good groupsets, wheels, and cockpit bits are pretty cheap these days.

xrayzebra 

Amazing - thanks for sharing this. It's so interesting to see such smart innovation "as it happens in real time." I realize you must have been working on this for quite some time, but relative to the time line of commercial products, we're seeing this very early. I don't know what the market might be for this product, but it's not going to make anyone a millionaire, so it's also interesting to see a product being developed by someone who just wants it, and is willing to develop a high quality solution primarily out of passion for the idea. Very cool indeed.

canyoneagle

Add another VERY pleased owner of one of these brilliant headsets. Well done, Joe!!!!!!!

I'll get some closeups soon, but at the risk of overposting the post-build photos, here's one that shows how the stem integrates with the bike:

smoothness 

sorry if this offends you @joejack951, but do you have any production samples using a "regular" top cap for sale? I've got a few sweet top caps I'd love to use with my ironman and a 31.8 bar.

joejack951

While I'd love to be able to tell you that you can use any top you wish with this headset, that's not the case. A threadless headset top cap has a much easier job than the top cap in the inni headset. The former merely has to withstand the headset bearing preload forces and only until the steerer clamp bolts on the stem have been tightened. It can be removed at that point if one so chose to.

The inni top cap is more like that on a standard threadless adapter: it has the support the wedge which is anchoring the quill into the steerer tube. This is a pretty critical job if you can imagine and the top cap has to be designed to support that load. The early prototype top caps I made were designed around an M8 socket head cap screw, much like you'd find on a threadless adapter. The new top cap design use an M8 stud integrated into a broached aluminum cap, which I think looks far cleaner and left more room for logos Nearly every threadless top cap is designed around an M6 socket head cap screw. The latter also use much thinner cross sections as they simply will never see the kind of loads that a threadless adapter or the inni top cap will see.

If you want to customize your headset, let's talk and perhaps we can get you what you want without compromising the design/safety.

joejack951

I'd say it creates a business opportunity, one that I plan to address once I get this headset moving more! I'm willing to talk now to anyone who wants something sooner, just be warned that the price will reflect the prototype nature of the stem.

natterberry 

joejack951

Good question, and I will be updating my spec list above with this info:

Steerer tube requirements:
1. Must be 27mm min/45mm max longer than bare headtube measured from fork crown
2. Threads on steerer tube must end no more than 16mm above the edge of the bare headtube (using fork crown as reference)

I need to take some pictures demonstrating how to take these measurements but hopefully they make some sense already. And regarding those measurements, most paired frame/forks will meet those specs. The only ones that won't are when numerous/thick spacers are used between the jam nut and upper race. When trying to combine some random frame and fork that have never previously been assembled, you will want to take some measurements first. Too short is a safety issue. Too long and you won't be able to preload the headset bearings.

speedevil 

Do you mean "not less than" instead of "no more than"?

Sorry if I'm not understanding this properly.

joejack951

I am using a double negative which I should know by know by now is a confusing way a stating things

The intent of that measurement is to ensure that there are enough threads on the steerer tube so that the adapter can thread on as far as it needs to. Depending on the excess length of steerer tube present, that could be anywhere from 29mm of threads required (45 [max length steerer] - 16) or only 11mm (27 [min length steerer] - 16). Does that help?

A picture is worth a million of my words so I will work on that.

merziac

Sorry for the hijack but on a related note does anyone remember the Hetchins thread that had the tall stack quill stem setups that were done by the shop in Phoenix?

gugie 

kingston 

Over the weekend I was riding one of my old bikes with a nitto pearl stem that squeaks sometimes and found myself thinking about replacing it with one of these super-cool threadless conversion headsets. While modern threadless stems are functionally superior to a quill stem in just about every way, I still prefer the aesthetics of a quill stem on an old steel frame. I do have some modern steel frames with threadless headsets and stems that I've learned to live with so still considering.

joejack951

joejack951

As Robbie noted, yes, the inni headset could be used as a solution to either of those problems. You won't find a threaded headset that requires less available threaded fork than the inni design.

I can sympathize here as I certainly do prefer a slimmer profile stem next to small diameter steel frame tubes. When I get my head screwed on straight, I have all intentions of producing a threadless stem that preserves as much of the original quill stem appearance as possible, for those of us that aren't completely satisfied with what's currently available.

I appreciate the comments/feedback from all of you!

kingston 

I suggest designing it for 25.4 or 26.0 mm bars. The Factory Five Titan is even uglier than a threadless stem. Looks like a light-bulb on a stick.

amerikaner

Any plans for a JIS version? (30.0mm cups and 27.0mm crown race) I have an '80 Trek that I've been trying to find the right stem for that is not only tall enough but doesn't look funny. This is the solution I've been looking for!

JohnDThompson 

FWIW, it's trivial to mill a JIS frame/fork to ISO (30.2mm cups/26.4mm crown race seat) spec.

joejack951

The market for JIS headsets is simply too small for me to bother doing a special run of parts for an already niche product, especially when there are options to rework existing parts to satisfy any need.

You could, as noted, adjust your frame and fork to ISO specs as one option. Another, even lower effort option is to just press the ISO spec cups into the JIS frame, something which apparently gets done quite frequently without issue. The crown race ID is easily opened up to JIS specs with an adjustable reamer (I can do this for you). If the thought of using JIS cups in an ISO frame is too much for you to bear, we can talk about modifying those, too.

amerikaner

Thanks, I'll go the milling route. Just picked up a park tools head tube reamer on ebay. PM incoming.

Gary64

Ordered one last night on amazon,should be here tomorrow.Going on a 81' trek 710.

joejack951

Thanks again for the order, Gary! Pics of the install are always welcome. Before and after a bonus, too.

And yes, it's true. After way too long in the making, the innicycle conversion headset is finally order-able (and with expedited shipping available) all without having to deal with me