Quill-ahead

Andrew Pestana said:

can anyone tell me if a Trek 820 has a quill stem or ahead

and wether its possible to convert from one to the other

and what is the difference between the two

thanks

No idea what it comes with, but:

You can convert a quill stem to use ahead stems - look for an adapter.
It's a quill system at the base to go in the headset bit, and at the top
is just a round tube for an ahead stem to clamp on to.

I have one on my bike, it's great.

AFAIK you cannot convert a bike with an ahead system to a quill system -
but then I can't see why you would want to. With the ahead system you
shoudl be able to tailor the stem height slightly by means of the
spacers - but if the bit poking out the headset isn't long enough to
start with then I'm not sure how easy it is to get the bars higher
without replacing forks etc.

Googling for ahead stems/forks etc would probably enlighten you a bit
more as to what the ahead system actually looks like, and
advantages/disadvantages. AFAIK most new bikes now come with ahead
systems rather than quill systems.

--

Velvet

Andrew Pestana said:

can anyone tell me if a Trek 820 has a quill stem or ahead

What year? The 820 I know of a few years ago (the green cromo bike) has a
quill stem. Got any pictures?

Quoted message said:

and wether its possible to convert from one to the other

An ahead stem can be fitted to threaded forks (used with quill stems) by
using a converter. The converter is like the vertical shaft of a quill
stem onto which the ahead stems clamps. They work well.

Alternatively, a bike with a quill stem can be fully converted to the
ahead system by changing the forks, headset and stem.

Quoted message said:

and what is the difference between the two

Quill stems fit and wedge inside the fork steerer tube and the headset
upper race screws onto to the threaded steerer. The ahead system uses
threadless forks with sterers that stick up higher, and the stem simply
clamps to the outside of it. The headset is pressed down (preloaded) by
the stem .

More info:
url:http://www.parktool.com/repair_help/FAQindex.shtml#headset

~PB

On Thu, 05 Aug 2004 17:10:12 GMT, Velvet <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

AFAIK you cannot convert a bike with an ahead system to a quill system -

It is possible, but requires the cutting down and threading of the
fork stearer. More trouble than it's worth I guess.

Chris