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MountainBikeReview.com's Forum Archives - Singlespeed
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just curious, threadless stem on threaded steerer..why not? (15 posts)
|  just curious, threadless stem on threaded steerer..why not? | namaSSte
Sep 23, 2003 9:17 AM | | one guy in the lbs last night siad no probs, the other said no way. neither had a solid explanation though. off road, I don't think I'd want to chance it but for a roadie commuter, I really couldn't see why there would be any problem. can anyone give a really good reason why or why not? |
| Experience | CMUSS
Sep 23, 2003 9:42 AM | | I can't give you a really good answer either way, but I can say that I've ridden a threaded steerer in a threadless stem on my campus cruiser/commuter for years. I've done trails, roads, jumps, and everything else on the bike with no problem from the threaded/threadless combo. Hope this helps. |
| thanks for the firsthand comments.... | namaSSte
Sep 23, 2003 10:41 AM | | I think I know the theoretical pitfalls but it still didn't seem to me that there would be any problem. I appreciate your comments very much.
Peace and light.
Scott |
| CMUSS??? | 1x1 Speed Craig
Sep 24, 2003 5:12 AM | | Hey,
Just curious if your user name implies that you're a Central Michigan University student. My wife & I are both alumni, and now live near Grand Rapids. Just saying "hi", I guess.
Later,
Craig
My Biking Website |
| Same here... no problems | Drevil
Sep 23, 2003 10:58 AM | | I'm using a threaded fork with an aheadset and threadless stem on a fixie commuter mtb. No problems. I hop around onto and off of curbs and stuff, but I don't take it off road too much.
I haven't read through the others' responses, but I guess a really minor quibble is that the stem gets indented with the thread pattern where it clamps the fork. No big deal, and it probably makes the stem hold onto the fork better. |
| The threaded portion of the steerer is generally rolled, not cut | Skatepark
Sep 23, 2003 11:15 AM | | so there is no less material than the same steerer left un-threaded. I have many miles on a threaded fork and headset with a star nut and threadless stem and it works perfectly.
Ride on...
-tom |
| no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no | club
Sep 24, 2003 6:42 AM | | it's not about the "amount of material," it's about the stress risers created by the threads. threading weakens the steerer, I don't care whether they're cut or rolled or put there by elves, threads are the weakest part of the fork. clamp a big honking lever (stem) onto precisely that part of the steerer tube, then reef on it by climbing, descending,landing and you are riding a ticking timebomb. I don't care how many idiots here say they're doing this and haven't had the steerer break (yet). Ask any knowledgeable shop mechanic if it's a good idea. clamping a stem onto the threads of a threaded steerer is one of the most risky, dumb things you can do to a bicycle. Trust me on this, I know what I am talking about, unlike most of the advise givers in this thread. Dont' do it, don't, don't. No. |
| Need clarification... | 1x1 Speed Craig
Sep 24, 2003 6:58 AM | | Club,
I wasn't quite able to determine how you stood on this subject. Could you please elaborate?
; )
Have a good Wednesday,
Craig
My Biking Website |
| I have no problems with it... | DancingBear
Sep 23, 2003 11:20 AM | | I've had that setup on my commuter for a few years, with no problems. I bomb down stairs, practice wheelies, and I've slammed into many many curbs. Did I mention that I'm a very large man? I haven't had any problems. I appreciate the theory behind not recommending this setup, but it just isn't a problem in real world application. |
| thanks all. I had decided to go this route already.... | namaSSte
Sep 23, 2003 11:49 AM | | but all of your real world experiences certainly made me feel better about things! Thanks. |
| You Are a Fool, a Fool I Say. nm | club
Sep 24, 2003 6:43 AM | | |
| that much I can't argue with... | namaSSte
Sep 24, 2003 7:07 AM | | seriously man, I appreciate your words of caution, thanks. I fully understand your point it's just that I am only using this bike for flat commuting. The steerer shouldn't really see any big stress at all. The commute involves vitually no uphill (certainly not any that will even have me out of the saddle) so I guess I figured that it would be no big deal. In addition, some of the stem will be on the unthreaded part of the steerer so the likelihood of a catastrophic failure is lessened. I don't think I'd consider this for a mtb or even a roadie that would be used for climbing and descending but for a flat commute....well, you get my drift.
Thanks again (sincerely) for your comments and concern.
Ride fast, take chances....:) |
| only if steerer is long enough to clamp stem below threads nm | club
Sep 24, 2003 6:35 AM | | |
| Its an old wives tale about stress risers... | DeeEight
Sep 25, 2003 8:54 AM | | of the threads leading to the steerer column snapping. It completely ignores the fact though that MANY threaded headset brands have produced headsets which physically CLAMP the steerer tube to hold in place (King Gripnut, Onza Mongo, RaceFace Realseal, Odyssey Toro Pro, FSA Surelock, to name just a few) with more force than goes into clamping a stem to a steerer and concentrated into a smaller surface area, and they've never snapped a steerer top off. It also ignores the fact that threaded steerers are almost ALWAYS steel (very rarely they're titanium) and steel is far more tolerant to notches and stress points than aluminium is (which is used for most threadless steerers these days).
I've advertised forks with extra long threaded steerers and said you can clamp them (and you can) and some nutbar who claimed to have been an engineer at Answer-Manitou (a company that's had more steerer tube and crown related failures than anyone else - generally due to poor design or poor materials choice) fired off a whiny email, but couldn't explain away why his own company needed to introduce an unneeded steerer tube size to solve its own steerer failures (which are all threadless by this time). |
| i'd say it's because those lock nuts don't take side load. | weather
Sep 25, 2003 1:46 PM | | the side load from the stem/handlbar is carried by the quill to the insided of steerer tube. instead of bending the steerer tube along some thread, the quill actually strengthen the threaded portion. |
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