Hi, I was looking for a quill stem for an old bike, but have just seen an adaptor to make an a-head stem fit.

Can anyone give me a reason for not using one? The one I’ve seen is alloy and weighs about 170g. The main advantages for me are I’ll be able to use some 31.6mm bars and stem I already have.

Cheers.

I’m afraid not. The one I had worked perfectly for many years 🙂

Only reason I’d give is that it will probably look a bit rubbish. Using one on my turbo bike, an old steel frame. Works great.

Thanks for the input. I think I’ll give one a go. As for not looking good, I guess I can minimise that if I keep it the same colour as the stem.

Mine looks like any other A-stem fitting – the only giveaway is the headset underneath. Works perfectly.

Quite heavy, and still have all the failings of quills in general, but otherwise spot on.

Northwind – I reckon the adaptor plus the Race Face stem I have will weigh about the same as the steel stem I’m replacing (I know what you mean though).
These failings you mention, are they more to do with the headset or is there some inherent problem with them? I’ll be using a Kona Impact headset if you were thinking I’d be needing spanners.

Absolutely no failings with quill stems. Both systems have their positives and negatives depending on what you need from them.

d45yth – Member

These failings you mention, are they more to do with the headset or is there some inherent problem with them?

Nah, nothing major, just that they’re generally less secure (and if they seize in, they’re a total bollocks). But absolutely fine- put it this way if you’re happy with a quill, you’ll be happy with a quill adaptor.