21.1" quill stem

Tiberius007

Hi Guys
Does anybody know where I can get a 21.1" quill from?
I am looking to do up a 20yr old Raleigh MTB and ideally would like an adjustable stem to give a bit more height and convert to current handlebars sizes etc.
They seem to do the quill in the USA but cant find any on this side of the pond.
Any ideas?
Thanks for your help

BloggingFit

You can get quill converters to aheadset systems on eBay if you have no luck sourcing a stem.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-1-8-28-6mm-AHEAD-QUILL-CONVERTER-/390905651665?pt=UK_sportsleisure_cycling_bikeparts_SR&hash=item5b03cae1d1

Tiberius007

Thanks
I will give that a look. Everywhere else I have tried all start at the 22.1, which I found out the hard way does not fit :-(.
Found it in a bucket in Halfords but got refund so no harm done. Just goes to show when you measure with a tape measure 1mm makes all the diff. Had to measure it as I could not see the markings on the quill itself and never even knew a 21.1 existed, so when I found the 22.1 I thought RESULT! How wrong was I. :-) Still live and learn.
Thanks again.

redvee

You need an old skool BMX stem.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/old-school-bm ... 25943a9530
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-BMX-BIKE-HA ... 20e9c00c4d
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-BOLT-BMX-CY ... 565e3a9827

The Rookie

21.1"? Wow that is huge......

Tiberius007

The Rookie wrote:

21.1"? Wow that is huge......

:oops:

Didn't even realise I had done that! Bigger than my tyres!!!

Tiberius007

cyd190468 wrote:

The Rookie wrote:

21.1"? Wow that is huge......

I don't know. Some blokes have stems that big I guess.

Not sure I would Could use it as a bike stand I suppose.

Tiberius007

Thanks for your advice guys - I will have a look around and see what I can pick up.

Many thanks.

nicklouse

Are you really sure you are looking for a 21.15mm quill and not a 22.2mm one?

What is the bike?

You do realize how bad your typo is with 21.1"?

bensales

Are you sure you've measured that right?

I'd be very surprised if a Raleigh mtb of that vintage had anything other than a 1 inch steerer, certainly mine at the time did. In which case, the stem you're after will be colloquially known as a '1in stem' (in contrast to a 1 1/8in stem, or 1 1/4in). The inside diameter of the steerer will be 22.2 if it's the original forks.

Tiberius007

bensales wrote:

Are you sure you've measured that right?

I'd be very surprised if a Raleigh mtb of that vintage had anything other than a 1 inch steerer, certainly mine at the time did. In which case, the stem you're after will be colloquially known as a '1in stem' (in contrast to a 1 1/8in stem, or 1 1/4in). The inside diameter of the steerer will be 22.2 if it's the original forks.

:oops: i thought i had, but maybe i haven't. Apologies, new to this rebuild malarkey. This will be my first as I am sure you can tell. Still we all start somewhere.
What I don't get and maybe I am being thick - doesn't 1" = 25.4? Sure you will all know the answer but that is what is confusing me.
I am sure I had the 22.2 as I mentioned at the start of the thread and it, shall we say 'hit the bar' in terms of fit, so by process of elimination assumed it was the 21.1 I needed.
But maybe I am measuring the wrong thing and clearly misunderstanding the requirement here. I simply measured across the diameter of the quill (I am sure). I am clearly misunderstanding something blindingly obvious here so please feel free to put me in my place. :oops:

Tiberius007

I assumed (possibly wrongly) I needed something like this or something similar.
www.ebay.com/itm/Bicycle-Stem-Adaptor-2 ... 20eaf85aee
Sorry no idea how you guys got the hyperlinks to work. Mine just looks naff :-(

Tiberius007

Oops - as if by magic the hyperlink transforms

Tiberius007

Oops - as if by magic the hyperlink transforms

Tiberius007

nicklouse wrote:

Are you really sure you are looking for a 21.15mm quill and not a 22.2mm one?

What is the bike?

You do realize how bad your typo is with 21.1"?

:oops: :oops:
Yes I absolutlely do. But I can still smile which is the main thing. Well I would cry if I didn't.

Mr S Brown seems to agree with you guys so I am doing something wrong clearly.
Handlebars/Stems
As mentioned above, Raleigh forks are completely standard except for the thread pitch. Thus, any standard stem with a 7/8" (22.2 mm) quill will fit into the forks.

The bike is an old Raleigh Sabre, 18 spd triple, OK don't laugh, but it will give me something to practice on

Any advice more than gratefully received.

bensales

What I don't get and maybe I am being thick - doesn't 1" = 25.4? Sure you will all know the answer but that is what is confusing me.

The 1in refers to the outside diameter of the steerer tube, so a stem to fit inside a 1in tube is 22.2mm diameter.

Have you actually tried to fit a 22.2mm one? You might simply have some corrosion or other rubbish preventing it going in, and likewise the current one could be poorly made or worn enough over the years to have narrowed. A little play is fine with a quill stem due to how they tighten up.

The Rookie

Give the inside of the steerer a scrape out with a screwdriver and make sure the outside of the stem is clean and the wedge is loose, I'd also be pretty sure it's a 22.2mm, doubt Raleigh felt the need to fit a heavier duty thicker steerer.

Tiberius007

bensales wrote:

What I don't get and maybe I am being thick - doesn't 1" = 25.4? Sure you will all know the answer but that is what is confusing me.

The 1in refers to the outside diameter of the steerer tube, so a stem to fit inside a 1in tube is 22.2mm diameter.

Have you actually tried to fit a 22.2mm one? You might simply have some corrosion or other rubbish preventing it going in, and likewise the current one could be poorly made or worn enough over the years to have narrowed. A little play is fine with a quill stem due to how they tighten up.

Yes I did try to fit a 22.2, as I recollect it just seemed not to fit it was just tad wide. It didn't force it and you could be right maybe something has worn etc. I took the stem back unfortunately, sorry I did now as it was bargain, but I had no use for it and thought what's the point. Only recently I decided to resurrect and expand the project to strip down the whole bike, and I got to the stem again :-).
When I took the original stem out I could not see the actual dimensions marked on it. To be honest the bars etc seem fine but I wanted to fit newer ones with an adjustable stem to bring them up a bit closer etc.
I will have a look at what you say, thanks for your advice.

Tiberius007

The Rookie wrote:

Give the inside of the steerer a scrape out with a screwdriver and make sure the outside of the stem is clean and the wedge is loose, I'd also be pretty sure it's a 22.2mm, doubt Raleigh felt the need to fit a heavier duty thicker steerer.

Thanks, I will get the stem out again over the weekend and take your advice onboard.

If I remember correctly when I tried the new quill I had (before I took it back) it would not even pass the locknut. So I just took it that it was the wrong size. It only appeared to be a fraction out so I assumed it must be the smaller 21.1.

I will give it all a good review again this weekend.

Thanks Rookie.

Tiberius007

Well here we go, quick update for anyone interested. Took the quill out at the weekend, and unfortunately for me its a 22.2 and not a 21.1, darn it. I suppose the only options that I have are to try and 'manipulate' a 22.2 down to 21.1, try and purchase one from the US etc (although unsure about overseas purchasing, but maybe that's just me), and last but not least maybe I just have to accept and put up with the 20yo set up that my bike is, well the bars anyway :-)

The Rookie

Have you measured the steerer, have you tried cleaning it and fitting t.

As stated above it is highly unlikely the steerer is not meant to take a 22.2, if the stem goes in at all then it is designed for a 22.2 and you just need to clean it up.

Tiberius007

Note to self read what you write before you press send. :-( Sorry.

Thanks for you advice I meant to say its definitely a 21.1 not a 22.2.............sorry I was clearly having a moment. You are all being so helpful and I can't even write properly.

Unfortunately I no longer have the 22.2 as I returned it weeks ago. So taking your advice onboard I think the easiest thing to do is but another cheap alloy quill adapter, i.e. 22.2, clean steerer out, albeit it looked ok, then try again. Failing that I can always try and get the 22.2 down to the 21.1, and if that doesn't work well just bin it. The adapter that is.

Thanks for your patience and advice so far its much appreciated.

Tiberius007

cyd190468 wrote:

You won't have trouble reducing the size of the quill. It is regularly done by people restoring old bikes. I have a peugot folding bike with a metric quill that started life as a standard quill. Coarse paper and just hold it in your hand a twist back and forth. (for a really long time)

Thanks Cyd, will give that a try and see how I get on. Fingers crossed.

Many thanks for your advice

Tiberius007

Thanks to everyone for all your help and advice.

And at least we has a larf at that very large quill size :-)

Thanks