Threaded Frustration

[Retro_Roy]

hi all
i'm getting to the point where sometimes i just hate threaded steer tubes. :x
either they are too short or too long and not enough threads. :x :x
i'm getting tired of buy frames and trying to find a fork to fit.

has anyone else reached this frustration level at one time or another?
sometimes it's enough to sour a build for me. a perfectly good build starts then stagnates.

i prefer the looks of quill stems so i try to find a fork that will work.

getting threads cut isn't that easy. not many shops do it any more.
if they have the tools sitting in a drawer, they don't want to `chance it'
for fear of ruining the fork.
recently i had paul brodie cut some threads in a syncros steer tube for me.
it's not an inexpensive procedure. wouldn't opt for it for just any old build.

what does everyone else do?
do you have dozens of old forks laying around with every length steer tube there is?
i have bought numerous donor bikes for parts but still find myself
looking for the right length steer tube.

that is one thing the bike industry has always lacked. standards.
or if they do standardize something they change the standard every couple of years just to screw you up.

well that's my rant. what do you think?
or am i doing something wrong?
roy

 

[euphras_1]

...

that is one thing the bike industry has always lacked. standards.
or if they do standardize something they change the standard every couple of years just to screw you up.

Well, i thinks that´s one of the circumstances that make dealing with older bicycles so ambitious and puzzling. If someone could combine every part from any period of mountain biking then literally everybody with a slight amount of taste and money could build up a "retro" ride.

But maybe that´s just me....

 

[halaburt]

I LOVE threaded forks. Threadless forks always seem like compromises to me -- espeically if spacers are involved. If I have any choice, I'll always go threaded even on new and/or custom stuff today. Although, I'll admit it's sad when a frame is separated from the fork that was made to go with it.

 

[velomaniac]

Bite the bullet and get the threading tool, you dont have to be a master craftsman to use one, and thus thats the too long steerer issue sorted.
As for too short, dont buy a fork with too short a steerer, measure it for pity's sake

 

[Grockel]

Measure the steerer buy a thread cutting tool. Problem solved.

 

[MiniNinjaRob]

I tend to buy a frame and fork together so you don't get that issue, only problem might be is getting a headset that is the right stack height. The only frame I had to get a fork for was my Rocky Mountain but I just bought a NOS Tange bigfork which just needed to be trimmed a little!

 

[mikee]

buy the dies and stock and do it yourself

think the dies are now up to £15 each tho

they were about three quid each when i bought them

try
http://www.tracytools.com/index.php?rou ... 1_3&page=7

 

[velomaniac]

Nice site Mikee, might invest myself but as I'm not a tech head what bits the stock ?

 

[legrandefromage]

Its why aheadset is so useful!

 

[danson67]

Velo:

I'm not a tech head what bits the stock ?

It's the handle part to hold the die so you can turn it:

You might be able to get a Die Nut, with a hexagonal outside, so you can use a spanner, but they aren't common in Cycle Threads and aren't adjustable for tolerance, either.

The proper tools have a guide built in to keep the die straight, too, but if you're just adding a few pitches of thread, there shouldn't be a problem.

LGF:

Its why aheadset is so useful!

And of course, why the industry adopted it with open arms...Reduced their fork inventory by 75% at a stroke...only one fork for all those frame sizes...brilliant

All the best,