On May 6, 7:24 am, "Bill M." <bmenn...@comcast.net> wrote: > The quill stem was allowing > the bars to twist, the new one wasn't.
That's my experience, too. I have 12 bikes and only 2 of them have clamp-on stems. When I ride those two bikes, I'm always struck by how much the stem doesn't twist (ie.: is torsionally stiffer). I think what's really happening with the quill stems is that the threaded steel tightening bolt, that pulls up on the wedge, is twisting. In therory, there should be a small gap between the wedge and the tapered end of the stem, which would allow that much movement, and a small steel rod is pretty easy to twist. "Expander bolt - style" quill stems might be differerent, but I don't own any and can't comment. The big question is why it would matter, though. Its not in danger of breaking, and it probably provides a bit of shock deadening to high- frequency lateral twisting ("shimmy?" I'm speaking beyond my level of enegineering expertise and vocabulary here) in the front wheel and fork. And that's a GOOD thing, just like a handlebar that flexes a bit. I can't imagine that it sucks any measureable power out of most riders. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.