Thorn Cycles Forum
Community => Non-Thorn Related => Topic started by: one arm bandit on June 01, 2015, 10:38:00 PM
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Anyone used one of these:
http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/humpert-qas3-1-1-8-ahead-adjustable-stem-0-to-+60-deg-254mm-clamp-prod27383/
available only in chrome
or the previous QAS2 version
Any good?
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Andre uses one simular i think. ;)
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I used to use something a bit more refined designed as a proprietary stem for Gazelle, called a Switch. Loved it. Instant ergonomic adjustment.Set my personal ton-up truck-assisted downhill bike speed record (I wouldn't want you guys to think I change in a phone box before I mount my bike) by flipping the handlebars way forward and down with the Switch, and rotating them in the Switch until the grips pointed almost to the ground, to give me a sloping-forward back, very aerodynamic.
But, though you can sometimes buy the Switch in the aftermarket as a spare part, as far as I know the Switch only works on 1" threaded headsets; it's a one-piece design all the way down to the expanding plug inside the steerer tube, not a clamp-on like a modern A-headset.
However, any Humpert part is good, even if made in Taiwan to an existing design, as the one under discussion here is; Humpert supervises manufacture and you get German quality for only a modest premium over Chinese prices. Utopia fits Humpert stems as standard, and until I switched to the Swiss n'lock I rode on an optional adjustable Humpert stem amusingly called the X-tasy, a hefty touring stem that you would clearly leave to your grandchildren.
I think you can tell that I like Humpert components: my fave is the copy of their own S6 headset that Cane Creek makes for Humpert: I have one on my everyday bike and wouldn't ever get anything else. (No, you can't have it in exchange for your new Chris King.)
So, yes, I think the component shown, though I have no direct experience of that particular model, if it comes from Humpert, will do well.
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Hi,
I recently bought an adjustable stem albeit not the one you are planning to buy. I did a lot of research before buying it because a lot of people said that adjustable stems made creaking noises. I read the reviews and everyone said that it was great and didn't creak. However, mine did. I would tighten everything when the creaking started but it always came back. I eventually bought a fixed length stem to replace the adjustable one because I found the incessant creaking too irritating.
I must admit I do probably tend to lean more heavily on my handlebars than most and I did find that, if I cycled more upright, the less the stem creaked. I have heard that there is a Ritchey adjustable stem out there that doesn't have this problem though. I did try to buy that model but it was out of stock from everywhere I checked.
Thanks,
Richard :)
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I recently bought an adjustable stem albeit not the one you are planning to buy. I did a lot of research before buying it because a lot of people said that adjustable stems made creaking noises.
I wondered what that odd sound was! I recently fitted an adjustable stem and now sometimes get an irregular 'ticking' sound. More investigation needed here I think!
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I've appreciated the opportunity for fine tuning my riding position that an adjustable stem facilitates. I must be about there by now although I'm still inclined to tweak here and there; thankfully its down to 1/2 inches now!
Mine is a creaker but its not too much trouble tightening it up every so often. That creak however does nothing to temper the creak paranoia that kicks in from time to time. :)
On another note I'd heartily recommend a visit to 'rafiki's' website. Apart from a great photo of his Sterling (Sterling has recently gone up in value viz a viz that recent ebay/sjs auction of one :o) his photos of Spain are a great view, particularly on a wet, rainy day in UK. Hola!
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I've appreciated the opportunity for fine tuning my riding position that an adjustable stem facilitates. I must be about there by now although I'm still inclined to tweak here and there; thankfully its down to 1/2 inches now!
Mine is a creaker but its not too much trouble tightening it up every so often. That creak however does nothing to temper the creak paranoia that kicks in from time to time. :)
On another note I'd heartily recommend a visit to 'rafiki's' website. Apart from a great photo of his Sterling (Sterling has recently gone up in value viz a viz that recent ebay/sjs auction of one :o) his photos of Spain are a great view, particularly on a wet, rainy day in UK. Hola!
My 'ticking' turned to creaking this morning - after a bit of tightening! The creaking is less frequent than the ticking was and, at least at the current level, I can put up with it.
Glad you liked the photos. Kind of you to mention it, thank you.
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Brian those photos are stunning never seen better.
jazus the talent on this forum is unbelievable. ;)
anto.
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Thanks Anto. Very good of you to say so. :-[
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are u a pro. ;) an ordinary Joe could never take photos like that 8).
honestly there stunning .
anto.
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Not a pro. Enthusiastic amateur. In my life before retirement I was production director of a small malt roasting company in UK. Before that many, many years working in East Africa.
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Not a pro. Enthusiastic amateur. In my life before retirement I was production director of a small malt roasting company in UK. Before that many, many years working in East Africa.
Great site, Brian. I'll be back!
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working in East Africa
Thought that might be the source of your friendly username, Brian :-)
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Thank you all.
Right in one John :) However, many think rafiki refers just to the monkey in The Jungle Book :0
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Habari gani?
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many think rafiki refers just to the monkey in The Jungle Book
Lots of words get passed around the lands bordering the Indian Ocean, as people move around--traders, migrants, and so on. I once met a Sikh guy in Tanzania, who spoke of Zanzibar in the old way, the Land of Zanj. (I was in my early 20's, and it sounded impossibly exotic.) "Rafiki" in Zambia sometimes was shortened to "Rafik", just the singular as it were. Travellers carry words and phrases back, sometimes, to places like Ottawa: I've used the word "katundu" unthinkingly, to refer to a burdensome bundle of stuff that someone's carrying, and as you might expect, they look at me blankly--no fault of theirs. My daughter does the same: things come to a halt for no apparent reason, no-one knows why, and nothing can be done, it seems. (Happens often enough.) Meg might say, "Well, the man with the key has gone to town." Our friends in the Madawaska Hills NW of Ottawa lived for many years in Tanzania. Their house cat is named "Chui" -- maybe to scare off the wildlife.
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I'm always surprised and delighted at how you can learn subsets of language depending on what you are doing. My few words of Swahili and Masai are mainly related to salt lakes, my Turkish to odd numbers as I was making measurements every 2 cm and at one time I was fluent in laboratory French but nothing else! We digress from adjustable stems....
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Mimi ni vizuri shukrani. ;D
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After more than 20 years away from E Africa in the family we still commiserate with each other with 'pole', refer to ourselves in Spain as 'mzungus' and call 'hodi' when entering a room. My (big) children are still afraid of 'dudus'. Some things just become part of life!
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We digress from adjustable stems
Apparently, but..."All things are connected."