That comment about threadless headsets made me sort my parts bins

Heard a kid in the shop last week say he'd never seen a quill stem in person, and it hit me how long it's been since I worked on one. I got into this trade back in '89 at a shop in Denver, and we did those 1-inch threaded setups daily. Now my box of old headset spacers and quill stems just sits in the back, probably 40 pounds of history nobody wants. Anyone else holding onto old parts that are basically museum pieces now?

2 comments

2 Comments

logan_ellis1mo agoTop Commenter

Kept my old 1-inch threaded fork crown race tool for years after we switched over, just because it reminded me of all the Raleighs and Miyatas I fixed back then. Eventually sold the whole lot to a vintage bike guy on Craigslist for fifty bucks, which felt like a win until I saw him reselling my stems for twenty each. Guess the lesson is, hang onto them until you find someone who actually knows what they're looking at. You'll either get a fair price or a good story, and honestly both are worth the shelf space for a while longer.

wesley_adams1mo ago

You ever notice how the second you sell old bike stuff, it instantly becomes 'vintage' and worth triple? I had a box of 8-speed shifters and old toe clips I basically gave away to a buddy. Next thing I know he's got them on a board at the local swap meet, marked up like they're museum pieces. Kinda stings, but honestly I'm just glad they got a second life instead of sitting in my garage collecting dust.