Threaded or Threadless, decisions, decisions??

[SadieKate]

Your builder should be able to give you a good recommendation since you've got the two bikes to consider. I assume that as a custom fork it will have a steel steerer tube? Carbon steerer always have a max spacer height. Not sure about steel. You can always start threadless and go threaded but not the other way since the steerer tube gets cut.

Threadless is lighter. Probably easier to find a greater variety of stems in different lengths and rises, and therefore play more with the fit of your bike. Threadless allows you to change stems without pulling the entire front end apart. I don't think the brake hanger cares which way you go. The shim looks just like a narrow silver spacers and belnds in with a silver Nitto stem.

You can always start threadless and go threaded but not the other way since the steerer tube gets cut.

[roadfix]

You can always start threadless and go threaded but not the other way since the steerer tube gets cut.

In most cases, you cannot cut threads into a threadless steerer, even if you decide later you want to go threaded......besides having trouble finding a bike shop willing to cut threads for you. Threadless steerer tubing is usually thinner than threaded tubes to begin with......

[Triskeliongirl]

Thanks for all the input! Since its a custom fork I can choose whether the steerer tube is threaded or theadless, and how tall it is. At this point I decided to go threadless, to get the max compatablity with my other bike. That bike takes a 1 1/8 headtube and this bike a 1", but I noticed chris king sells a devolution headset I could install on the other bike to allow it to accept a 1" threadless steerer tube if I needed to install the new fork on that bike for any reason (rake is identical). I only worry about stuff like this cuz these are 24" forks which are hard to come by so having max flexiblity is good. My experience also tells me that packing of the threadless system will be easier since I can get a pop top threadless stem but not threaded that is the right size. I am not sure threadless will be lighter in my case since I will need a longer steerer tube with the threadless system, but it might be which is always good. I shipped my frame to the builder on monday, and we will discuss the final details once he sees it, but at this point I think threadless is the way to go unless he sees a problem with this when he sees the bike.