I have an older Kestrel 200EMS that I absolutely loved to ride. The frame is in mint condition; I tore down the parts a few years ago to convert it to a tri bike, only to get into a compatability issue with some of the parts I had specced. This frame has the old style headset and fork. Is it worth getting a new fork for this bike, switching it to a threadless setup and rebuilding it with modern parts? Or is it just better to find a cheap modern frame that a shop wants to clear out for new 2012 inventory? This would be a backup road bike which may see some light USCF racing. I have a tri bike already (Cervelo P3). Curious if anyone has done this type of conversion and work on an older bike and thought it was worth it.
I'm with you on the 200EMS, a really nice ride. I've done the conversion on a couple bikes (one CX), and am not really sure it was worth it. Probably would have gotten as much use an enjoyment out of the bikes with the threaded fork/quill stem setup. Choices are limited in aftermarket 1" forks as well, but if you had a Chris King headset, you can buy just the top plate and convert it from threaded to threadless. I'd probably go back with the original parts, and deal with a little extra weight and flexibility up high. OTOH, the racing may make it worth the money and hassle for you.
I’m with you on the 200EMS, a really nice ride. I’ve done the conversion on a couple bikes (one CX), and am not really sure it was worth it. Probably would have gotten as much use an enjoyment out of the bikes with the threaded fork/quill stem setup. Choices are limited in aftermarket 1" forks as well, but if you had a Chris King headset, you can buy just the top plate and convert it from threaded to threadless. I’d probably go back with the original parts, and deal with a little extra weight and flexibility up high. OTOH, the racing may make it worth the money and hassle for you.
Thanks for the reply. I’ve been waffling on this for a long time! I bought the Profile quill stem adapter a while ago and was not happy with the way it works. I have to look a little bit harder to find a decent quill stem that I would want to put on the bike. So far not much is out there. I need a 130mm stem and the ones I had all creaked like mad. I’d love to save the bike!
You should just post in classifieds when you need something. I have a friend that is wanting to sell a HED disk from back in the day; tubular, 126mm spacing, and threaded for a freewheel. I’ve still got some stuff from that era, he’s got quite a but, and I’m sure the ST collective has lots.
ps. I owned a Centurion Ironman at one time, the Fuschia/yellow one.
You should just post in classifieds when you need something. I have a friend that is wanting to sell a HED disk from back in the day; tubular, 126mm spacing, and threaded for a freewheel. I’ve still got some stuff from that era, he’s got quite a but, and I’m sure the ST collective has lots.
ps. I owned a Centurion Ironman at one time, the Fuschia/yellow one.
I hadn’t thought about that, but I’ll sure as hell do it when I need something again!
The Ironmans were good bikes - I’m riding an Accordo, which was considered consumer grade but is still a great ride. Mine is blue and silver.
And I need a quill stem bolt for it, so I’ll post to the classifieds.
Thanks much. I may end up getting one of those Ultegra stems! They look pretty good and hopefully will not creak like the ITM and TTT stems I used to have on the bike.
If you are looking for a decent quill stem I suggest a new old stock TTT Status stem. It’s an excellent stem in terms of functionality. It is stiff and won’t creak. It weighs around 260-270 grams for the 130 size.
I believe Deda still makes a quill stem that you can get through a shop. The Murex I think it’s called. It has a removable faceplate so that is an advantage.
For 1" forks Ritchey Logic makes one but I don’t know of anyone else who still makes a 1" fork except custom frame builders.
What’s interesting about using the older stems is that they use a much smaller handlebar clamp diameter than what most of the bars sell for now. I took a quick peak on excel sports and of the 20 handlebars I looked at, none of them would fit the clamp size of the Ultegra. Perhaps I misread the numbers; I just find it fascinating how many little tweaks have been made here and there to just about everything.
Older road std was 26.0, and I think there was one of the Italian makers that was slightly different at 26.2. Old MTB std was 25.4. Both sides moved to 31.8, which is nice for the guys like me that enjoy cobbling together a frankenbike now and again.
there are adapters to use a threadless stem (and bar) on a threaded headset. Not super elegant but I used one on a cheapo MTB and it worked fine. Here’s an example. http://www.performancebike.com/...1534003_20000_400204
There is lots of older stuff on eBay so its worth a look.
I used this same adapter from Performance on my older Kestrel 4000. Worked great… no complaints.
I’ve got a newer Cervelo Tri bike, but my favorite roadie is still my old Dean which was actually made by Kestrel and then finished by Dean so it’s an extremely close cousin to your 200EMS. I had it geeked out with a fwd seatpost and aerobars for awhile (2002-2007) until I got the Cervelo, and then I swapped all the TT stuff over to the new frame and rebuilt the Dean as a straight road killer. It still rides wonderfully, and plenty light (~18lbs in a size 58 with my everyday wheels).
Really, the only issue is the fork/headset; the dropouts are still the modern standard (130mm) unlike some even older 6/7-speed update projects I’ve tried before, and it’s not like some of the older frames that required longer-reach brake calipers, either. For mine, I got a Reynolds Ouzo Pro - a really sweet fork, full carbon except for the dropouts - a King NoThreadSet, and a Ritchey stem that has a sleeve adapter for the 1-1/8" clamp to a 1" steerer. Everything else is up-to-date 10-speed Shimano. You can still find a good selection of 1" goodies on eBay and other web classifieds; you just have to do a little homework to know what it is you want/need. It’s easier if you have a smaller frame, as a lot of the forks have been cut too short for a 58 or larger.
