How to Install a Quill Stem for Your Bike

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Evan from Gregg's Green Lake Cycles. And today I'm going to show you how to install a quill stem on your bicycle. The first thing you want to do is ascertain whether or not you have a threaded or a threadless type stem. Quill is also known as threaded, which is what we have here. It's the kind that actually threads in to the head tube of the bicycle through the head set. The first thing you want to do, when removing the quill stem, is go ahead and loosen it. It's generally a six millimeter allen bolt on top. And you just want to get it about hand tight until it moves freely. And then go ahead and pull it out. Then you can kind of see how that works. There's just a little nut on the top there. And it, when you tighten that down it kind of pulls that wedge up tight and locks it into the steer tube. And that's how the stem effectively tightens down inside there. So when you're replacing it, you're going to mount your handle bars, get everything on there. And then make sure it's greased so that it doesn't seize in there. And then get it in there at the appropriate height, wherever you think is good. You just want to make sure you don't go too high past the maximum, or minimum insertion line. Because that's obviously not very safe. Then just go ahead and tighten it back down with that six millimeter bolt. And then again you want to get it about hand tight. And then go ahead and line it up. Make sure it's nice and straight, so you're not riding crooked down the road. Then you want to make sure you get that in there real nice and tight, so that it doesn't come loose on you. And that is how you install a quill stem on your bicycle."