# How Measure a Quill Stem?



## TomBrooklyn (Mar 15, 2008)

How do you measure a quill stem?

Are there typically one or two measurements? i.e. length of quill and/or length of extension to front?

On length of quill, do you measure from the top of the bevel to the top of the stem? Very bottom of stem to top, very bottom to center line of front extention tube etc. 

If measuring front extension, is it center of stem to center of handlebars or something else? 

Or does every manufacturer measure differently?


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*One number*



TomBrooklyn said:


> How do you measure a quill stem?


With the exception of "specialty" high-rise quill stems, the only number you will see is center to center length. All are measured the same. Unless otherwise stated, the vertical length is the same between stems.


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## Scooper (Mar 4, 2007)

With the increasing popularity of threadless headsets, the nomenclature for quill stems has gotten muddled. Today, what used to be the "extension" is now called "length" by some.

Twenty years ago, the terms were pretty standard and consistent among manufacturers. The "length" was the distance between the minimum insertion line and the top of the stem, the "extension" was the distance betweem the center of the quill bolt and the center of the handlebar, and the "extension angle" was the angle made between the stem and the stem extension.


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## TomBrooklyn (Mar 15, 2008)

Thanks for the replies and thanks for that excellent diagram, Scooter. It sounds like I'll have to make sure when I'm shopping that I'm talking about the same thing with the seller.


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