>>1262002I've never heard of any durability or quality issues with quill stems, and have never noticed any on the bikes I have with them vs the bikes I have with threadless. The big difference between threaded and threadless is that you can change your stem length easily with threadless.
Non-aero brakes are easier to recable and generally futz with than aero, since you don't have to deal with routing cable under wrap and whatever issues may come up with that.
Downtubes are great and again are much easier to deal with than anything else, but start to suck when you get beyond 8 in the rear.
Those bottle cages are about $20 from King USA.
>>1262009Modern steel is still 4130, unless you're talking about stainless. The various tubesets will differ somewhat in formulation and treatment (e.g. air-hardening that makes the steel stronger at weld locations), but it's all 4130. The ride quality of a steel frame comes down to the tube selection, and a good framebuilder will specify different mixes of tubes depending on the customer's weight and riding style. Of course, if it's not custom, you don't know those things. Rivendell and Surly tend to overbuild their frames for that reason, so lighter riders or people who ride unloaded might find the ride a bit harsh because the frame isn't flexing at all for them. Then you have the old steel racing frames, which were underbuilt for weight reasons, reducing reliability and making them feel like noodles for heavier riders.
