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View Poll Results: What's your favorite or ideal bar/stem material combo?
aluminum stem, steel bars
5
11.63%
aluminum stem, aluminum bars
19
44.19%
steel stem, steel bars
7
16.28%
steel stem, aluminum bars
12
27.91%
Voters: 43. You may not vote on this poll

bar and stem material choice

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Old 08-26-06, 09:37 PM
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bar and stem material choice

pick your ideal or favorite and discuss which has the best stiffness to weight, the best bang for the buck, and/or the best aesthetic.
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Old 08-26-06, 09:41 PM
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I would choose for my stem a machined one piece, no weld stem like a thompson and for a bar... well I think I might have to go boring old heat treated aluminum. Something strong like a nitto though. I want my grill intact, I like strength.
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Old 08-26-06, 09:50 PM
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cinelli 67 pistas and 2a stem mmm hmmmm mmm hmm
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Old 08-26-06, 09:54 PM
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i'm riding an aluminum jaguar with b125aa's. it's been a nice setup so far.
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Old 08-26-06, 09:56 PM
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well if aesthetics are the only concern...

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Old 08-26-06, 10:01 PM
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sigh
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Old 08-26-06, 10:02 PM
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I've never been into the no bar tape track drop thing. All 4 of my bikes currently have steel Salsa stems and aluminum bars.
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Old 08-26-06, 10:57 PM
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Originally Posted by onetwentyeight
well if aesthetics are the only concern...
i'm generally a fan of the cinelli stem aesthetic. i recently got (what i consider to be a great deal on) a cinelli stem. as far as i can tell, it's a 1/a, but with a 26.0 mm clamp. the new cinelli logo is stamped on the top, and i think the finish is gorgeous. it was listed as used, but i couldn't find any evidence that it was mounted or that bars were installed in it. i think i paid like $20 shipped...
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Old 08-26-06, 11:14 PM
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Originally Posted by sers
i'm generally a fan of the cinelli stem aesthetic. i recently got (what i consider to be a great deal on) a cinelli stem. as far as i can tell, it's a 1/a, but with a 26.0 mm clamp. the new cinelli logo is stamped on the top, and i think the finish is gorgeous. it was listed as used, but i couldn't find any evidence that it was mounted or that bars were installed in it. i think i paid like $20 shipped...

You may have this confused. The older cinelli standard if 26.4mm, You can get a shim or just make one out of a pbr can.

I beleive they only recently changed it to 25.4mm and 26mm, late 90s.
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Old 08-26-06, 11:21 PM
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aluminum stem w carbon risers.
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Old 08-27-06, 01:03 AM
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i really like carbon bars, but they are so un-track. ally nittos for the track bike, carbon for the rest. a stem is just a stem, some are prettier than others.
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Old 08-27-06, 01:25 AM
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i have a cinelli 1a with a 26.0 clamp. it is out there
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Old 08-27-06, 09:11 AM
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alloy both...and *gasp* threadless!!!! it's just better. especially if it's a stiffness to weight argument. i rock an oversize bontrager race stem to the deda pista bars. flex less than my friends njs stuff. (alloy stem steel bars)
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Old 08-27-06, 09:23 AM
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Last night I had a dream that my bars started breaking apart. Like, I could just twist the metal and parts of it would pop off, like clay.
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Old 08-27-06, 10:20 AM
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xthugmurderx - are you using elementi (alum) or velocita (steel), because I ran elementi's for a while and they were a flex-fest compared to my nittos. I bet it's due to the stem.
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Old 08-27-06, 10:41 AM
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Originally Posted by onetwentyeight
well if aesthetics are the only concern...


how is surface rust cool?
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Old 08-27-06, 11:15 AM
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Originally Posted by Learn_not2burn
xthugmurderx - are you using elementi (alum) or velocita (steel), because I ran elementi's for a while and they were a flex-fest compared to my nittos. I bet it's due to the stem.
i use the elementi ones (alloy). they're plenty stiff for me. did you ride them on the flat part of the drop or in the bend before it's done tapering? the end of the drop is a little flexy, but if you ride them with your elbows bent in the drops, they're solid.

and the steel drops are definitely not going to flex much if at all, and if paired with a steel stem (like i did on my spagetti bender build) it's not going anywhere, but at a cost. they're heavy as balls. i don't need that.

-jason
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Old 08-27-06, 11:26 AM
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The elementi's are somewhat flexy, I think it was more due to my stem though ( cheap Felt). I completely agree with you on the weight thing though. I traded someone my dedas for the nittos. First time I felt them I almost dropped them it surprised me so much.
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Old 08-27-06, 11:35 AM
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Originally Posted by jacobpriest
how is surface rust cool?

thats not rust, thats blood from my victims.
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Old 08-27-06, 11:41 AM
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Originally Posted by onetwentyeight
thats not rust, thats blood from my victims.
well then, okay.
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Old 08-27-06, 03:56 PM
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Originally Posted by GirlAnachronism
Last night I had a dream that my bars started breaking apart. Like, I could just twist the metal and parts of it would pop off, like clay.

I probably weight alot more than you but I have bent several pairs of cheap bars and broken others.
Talk about some scary happenings you are never prepared for it when it happens.
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Old 08-27-06, 08:11 PM
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Originally Posted by jacobpriest
how is surface rust cool?
Patina, please!
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Old 08-27-06, 08:53 PM
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what do you guys think of this guy.

edit: Think it retails for about 110

--Aaron
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Old 08-27-06, 09:21 PM
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i personally think that stem looks dope as hell. i'd rock it in a heartbeat. do you know who distributes them?

-jason
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Old 08-27-06, 09:45 PM
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Originally Posted by OrgFarmCY
what do you guys think of this guy.

edit: Think it retails for about 110

--Aaron
on the right bike it could look really cool. however as far as gaudy threadless stems go, i prefer the cinelli graphis:

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