Funny enough, the stem showed up in my mailbox shortly after making my previous post. I was able to configure it and get it installed later in the evening. Initial setup is a little intimidating when you have to flip everything around for the -6 degree orientation. I won't get a real ride until maybe noon Saturday, so we'll see. I have a very specific stretch of really, really bad chip seal I want to try it on. I'll even make a point to run down some gravel roads on that route as well.

And for sure, this is a redux of the 90's softride which is notorious for being awful. I will admit to not experiencing those 90's innovations first hand, but the redshift product seems almost immediately better in that it has 15 distinct settings from stupid soft to pretty rigid. They give guidelines based on weight, but you can always go stiffer if you feel like it flexes too much.

And another thing: I would never put this on a road bike. With modern tires at 25-27mm and modern rim widths for more tire volume, you have all the suspension you need for most road situations. When the road sucks a little more than normal, you just deal with it. But for my intended use on gravel, those roads can vary from superfine smoothness of packed gravel to full on washboard and large chunk gravel. Most of the local events have a 100K option and something to take the bite out of the front end for that distance would be most welcome.