Originally Posted by
Toadmeister
I’m looking into some shorter stems, seen some priced $150 (Industry 9) and some priced $20 range (Amazon) that don’t look a lot different in functionality. Bonus points for style though.
So what are the major differences? Cheap Chinese aluminum vs American CNC aircraft grade? Is there more than meets the eye here I don’t know? Is there a solid middle ground anyone would recommend?
does the old saying “you get what you pay for” apply here or not?
thanks in advance.
I wanted to confirm that an expensive-ish stem I was contemplating (Ritchey) was the correct fit, so I bought a cheapie (~$17) identically-sized stem on Amazon to ride around for a few weeks. I was surprised how good it was - a good solid piece of kit. The fasteners looked quality, it installed without issue and felt stiff and secure. The only thing that gave it away was that some of the machined edges weren’t as finely finished as my previous Cinelli (replaced because of age and because I wanted to move to 31.8 standard bars). Ended up buying the Ritchey anyway but this no-name stem would’ve been perfectly acceptable. I use it now as a saw guide for cutting steerers, so the flat top is a little scratched up