No.

Have some black electrician’s tape? Just cover over the logos.

If you can’t do that, professional help may be in order. ;)

It would depend on whether the name on the part belonged to a company that sells a lot of aftermarket parts. For example, I'm about to put together a bike with a LeMond frame and fork, and I'm going to use Ritchey stem and seatpost. Ritchey sells frames, yes, but most of their business is components. So, that doesn't bother me. But I wouldn't put a Trek-labeled stem on my Ritchey bike, because Trek is not primarily a component company.

In C&V bikes, I would not put a Colnago pantographed stem on a non-Colnago bike, but I'd put a Cinelli or 3TTT stem on any old bike, because even though both sell frames that's not what they're known for.

In your case, I'd see if the logo came off with acetone. (First I'd see whether the finish on the stem came off with acetone, of course) If I could remove the logo, I'd probably be fine with it. If not, I might keep my eyes open for another stem with exactly the same measurements. But I'd ride the bike in the meanwhile.

Anyone can put a piece of tape over it. No need to hire it out unless one is just super busy. :)

I've never really been that into the aesthetic aspect of cycling. I mean I'm a fat dude in lycra. If my stem is a different brand literally no one will notice. Much less will I care.

I insist that my pedals are a matched set. I'm weird like that.

I have Specialized saddles on my Trek MTBs :twitchy:

No.

I don't think it would really bother me much but I don't have a lot of OEM stuff because pretty much all of my bikes are built from the frame up. However on a parts bike, a different stem wouldn't bother me one bit on a bike I dearly and truly loved I would want a good stem that look right with the bike but swapping one OEM stem for another OEM stem just over logo I wouldn't do.

having two lefts might be hard to mount!

Me? No. It would make me think the bike was custom-built to suit me.

Doesn't bother me. I care more about color matching and fit then brand matching. Most of my stuff is all mixed up like I am.

Not the kind of help I was alluding to,

There is a slight chance you missed him getting your joke :)

I would've said that I wouldn't give a flip about riding with a mismatched stem, as I've done so in the past. But then I tried a Giant-branded 1 1/4" stem to lengthen the reach on my Canyon. The pairing looked awful and incongruous, so I immediately took it off. Aesthetically this was largely due to the completely different shaping the Giant stem had over the sleeker Canyon OEM stem. Had the shape of the Giant been somewhat close to the Canyon, I probably would've stuck with it. Be thankful that you have a much more common diameter steerer and options galore for replacing -- or not -- your stem. In my case it took a great deal more searching, and then just luck, to finally source a longer stem.

OTOH I stripped the bolt and ruined my seatpost collar on that Canyon and the shop replaced it with a Cannondale collar, which doesn't bug me much even though the OEM and C'dale also look quite different.

I've seen far worse than that, like mismatched F/R rims or Campagnolo Ergo with Shimano cassette. No problem.

Something like this? Yes, this was a real VW car trim, the 'Harlequin' model. A few 1000 were made and sold out quite quickly.

https://cdn-fastly.thetruthaboutcars...0x845&nocrop=1

Everyone is missing the real problem here in a forest for trees way

99.99% of threadless stems are just fugly

I came close to buying one. Unfortunately I missed out.

If I had a dollar for every upscale hood ornament I've seen attached to the hood of a clunker, I could buy us both a protein shake - well, not the expensive ones.

Mercedes and Jaguar hood ornaments seem to be the most popular for adaptation to jalopies, at least from what I've seen.

So, in answer to your question: It can't be that hard! Use YouTube and Google and the answer will magically appear before your eyes.

I get you Jen. But yeah, I would just do what you want to do--now that you know the length you want, just get a stem from a manufacturer you wouldn't mind using.

De-ano and paint it any color you want


https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...p-success.html

Acetone?
 

It would not bother me.

You don't say how the logo appears on the stem, embossed, layered, or what, but I have removed silk-screened logos from stems using acetone (nail polish remover) and a cotton pad. Easy, and came out great.

Good luck.

I didn't even like when my Shimano 600 Ultegra hubs didn't match my Dura Ace parts! Tried to remove the Ultegra logos with acetone, but they were laser-etched or something--no go.

My wife and I have Giant stem on our Santana tandem, and I can tell you that, as the captain, I don't care. Santana bikes have a 1 1/4" steer tube and their stems are $100+. I wanted different bars (31.8mm vs the original 25.4mm) at a non-premium price point, and Giant fit the bill.

When I was just starting driving in the Ottawa ON/ Hull QC area we would see a guy who had a pair of hood ornaments which were swans with pink plastic wings. I can't even remember what car they drove. Just be you, don't care about details. Nobody will notice your bike, all they will see is the mismatched stem

Has anyone asked the obvious question: What does it matter if it would bother “me”?

Not sure that’s an obvious question.

I think the answer is clear ... use the stem, and add a pink-flamingo hood ornament atop it.

with the Flamingo wearing a Mercedes hood ornament on a chain

Maybe slightly? Thankfully Specialized accommodates us by branding its wheels as ROVAL so we can install them on other bikes.

At least VegasJen is not complaining about flat tires.