I wanted to try a slightly shorter stem on my Shiv. I was looking through my collection of parts because I knew I had three or four stems in there. Turns out I found one that fit the bill. Put it on and I think it's pretty much exactly what I needed. But now I have to buy a replacement in the exact same size.

Why?

Well, because the shorter one is a Cannondale branded stem, and it just bugs the crap out of me to have that on my Specialized. I have no problem with C-dale. It came off my Synapse. The problem is just the competing brands. Stupid, I know. But I would rather have a manufacturer that doesn't "clash".

Would that bother any of you?

I wouldn’t run a stem with any bike manufacturer name on it. Those are generally throw away stems meant to get the fit right.

Now that you do, get a sweet one. Or just polish off or paint over the logo on the one you have.

Clean with alcohol, rattlecan flat black. Done. I did it to the NEON green plastic parts (front bridge, forearm rests) on my early Scott clip-on aero bars, which didn't do it for me on my classic red racer with silver parts and gray and black at the handlebars. The flat black was an improvement.

Decades past, I noted significant difference between Rustoleum spray paints and slightly cheaper ones. Don't know if still true.

No, the mix-and-match wouldn't bother me.

Most decals come off.

Most decals can be covered with paint or stickers.

Spend the money on a pair of "VegasJen Rules" stickers. Cover up that C'dale.

Unless it was a label that I could remove, it would probably bother me.

For me, front and rear derailleur brands need to match. Tires should match. Brake lever brands should match the calipers. I see bikes offered for sale with a mix of Suntour, Shimano and Campagnolo and I can't understand how someone can welcome that kind of chaos into their life.

Self help is becoming a lost “art”.

Yes, yes it would bother me. I would not ride a Specialized with a Cannondale stem. That’s like wearing an Adidas hat with Nike sneakers at the same time.

Yep. It might bother me but I think I could figure a solution.

Those rubber eraser wheels drill attachments should take any decals out within seconds, and may buff the empty area as well.

If it's anodized, I'd recommend have a business that does such work remove & anodize it to be brandless.
otherwise, you could vinyl wrap it yourself to hide the brand.

Nope, wouldn't bother me at all. I've got bicycles with a mix of brand name and aftermarket parts labels all mixed together. Kind of like Johnny and his Cadillac:

My Specialized S-Works stem begs to differ.

To corrupt a common quote:

"Ride like no one is watching,
Bike like you’ll never be hurt
Coast like no one is listening
Pedal like it’s heaven on earth."

^^^^

Any idea as to how I can attach a Mercedes hood ornament to my Subaru?

^ I think he is saying, "Who gives a flaming duck? Get off the internet, ride you r bike."

Pretty certain worrying over the decals on your bike is in the category of "wasting precious life worrying about self manufactured problems."

I personally don't read the names on my components while riding ... what a freak I am.

I’m sure that Jen’s box of extra parts is mostly S-works.

Just pointing out that in most cases the derailleurs, shifters/brakes, and wheels are not made by the bicycle manufacturer.

I have one bike that I call my “Rainy day bike” (ride it on days that it’s raining or the pavement is wet) that is assembled from many different collection of used parts from various sets, and manufacturers.

Dan

1st world problem. Better things to give a damn about...

VegasJen - why do you have spare parts with brand names on them, if you are upset when a spare part with a brand name is on a bike from a different brand?
Seems goofy to do this to yourself, and then complain about it on BF.

If its a Cannondale stem, and you dont want to remove the logo, then the only bike you could ever use it for while not complaining afterwards, is a Cannondale.

I wore a Harley t-shirt riding my Triumph, and a Triumph t-shirt riding my Harley.

Gotta keep 'em guessing.

If I suffered from OCD, and/or were a poseur, then yes. But I don't, and I'm not, so it wouldn't bother me.

In fact, I have a Specialized stem on my old Giant mtb, which replaced a Bontrager one (reason: change of stem length). That bike also has a Specialized saddle (reason: I like Specialized's saddles). Now that I think of it, I also only use Specialized cycling shoes, even when riding that Giant mtb.

The horror!

Probably not. Both of my bikes are basically built up from old frames with an assortment of parts on hand and generic new parts with various names, and I have experimented with so many different types of bars and stems that I doubt it would register at all. But that’s just me. And as noted, solutions exist.

Otto

I have a Deda stem I took off after reading this thread. Does anyone know when Deda will start selling framesets?


Also - Does anyone know where I can buy a dozen Cinelli bikes (60cm size) for my Cinelli stems and handlebars?

Deda (Dedacciai) and Cinelli both make framesets.