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-   -   bars and stem recommendation (https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycling/396673-bars-stem-recommendation.html)

uspspro 03-12-08 12:35 PM

Thomson X-2 Stem
Deda Newton Bars

I love them. Light, stiff and strong.

v1k1ng1001 03-12-08 01:22 PM

It's a threadless stem. You put it on your steer tube and then ride.

You can get a 4 bolt, 31.8mm Reynolds Ouzo Race for $35. Only 134 grams.

http://www.biketiresdirect.com/Image...67/REALR-1.jpg

Or you can spend $120 for the Deda which only saves you 10 grams.

Thomson X2 is $90 but weighs 175 grams.

Ritchey WCS 4-Axis $75 and saves you 15 grams.

3dsteve 03-12-08 03:14 PM

looks like i am going to go with the Ritchey Carbon Evolution sl and the
Ritchey Carbon 4-axis stem ,thanks for the comments

umd 03-12-08 03:17 PM

The most important thing in a stem is that it looks cool. The Deda Elementi Zero wins hands down

http://bikeri.cz/wp-content/upload/d..._zero_2006.jpg

I almost got this but decided to go for the all carbon look. I may change my mind yet...

umd 03-12-08 03:18 PM


Originally Posted by 3dsteve (Post 6331089)
looks like i am going to go with the Ritchey Carbon Evolution sl and the
Ritchey Carbon 4-axis stem ,thanks for the comments

Good choice. I am leaning toward replacing my specialized bars with the evolution sl, but modified the position slightly and am giving them another chance...

redmist 03-12-08 04:45 PM


Originally Posted by v1k1ng1001 (Post 6330335)
It's a threadless stem. You put it on your steer tube and then ride.
[B]
You can get a 4 bolt, 31.8mm Reynolds Ouzo Race for $35. Only 134 grams.

Or you can spend $120 for the Deda which only saves you 10 grams.

Thomson X2 is $90 but weighs 175 grams.

Ritchey WCS 4-Axis $75 and saves you 15 grams.



my deda zero 100 stem cost $68. i agree with the other poster who says that it must look good. i'll pay slightly more if it looks that much better.


:)

mollusk 03-12-08 04:58 PM

Saddle and bars are the two places on a bike where "feel" is WAY more important than weight. For the stem it must be stiff and have the correct length and angle to put the bars in the exactly correct location and have them stay there even if you are trying to rip them off the bike during a sprint.

Campag4life 03-12-08 05:33 PM


Originally Posted by uspspro (Post 6330004)
Thomson X-2 Stem
Deda Newton Bars

I love them. Light, stiff and strong.

+1
Same here.

blindvelcro 03-13-08 12:27 PM

easton ec70 stem
deda newton bars

kensuf 03-13-08 01:18 PM


Originally Posted by Zinn-X (Post 6326312)
carbon stem is just a waste of money and it doesn't save weight either. a good aluminum stem (like Easton's EA90) is a much better value for your money, oh and in the case of Easton, it's lighter than their most expensive carbon stem. But in any case, stem doesn't matter, and if you're dead set on carbon don't listen to me. Get what you can afford, what looks good to you and is in the length you need.

As for bars, what matters most aside from width, (even more than whether it's carbon or alu) is the style of bend you want in the drops, the reach from the drops to the levers, and the height. Basically, it's a very personal choice based on your comfort and hand size, so it might be worth trying a few bars out at a bike shop, if you're willing to buy locally.

Personally,
I like aluminum better for cockpit components, because the bars are the first things you whack if you crash or your bike just falls over for whatever reason. I don't want the possibility of my bars snapping as I descend 2000 feet over two miles to haunt me in the back of my mind. Secondly, I have found some very comfortable aluminum bars (Ritchey BioMax) that weigh a ton, but just feel right to my hands. I'm no stranger to carbon components, but I kind of think it's a waste of money here.

I've seen two sets of aluminum bars snap in the past twelve months. One was when a guy jumped into a sprint and the right drop broke off in his hand. The second was up at a shop in Dahlonega the day before six gap; a guy brought his bike in because the aluminum bars snapped while he was climbing Brasstown Bald -- thankfully he was going up, not down.

I haven't seen a set of CF bars break. But I don't doubt that it can happen too.

You're right on the money about the stem though.

kensuf 03-22-08 06:57 PM


Originally Posted by kensuf (Post 6336993)
I've seen two sets of aluminum bars snap in the past twelve months. One was when a guy jumped into a sprint and the right drop broke off in his hand. The second was up at a shop in Dahlonega the day before six gap; a guy brought his bike in because the aluminum bars snapped while he was climbing Brasstown Bald -- thankfully he was going up, not down.

I haven't seen a set of CF bars break. But I don't doubt that it can happen too.

You're right on the money about the stem though.

OK, it's now 4 sets of aluminum bars that I've seen snapped in the past twelve months.

The first two listed above, then add one last weekend at Perry-Roubaix when a gust of wind knocked a bike over and the bars snapped. Then add a second one when one of my teammates was racing in the 35+ field at Webster-Roubaix today and his bars snapped.

In all four cases galvanic corrosion was what caused the bars to fail.

akatsuki 03-22-08 07:41 PM


Originally Posted by v1k1ng1001 (Post 6330335)
It's a threadless stem. You put it on your steer tube and then ride.

You can get a 4 bolt, 31.8mm Reynolds Ouzo Race for $35. Only 134 grams.

http://www.biketiresdirect.com/Image...67/REALR-1.jpg

Or you can spend $120 for the Deda which only saves you 10 grams.

Thomson X2 is $90 but weighs 175 grams.

Ritchey WCS 4-Axis $75 and saves you 15 grams.

Thomson Elite X2 weighs about 135 per their site and per weightweenies.

I say Thomson, they are ridiculously overengineered.

wannaride 03-22-08 08:01 PM

If you like a flat top bar with a nesting place for your hands when riding on the hoods the FSA K-Wing is a good bar. It also provides some damping effect and can be found in a compact bend. But don't spend the extra money for the full carbon stem that adds 64 more grams of weight as the OS-115 aluminum stem is strong and light and works well with the carbon bars.

ridethecliche 03-22-08 08:07 PM


Originally Posted by Enthusiast (Post 6329332)
Since you didn't give many specifics I recommend what I use: a lovely 3ttt quill stem and 38cm Cinelli Giro D'Italia bars circa 1972. BTW they are steel, I've heard that aluminum is more prone to "catastrophic failure" than steel. :P

I love my Giro D'Italia bars! I wish I had another set that had the 31.8 clamp.

bikeM3987 03-22-08 08:53 PM

deda zero and supernatural ftw.

krazyderek 03-22-08 10:38 PM


Originally Posted by kensuf (Post 6386661)
...... In all four cases galvanic corrosion was what caused the bars to fail.

As a ALU rider, i'm a little concerned here, mind sharing how and where the corrosion took place? Was it at the stem clamp?, or at the hood clamps? I use friction compound at the stem so i think i'm safe there since that would inhibit the conductivity, although i beleive both are aluminum, and all the bolts are greased. So i'm guessing it's at the hood clamps, somewhere i never even though to protect since it's under the cork tape. I guess it really is out of sight out of mind.

I ride Bontrager Race Anatomic bars w/ FSA 140 and it's a very stiff combination for sprinting with one of the lowest reach's only 75mm.

I also like the Bontrager VR bars with my thomson X2.

I've never found drop bars give me enough reach to the shifters when i'm sprinting, althouh i can't remember a time when i didn't make a shift when i wanted to when it mattered. Just wish it was, "better".

I've had my eye on the Deda stuff, always wondered about the 31.7 bar clamp though.

tomoscotto 03-23-08 12:19 AM

[QUOTE=briscoelab;6329907]Zero stem if you want light and stiff/QUOTE]

no the zero-100 stem is VERY flexy

go for the deda newton 31

kensuf 03-23-08 06:16 AM


Originally Posted by krazyderek (Post 6387745)
As a ALU rider, i'm a little concerned here, mind sharing how and where the corrosion took place? Was it at the stem clamp?, or at the hood clamps? I use friction compound at the stem so i think i'm safe there since that would inhibit the conductivity, although i beleive both are aluminum, and all the bolts are greased. So i'm guessing it's at the hood clamps, somewhere i never even though to protect since it's under the cork tape. I guess it really is out of sight out of mind.

I ride Bontrager Race Anatomic bars w/ FSA 140 and it's a very stiff combination for sprinting with one of the lowest reach's only 75mm.

I also like the Bontrager VR bars with my thomson X2.

I've never found drop bars give me enough reach to the shifters when i'm sprinting, althouh i can't remember a time when i didn't make a shift when i wanted to when it mattered. Just wish it was, "better".

I've had my eye on the Deda stuff, always wondered about the 31.7 bar clamp though.

And you guessed correctly.

bigtea 04-07-08 10:17 PM

Aluminum all the way
 
I have big hands....FSA Wing Pro 44cm bars and a Ritchey WCS stem for me.


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