ive noticed thomson has gone back to a two bolt design for their road stems. they claim their new cradle design will eliminate accidental overtightening. every other manufacturer is still doing 4 bolts for oversized bars, following suit with the mountain bike world. is thomson on to something (again) or just saving dough and using less materials? discuss..

I have a 2 bolt ITM stem. It works fine.

But, it looks like Thomson is looking for weight savings.

That being said, Thomson's seatposts are great (imo) and I am actually planning to get their stem once it goes on sale again at my store of choice, not because of weight but because I need to alter my fit and I think they make a solid product.

Thomson isn't on to anything. Plus their stems are machined out of cast aluminum and not forged. They aren't particular light either.
That said, Thomson makes a decent product including their seat posts if you like AL seatposts.
Bang for buck I am a Ritchey 4 bolt stem fan. I have owned a lot of Ritchey and Thomson stems and others including Deda...many different makes. I believe 4 bolts are better than 2 for uniform clamping load distribution. I have never had a problem with Thomson stems but prefer Ritchey. I also like Ritchey carbon Matrix stems but honestly it is pretty hard to fault their Al WCS 4-Axis models for $80....or tell a difference in stiffness or performance.

I feel better with four bolts versus two. I use Al bars and stems and don't have to worry so much about over tightening carbon parts.

As far as over tightening, how about we all learn how to feel that? Not that hard and no torque wrench needed. Just learning to feel what is tight and what is beginning to be overly tight.

i just found it curious because they went back to the old two bolt standard while everybody else went the mountain bike route and started using 4. i like the 4 bolt stems with solid faceplates myself....

I have torn a 2 bolt faceplate off torquing the bars uphill. The bolt threads suddenly stripped out. It was not a pleasant experience, but there is some humor in being able to say I actually did it with my own two hands. It was a fairly cheap stem, not a respected brand. Still, the experience leaves me cold for anything but a 4 bolt faceplate.

Me too. I had been using a nice Deda Newton stem for a couple of years. Wanted to try a shorter stem, but a cheaper one first to see which length I'd need. Went with a cheap (as in $25-30) FSA stem with a solid faceplate. Noticeably stiffer...I'm keeping it. Like how it feels much more than the Deda.

well, yeah, it's probably harder to put more pressure with two bolts rather than four, but it seems to me, four is more secure in any case. I also have a Thomson road and a couple Ritchey (Pro and WCS) alloy stems and while the Thomson certainly looks better, I prefer the feel of the Ritchey.

2-bolt stem is for the lighter crew. I was considering one and, at 215 at the time I figured I might be a bit big, especially as I stand to climb a lot and put a lot of strain on the stem. They emailed back and told me to go with he 4-bolt MTB stem. Hmmm.

i like an overbuilt stem anyway. ive got a deda 100 on one of my bikes and even with a 4 bolt plate, that thing is kind of flexy...ritchey and easton seem to be the best bang for your buck...

Four bolts confer no advantage in security over two. A well-designed stem that isn't overtightened is much more secure than poorly-designed and/or overtightened stems.

I prefer two bolt stems. Four bolts is a PITA.

I am 210Ibs and Thomson X2, 2-bolt face has never been a problem for me.

That's surprising. The Newton is a pretty stiff 4 bolt stem. I've had Deda and FSA stems, and the Newton is one of the stiffest I've owned.

Easton has this to say about 2 vs. 4 bolt stems...

https://www.eastoncycling.com/bike/wp...-06-2Bolts.pdf

DPN

I'm a bigger guy. 5' 11" at 175-185. Maybe that has something to do with it. All I can say is that I can tell the difference right away between the two stems. The Deda is 100mm, and the FSA is 90mm.


Interesting! Thanks for posting that link.

Disagree. What would most road bike stem mfr's use 4 bolts versus 2 when both weight and cost are adversely affected.
A 4 bolt face plate 'has' to apply a more uniform clamping load.

I have used both (alum bars) and assuming everything is properly tight haven't really noticed a difference. Doesn't mean there isn't one, just that I haven't noticed it.