Bike Forums - Which model stems stiffest?

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seriously guys, how much weight are you putting on your hands/bars???

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Ratliff (Post 15193615)

I have Thomsons on most my race bikes. Best stem for the money, IMO; fairly light and very stiff. They come in a large variety of lengths and angles as well, which is important to me.

Quite stiff, but have had failure issues.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Racer Ex (Post 15196187)

Quite stiff, but have had failure issues.

They have supposedly fixed the previous clamp failure issue on the X2. No issues on either of the ones on my track bike or road bike, and I'm a bar yanker.
I still primarily see X4's on the track though.

Another option is the ProVibe 7s stem and bar combo. The bars come in a somewhat classic shape with flat transition to the hoods. The stem is pretty ugly, and the bar is the same diameter all the way to the bend to the ramps. When wrapped they are very big. But this bar stem combo is pretty stiff. Was good enough for Thor.....

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Ratliff (Post 15193620)

Before you buy a stem, decide your bar. If you go with a "compact" bar, like the ergonova's, you'll need a longer stem to get the same hand position in the drops as you get with a more classic bend bar. Bar type goes a long way toward determining stem length and angle.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rkwaki (Post 15193684)

+1,000,000

I use Rotunda pros and when on the drops I am waaaaaaay down there but that is for a sprint only (the whole bike was built around crit racing/sprint). The stem was chosen based on the criteria of the rest of the bike. Like Brian said start with where your hands want to be then build it backwards.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Ratliff (Post 15194369)

To expand on this... to get around the chicken/egg problem, buy cheap stems for fit; once you know how you want the cockpit of the bike set up, splurge on a more expensive stem that is light/stiff as you require. You should be able to find stems in the $20-30 dollar range in most sizes and shapes if you poke around the internet a bit.

I think you're correct. I've done all the math I can with regard to comparing my current classic bends to the compact options under consideration. But, I need to mount up the bars and work through a couple trademe stems to determine my exact bar preference and stem size requirements. Now, to see if I can find a 130mm specialized proset stem with the adjustable shims for trial purposes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bonz50 (Post 15194489)

completely agree here. your average stem is so short and so thick even an el cheapo stem that is 130-140ish long isn't gonna flex much before breaking/bending either the bars or the steer tube. pretty much any $80-$120 alloy stem is gonna be great

Quote:

Originally Posted by rangerdavid (Post 15194802)

seriously guys, how much weight are you putting on your hands/bars???

Seriously, if you haven't experienced issues, you won't understand or have much to offer to this thread.

You're correct though, in that cheap/heavy stems are oftern times stiffer than their weight weenie cousins. Hence some of the previous statements and suggestions earlier in this thread.

And, again, it's not about supporting weight on the palms of our hands. It's about applying torque by pulling down while to increase the speed with which one can complete the downstroke and accellerate the bike. Perhaps I should have put this in 'racing'. Although, when I'm competing for 250 out of 500, you can hardly call what I'm doing 'racing'.

Don't forget about steerer tube flex

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hapsmo911 (Post 15196231)

The ProVibe stem sure is ugly but the lower 8-degree rise would suit me, as well as the shape of the 7S compact bar.

A bit late to the conversation but I've got Ritchey Classic 4-axis stem and it's pretty stiff. Plus it only comes in 6 degree and looks nice to boot.

http://www.ritcheylogic.com/dimg/thm...06ad070012.jpg