Stiff and Lightweight Stem?
 

Looking at getting a new stem but don't really know what to get.

I want something that's stiff and lightweight. Something awesome?
I need 120mm, 6deg, 31.8

EC90 SL?
EA90 ?
3T ARX?
Zipp Speed(this one is kinda pricey, worth it?)
FSA SL-K?

WTH is the difference...Should I go carbon?

If you can do 8 degrees, my absolute favorite stem that I have four of my bikes, I'd get the Extralite OC.

Im using a Pro Plt. Stiff as heck.

Ritchey to me makes the best stems...a lot of different models. C260, WCS Alloy...personal fav is carbon matrix WCS I have on my Roubaix.
I like the aesthetic, stiffness and weight of Ritchey.

My experience is that carbon doesn't help much for getting to lightest weight in a stem (comparing to everything available), though maybe it excels for stiffness in the lightest models. I like the aluminum FSA OS-99. Almost as light as you can get and moderately priced. Only you can say if it is stiff enough. It is all about riding style.

I use the deda 35 stem handlebar. Pretty stiff and light. But the 35mm width limits choices

and...too me at least and I am no lightweight, I don't feel any flex in name brand stems so the stiffness argument for me either Al or carbon doesn't apply. I have ridden both a lot. I like the aesthetic of a UD carbon stem partly...120mm Ritchey stem is about 120 grams..pretty hard to beat...C260 with unique bar clamp is slightly lighter.

How do you guys know what the stiffness is like other than just trying it out? Hmm I dont know how to choose this..

I'm no engineer, but, it seems to me that your bars are going to flex LONG before your stem will (smaller diameter, force being applied farther out, etc). don't be so concerned about stem flex, get a fair priced, light one and call it a day. start at the bars if you're concerned about flex, after you get a good stiff bar then consider a stem if flex is still even noticeable. just my opinion and I'd be interested if this is an incorrect opinion as I don't ~really~ know

When I bought my Zero7, no one in the U.S. had the FSA carbon fiber stem with the Zero Z graphics, so I put an aluminum Zipp service course SL stem on.

Finally ran down the Zero7 CF stem from a shop in Switzerland, (at an outrageous price).

The Aluminum zipp stem weighs 125 grams; the FSA Zero 7 CF stem 165 grams.

I don't think there's really that much difference. It's a short metal tube. Don't get an adjustable one if you don't need it, and you're golden.

Are we measuring the stiffness of stems now?

Seriously, dude, just buy whatever matches the rest of your bike and if you want to get fancy, get the lightest you can afford. I guarantee you won't be able to tell the difference.

thomson makes stems too

mods gonna hate

This guy asked for the stiffest stem but doesn't understand what stiffness is.

I suggest Viagra for a stiff stem yo! :P

this guy posted some reply and doesn't know what he posted.

I'm looking at the Pro Vibe Stems but where are they sold??

dude go troll your relationship help threads, not this one. thanks.

really? I offer ~real~ advice above, pop in with a bit of a joke and I'm automatically "trolling"?? lol nice. only in the 41 i reckon.

It's incorrect.
The handlebar is a double ended 40cm lever held in place in the middle by a 4cm clamp. All of the forces exerted at the ends of the bars are transmitted through its center, to the stem, and to the head of the fork steerer. The handlebar doesn't need to be very stiff out where the hands are, but does need to be at the center.Stiffening this region motivated the moves from quill to modern stems, from 1" to 1 1/8" steerers, from 26 to 31.8mm daimeter bars, and the adoption of larger diameter 4 bolt stems. All the modern stems are a vast improvement on what came before. Wider cross section stems make a noticeable difference in how much movement is possible at the ends of the handlebar.
Here's some more reading on a 5 yr old test: http://caletticycles.blogspot.com/20...stiffness.html

The Ritchey WCS C260 is lighter than most of the stems you mentioned. The carbon matrix version (carbon is wrapped over the aluminum) adds a few grams, but is also supposed to add stiffness.

seems that the conclusion is basically "if you want stiff don't be so concerned about light", also does not note how much weight was used to get his deflection numbers, nor how stiff his steel bar was (compared to say your typical AL or Carbon drop bars) by noting the gauge of steel and etc. while his finding identified that there is flex in the stem - I don't think anyone has denied that there is - there does not seem to be a comparison to the amount of flex present in typical AL/Carbon bars available these days. a good test that identifies some important data points, but still does not invalidate my hypothesis that the bars flex even more than the stem. more info needed, in other words.

^The link I provided was just an example of how stems are tested.

Torque and lever arms are sometimes difficult to explain. Picture it this way:
The handlebar is two wrenches, connected at their jaws. Their jaws are on a nut in the middle. You can use both hands to twist the nut.
The jaws and the nut are the focus of all the torque. The nut is analogous to the center of the bar, the stem, and steerer tube head. That's where all the effort is concentrated, and why the industry made all the changes I referred to earlier.

so whats a decent weight stem with good stiffness for sprinting?

I need one with 6 degrees, dont want 10 degrees that comes with the Pro Vibe

i get how it works (levers and general physics principles in play here), i'm just curious if the bars are "flex-ier" than a stem, given current technology. obviously way out at the end of the bar a small amount of flex by either stem or bars gets amplified by distance compared to the angle of the deflection up at the lever point. I would love to see some definitive testing that could resolve which of the two parts is most "important" (though I think they are both so close to being irrelevant that it borders on nitpicking for all but the most jaded of pro-riders, we 99.9%ers should concentrate on comfort and aesthetics over stiffness in the bars/stem area if we are gonna bother scratching our upgrade-itis).