t2p

a suspension stem only provides an increase in comfort to the rider’s hands/arms and a portion of the upper body - it does not provide the benefits of a suspension fork

a suspension fork suspends the front wheel / bike and improves the ability of the bike / rider to track and travel over rough terrain

Trakhak

Had my friend come up with that rebuttal in our discussion of suspension forks versus suspension stems, I'd have pointed out that that argument makes sense for motorcycles but not for bicycles, where the rider greatly outweighs the bike.

My off-road bike with the Softride stem installed did track and handle better than it had with the original stem. After we swapped bikes on a couple of rides, another friend of mine was surprised that he could ride my bike as fast on single-track as his own suspension fork-equipped bike.

Of course, that was back in the early '90s, when suspension forks had barely an inch or two of travel.

Anyway, here's an extract from an interview with Thomas Frischknecht, the guy who won the mountain bike World Cup on a bike with a SoftRide suspension stem.

(Frischknecht mentions a fact that I'd forgotten: in addition to the World Cup win, both the men's and women's World Championships had been won on bikes with Softride stems---results that effectively put to rest any claim that suspension forks are inherently superior to Softride stems for off-road performance.)

ST: In between running a rigid fork and eventually using a Rock Shox, the Ritchey team relied on Softride (suspension) stems. Do you think it held you back at all?

TF: You have to understand that a suspension fork in 1993 did not have the same to offer as they do today. Those with less than 60mm of travel did not do the job. At that time, the Softride stem was a good alternative. Henrik Djernis and Ruthie Matthes won World Championships using them, and I won the World Cup overall on Softride. We were faster than the riders with suspension forks.

t2p

Frischknecht or whomever winning a World Cup or any race does not confirm the effectiveness of suspension stems for off road performance

unless you are comparing to one of my locked-up vintage Manitou forks with ‘melted’ elastomers

Trakhak

Frischknecht said that he and his teammates were faster than the riders on bikes with suspension forks.

Winning a world cup doesn't mean winning a single race. It means that Fritschknecht accumulated the most wins in dozens of races over the course of a year (1993) while using a Softride stem, against fields of competitors who were all riding bikes with suspension forks.

That would seem to "confirm the effectiveness of suspension stems for off-road performance." If not, what evidence would be convincing, in your opinion?

If it's simply that you don't like the idea of riding with a suspension stem, that's fine. Just say so.

rosefarts

Are we really doing this? Turning a thread about comfortably commuting in Wyoming in the winter into a thread about the best mountain bike race tech of 1993?

Seriously?

prairiepedaler

I run 2.1 Continental studs in the winter. The tire is rated for max 65psi and the front usually receives the 50-55psi treatment while the back gets 60. They're studded and I don't like to run them too low (already enough drag with them). I've noticed the front tube stem shifts from perpendicular to the axle if the pressure is not at least 45psi.

There have been many fine suggestions in this thread (tip o' the hat to you) and I'll try and cobble something together which will do the job. I'd say a spring loaded one will be the choice to make.

mike paner

I just got one, and am still in the testing stages. I have been riding it in the cold, and the stem still seems fairly tight. (lots of stiction) It does soften the larger hits but it's not nearly as sensitive as big low pressure tires.