fixedpip

I finally have some money to spend on bike stuff and have a choice between: an old-school cinelli steel pista stem or a brand spanking new Nitto Pro-NJS AA stem (aka the Jaguar).

Basically, this style 50's/60's steel cinelli stem (with a little more drop):


or this



I have both nitto and cinelli bars which I like, so that doesn't matter. I just want a stiff stem with a decent amount of drop.

Anyone have any experiences with 50's/60's steel, and especially Cinelli, stems? How stiff are they? Do you trust 'em for everyday riding esp wrt to skidding/skipping?

Or should I stop being a retro idiot, and get the Nitto stem? If so, I've had conflicting advice to go shorter, to compensate for the drop, and go longer, to compensate for the angle. What have been peoples experience?

Sorry for doing my decision via BF/FG, but I'm so excited by being able to spend some cash that I can't work it out.

Sammyboy

What's the bike? A steel stem will generally be stronger than an alloy one, and I'm fairly sure 165 has a similar old Cinelli. I'd buy the one that makes sense with the bike you ride.

absntr

Ask 128 about vintage Cinelli stems -- he has too many.

Personally, I'd go with something new over old depending on how much usage that bike gets. Metal fatigue and all that.

Edit: On further though, I probably wouldn't. The Jaguar's are not to my liking and I do love that old school stem aesthetic so, metal fatigue whatever, old school Cinelli for life!

mcatano

For only a little more money than the cost of either of those, you could get a custom chrome steel Jonny Coast stem with the newness appeal of the the nitto, the pointy aesthetic appeal of the cinelli, and the snooty mcsnooterson appeal of custom. Pick your angle, pick your length, etc, etc.



EDIT: Sorry, I was confused by the title of this thread... isn't the Nitto Pro-NJS is the steel version, while the AA is the alloy version? Which one are you interested in? There's a pretty big difference in price between the two. Also, the steel Nitto comes in your choice of two different angles. IMO, the deep drop Jag stem is totally goonie on a bike that's being used on the street, so the shallower drop is much preferable.

onetwentyeight 

i love the old cinelli stems. They look great, they're stiff, and did i mention OMG THEY LOOK AMAZING.



from a structural standpoint, i trust them plenty, the only thing you might want to worry about is if for some reason you are skidding and bang your junk against the stem, you are not going to be very happy. i mean, oyu wont be happy with either stem, but oyu will be even less happy with the cinelli, as its kinda pointy. in conclusion, i would say get the cinelli, then decide you hate it, and then trade it to me for a nitto. Or get the cinelli and trade it immediately for the nitto aa i am getting rid of. you know, whatever is easiest for you

oh, and check the cinelli for rust. some surface rust is fine within reason, but use good judgement.

pitboss

buy new, unless the old crap is in NEW condition.

onetwentyeight 

lightly used is acceptable in my opinion, but if you wish to err on the side of caution, follow 165's advice. me... i live dangerously.

onetwentyeight 

oh and in regards to the coast stems, i tried contacting him a few times and never got any reply, im not impressed. even inquired about a frame once and he never even wrote back.

ryand

Maybe 2007 will be the year of the "Jonny Coast Never Answered My Emails" threads.

All joking aside, I am actually looking into an old Cinelli stem for the Marinoni. It has Cinelli track drops on it, but the stem is Hollands. Not that I want to get rid of the Hollands stem, I just want to see it with a Cinelli stem on there.

Serendipper 

The Coast stem reminds me of a fancy faucet made by Kohler.

12XU

So you've found a reliable source other than eBay for the very old Cinelli stems? Hell, I've seen completely rusted ones go for over $150, more than the price of the NJ Pro. I was really interested in one of those vintage Cinelli stems and bars for my Mercian, but then I realized that fetishism is just insanely frustrating and settled on the stuff I already have. Besides, unless you have very narrow shoulders, the Cinelli bars are going to be far too narrow for you.

In conclusion, if you find one of the vintage Cinelli stems for less than say...$100 bucks (a badged one would be an even nicer score), sell it on the bay for two times as much and buy yourself a medium drop NJ Pro, some nice Nitto bars, and a few drinks.

queerpunk

as i understand it, there was a good while when his email-from-the-website dealie was not working properly.

onetwentyeight 

Why do you say this? I find my 38 cinellis to be comparable to my 38 nittos.

sashae

Wait, Hollands as in John Hollands? Do you have photos?

ryand

The best I can do are in this flickr set. My camera is broken, so I can't focus anything and I am living out of a bag right now, so I can't get my film camera. Hopefully soon.

fixedpip

Ta for all the advice, its a tough one alright. Head says Nitto. Heart keeps shoting furtive glances at the Cinelli stem.

A 50 year old steel stem does make me nervous though and it may all be moot, as I may not be able to part the current owner from it anyway.

Those Coast stems are pretty sweet but way out of my budget.

Serendipper 

If you can find a Cinelli, do it. They are hard to find, so that will definitely influence your descision.

I'm still waiting on 128 to get into bmx so that he'll sell me his Cinelli stem. Still waiting.

Adam...bmx is cool! I'm telling you!

onetwentyeight 

aint gonna happen. i value my knees, thats why i ride fixed

the worst ive seen happen to a cinelli is the clamp developed a crack. it wasnt catastrophic, but it was enough to make my friend turn it into a paper weight. i rode mine daily for a while with no problems (and will again once i get my bike back), and have several other friends who do as well, no problems.

ryand

I actually have a friend that is getting rid of some with various missing parts, and have a resource of various parts that nobody would ever think to look for. Theres a good chance I could be rocking one eventually.

mcatano

I think the coast stems are $150-200 or something like that. Same as the Cinelli, not too much more than a Nitto NJ-Pro.

Honestly, just buy a Pearl and call it a day. They're lovely.

onetwentyeight 

Ive gotten cinellis for 75-125 (and one for 40 bucks), and the badged one i have was 160.

Judah

pip, what's up man?!

I would go for a new stem over an old stem personally. those old cinellis are nice, but I don't know, new is new, and you are an animal, so I'd go for something that hasn't seen abuse yet.

just to throw yet another ingredient into the mix, I recently switched up to a salsa cro-mo stem and it is my new fav. have used nitto jaguar aluminum, SR, nitto pearl, and '80s cinelli stem and this salsa is stiffer and happier on my bike than any of the others...

sniks

Did we ever find out what bike its going on?

12XU

Umm...duh? Of course equally sized bars are going to be the same. I would think that most people aren't that narrow-shouldered, though. I'm not a muscular dude, but I'm also not female or a tiny man. Thus, I require at minimum 42 cm bars and preferably 44 mm as I like 'em a little bit wider. If this is purely for fashion and you're going to be riding on the flats anyway, then I see no reason to worry.

onetwentyeight 

ah. i am that narrow shouldered. i ride on the flats, on the shoulders, and in the drops (even on the streets, really!), im all over the place. I take back 38, though, all old cinelli steel track drops were 39cm. however ttt ones got much wider, and are indistinguishable save for no classy crest at the top.