I have always had a threaded fork on my bikes until now and it was pretty easy to figure out what to do in the way of a stem: get a nitto of the right length and admire the craftsmanship.

I'm building my first bike with a threadless stem and I am having all sorts of trouble coming up with any way of distinguishing them. Aesthetically they all seem a little ugly to me.

I'm looking for a run of the mill, 100mm maybe +-6 degree stem and ideally I would spend less than $60. Does anyone have a favorite stem that they recommend? And why?

I don't really have any preferences for material but the bike that it is going on is one of the Nashbar FTP's so it probably shouldn't be neon green to go with the color scheme.

Thompson.

Or else.

But really it's a stem. Depending on your application, any multibrand would suit your needs.

One of my favorites. The brand is among the most trusted. 100% American made too!

There's no "p" BTW

That's what she said

I don't give a Carelton.

My favorite. The cheapest one with the rise and length that I want.

Thomson, Deda, or Ritchey

Or Nitto...

I like my Thomson, though not a huge fan that it shows part of the steerer tube near the clamp, guess it's a weight saver.

have a super cheap cinelli ant stem as well that I really enjoy and has taken some tough riding

The Deda Zero1 is cheap. Mine was <$25 from PBK. I'm not sure about the quality, though (it looks decent, at least)... I just got mine and haven't been able to use it yet.

the Zero100 to me is worth the price difference over the Zero1. Yeah they both function the same, but hold them each in your hand and you'll realize the difference.

I got my zero100 servizio course on eBay for under $60... I'd highly recommend that route, tho I would also love to check out a Thomson x4 at some point

EDIT:

VS.

Velo orange makes a pretty classy stem

Well... yea, but there is a large price difference between $22.37 (what I paid on PBK for the Zero1) and the $60 Zero100 you have. Did you buy yours used?

As always, if you can swing the budget go right ahead... I was merely offering the Zero1 as a very economical option for under $30, even in comparison to other Dedas, Thomsons, Ritcheys, Nittos, etc.

Deda Zero100 co-op = $55

Deda Zero100 Servizio Course eBay = $45.99

Deda Zero1 Amazon.com = $37.29

The only reason I ended up getting the Zero1 over the 100 is the Zero1 comes in a 70mm, where as the shortest 100 is 90mm

Anybody like the IRO stems? I had been kind of leaning toward a black stem rather than silver but that velo orange one is nice looking.


Thanks for the advice though, guys. I will definitely take a hard look at the Thomsons though they do seem above my ideal price range.