New road stem to choose

hmich

Hi folks,

i have a Wilier Zero 7 and need to change my FSA stem for another one. I need a 90mm and FSA k-force begin with a 100mm.

For thoses who ever experienced theses stems...which one will be the stiffer ?

- 3T ARX LTD Stem
- Zipp 145 Carbon Stem
- Easton EC90 SL Stem

Thansks for your advice

sloppyschleckonds

Zipp 145

imposter2.0

hmich wrote:

Hi folks,

i have a Wilier Zero 7 and need to change my FSA stem for another one. I need a 90mm and FSA k-force begin with a 100mm.

For thoses who ever experienced theses stems...which one will be the stiffer ?

- 3T ARX LTD Stem
- Zipp 145 Carbon Stem
- Easton EC90 SL Stem

Thansks for your advice

At 90mm, stiffness is not really a consideration - in fact, unless you are a sprinter built like a gorilla you probably won't notice a difference anyway. There are lots of other FSA stems in 90mm if brand loyalty is an issue.

meesterbond

I've been using 3T Team and Pro stems for ages and they've been great. No idea why you'd spend the extra on the Ltd though given it weighs all of 10g less and costs 3 times the price and I'm usually happy to waste money on all sorts of spurious 'marginal gains'.

arran77

Imposter wrote:

hmich wrote:

Hi folks,

i have a Wilier Zero 7 and need to change my FSA stem for another one. I need a 90mm and FSA k-force begin with a 100mm.

For thoses who ever experienced theses stems...which one will be the stiffer ?

- 3T ARX LTD Stem
- Zipp 145 Carbon Stem
- Easton EC90 SL Stem

Thansks for your advice

At 90mm, stiffness is not really a consideration - in fact, unless you are a sprinter built like a gorilla you probably won't notice a difference anyway. There are lots of other FSA stems in 90mm if brand loyalty is an issue.

If you want to stick with FSA then how about the OS-99 CSI stem....

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/fsa-os-99-csi-stem/rp-prod34273?ModelID=34273

gloomyandy

Might be worth checking with your bar and fork suppliers doc. I seem to remember that there was an issue with some forks a while back which resulted in some manufacturers saying that you should not use certain stems with some carbon forks. I thing the problem was to do with the way the stem clamped the fork. Some stems had a larger amount of metal cut away (which made them lighter) but which resulted in the clamping force being applied to a smaller area of the fork.

springtide9

I needed a 90mm and got the FSA SL-K:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FSA-SL-K-Carb ... 51aea65f77

Looks nice (reasonably priced) and very happy with the stiffness (I guess flex is less of an issue at this length).

pippi_langsamer-2

I've got a 3T ARX Ltd which is nice, but it came on the frame. As above, it makes little differnce and its not a stem Id buy at full price.

Thomson is the nicest stuff IMO. Strong, finish second-to-non, no nonsense lovelyness

Wheelspinner

Of the three listed, the only one I would not consider is the 3T, because in my experience, as lovely as they look, the bolts are utter [email protected] I have used several of them, Team and Pro (not Ltd ones), and they are the *only* brand of stem I've used on which the bolts sheared. Won't buy any of them again.

Yes, I use a calibrated torque wrench, carbon paste where applicable and set under the recommended limits and they still shear.

Pity as they are otherwise nice.

Grill

Ritchey C260 will put them all to shame in both stiffness and weight.

hmich

Thanks everybody...my dealer order me a ZIPP...

giant_man

Wheelspinner wrote:

Of the three listed, the only one I would not consider is the 3T, because in my experience, as lovely as they look, the bolts are utter [email protected] I have used several of them, Team and Pro (not Ltd ones), and they are the *only* brand of stem I've used on which the bolts sheared. Won't buy any of them again.

Yes, I use a calibrated torque wrench, carbon paste where applicable and set under the recommended limits and they still shear.

Pity as they are otherwise nice.

so just change the bolts for better ones, it's not the end of the world, christ!

asprilla

It's annoying when you shear a steel bolt flush with the bolt hole. I've had to bin a 3T ARX Pro because of that.

I've still got them on three bikes though.

majormantra

To be fair I've read a lot of reports of people breaking 3T's Ti bolts (on the Team/Ltd versions) but I'm surprised to hear of any issue with their steel bolts.

Thomsons look nice but their design is inherently less durable as they use a machined (rather than forged) faceplate.

majormantra

I've read a number of reports where people have broken them using torque wrenches. Of course I have no way of knowing if they were using them correctly.

Personally I recommend getting one of those 5Nm torque keys from the likes of Bontrager. Gives a lot of peace of mind.

Wheelspinner

madasahattersley wrote:

As I work in a shop that sells them, I can safely say you're doing it wrong.

The bolts are excellent, do not rust and are very light, and if you torque them correctly (5-6Nm) then they won't break. If you apply too much force, or force it in the wrong direction then yeah, they'll snap.

Thanks for the laugh, but I recommend you keep your uninformed opinion about my mechanics abilities to yourself.

I have an engineering degree. I am aware of what a torque wrench is for. I've used one to build actual engines too, so I am quite capable in using it. It is calibrated too.

I've built, repaired and generally fettled a dozen of my own bikes in the last few years, plus several for friends. My LBS is confident enough in my workshop skills that he lends me tools when I need them rather than have me take stuff in to pay him to do. FWIW, he's generally regarded as one of the best mechanics around these parts, hired by Shimano to be their rep at pro races locally. He sold me the stems, and was not at all surprised about the bolt breakages, says lots of them do.

For installing the stem bolts I set it at 4 Nm typically as that's all that's required. That setting has worked perfectly installing stems from Ritchey, Thomson, Syncros, Pro, Pinarello, Deda, ITM, Cannondale OEM, and a few other generic ones.

The *only* manufacturer I've ever had problems with is 3T. Bolts have sheared on three of their "Team" stems.

The good news is the bolts are so bad they are fairly simple to drill out. If they really are using titanium as bolt material, it's the cheapest, nastiest rubbish grade of it ever made I suspect.

Giant Man wrote:

so just change the bolts for better ones, it's not the end of the world, christ!

No it isn't the end of the world, but they are still censored bolts. The OP asked for opinions on three stems - all I did was document my experience with the 3T ones. What was your useful contribution here?

meesterbond

For what it's worth I managed to sheer one of the Ti bolts using a torque wrench set well below the 5Nm limit.

Have never had the problem with any of the Pro level ones with the steel bolts so I put up with the extra 30g.

Wheelspinner

madasahattersley wrote:

Congratulations on your degree, if only I'd known that you spent 3 years learning how to tighten up stem bolts I wouldn't have dreamed of questioning your ability to not break a good product from a good manufacturer.

Thanks, and well done to you. Only 18 and already a Grade A know-all.

meesterbond wrote:

For what it's worth I managed to sheer one of the Ti bolts using a torque wrench set well below the 5Nm limit.

Have never had the problem with any of the Pro level ones with the steel bolts so I put up with the extra 30g.

Oops, looks like you're doing it wrong too according to our resident child prodigy mechanic.

darkhairedlord

MajorMantra wrote:

I've read a number of reports where people have broken them using torque wrenches. Of course I have no way of knowing if they were using them correctly.

Personally I recommend getting one of those 5Nm torque keys from the likes of Bontrager. Gives a lot of peace of mind.

Have one, fantastic. Most adjustable torque wrenches are pretty inaccurate at low torque values.