Stems - what do you get by paying more?

RayParker

Deda have cornered the circa £20 market but what do you actually get if you pay three or more times than that other than weight savings?

What handling characteristics change as you pay more?

Or is there little point?

imposter2.0

It's difficult to ascribe 'handling characteristics' to an inert lump of aluminium, tbf. You just get a trendier logo.

w00dster

I have a £170 carbon stem on one of my bikes, weighs 135 grams I think, 100mm. Other bike has an alu stem that is cheap as chips. I can't tell the difference.
The alu stem weighs about 150 grams. But I can't notice anything different in handling or comfort. Might just be me.

timothyw

RayParker wrote:

Or is there little point?

Bingo.

A lot of the apparently high end carbon stems are heavier - they justify their existence with being x% stiffer or saving x fractions of a watt of aero drag.

Still, the brain is a funny thing, so if you do like the look of one and spend a fortune on it you can soon convince yourself that it has made all the difference.

Basically, buy whichever one you can afford and like the look of - and buy whichever one will allow you to ride in the best position for you.

If you're trying to make your bike lighter, or go faster, look elsewhere.

cougie

At least you can see the stem so you may as well get a pretty one.

trivial_poursuivant

I swapped out my Fizik R1 Stem for a shorter one but got the R5 which was a fraction of the cost. The difference is only cosmetic and about 20g if you take the different lengths into the equation. Yet one costs £70 the other about £35. If it wasn’t the missing shiny bit I wouldn’t notice the difference

mrb123

Just look at how many Deda Zero 100 stems you find on pro bikes and there is your answer.

pippi_langsamer-2

Many carbon stems are Alu core anyway with a carbon wrap. Go figure that!

I have a Pro Vibe carbon (wrapped) and a standard Pro Vibe. No difference.

However, I did have a 3T ARX-Ltd full carbon, and that was obscenely light AND stiff, but I'd never pay what they were originally RRPd

fat daddy

BLING !!!!! ...... if you pays your money you can have a thing of beauty (as far as stems go) with a brand name and blurb to die for

Matthewfalle

I have a Zipp carbon stem that was silly money amongst three or four other carbon stems that all retail at about £100 (naturally bought in the sales!)

My favourite stems: Planet X Ali with massive drop at about £12 an old ITM jobs that I snap up wherever I see them.

Personally, apart from the bling I can't notice any difference.

Just buy what you like the look of and what fits you.

w00dster

I must be some kind of oaf, I seriously have never once thought "this stem is nice and stiff", or "yikes this is a flex stem".
I guess my stems all must be in a happy medium where I don't notice any difference. I'm not saying that it's not noticeable just I've never noticed with any of mine. But then I also don't notice stiff wheels or frames. Must be my extra padding in my shorts...

Now bars on the other hand......I do want a light set of aero bars. Only for the bling factor, I know the aero element is snake oil etc. I just think they look good.

kingdav

w00dster wrote:

"yikes this is a flex stem".

This is a flex stem, I saw one out in the wild just before Christmas, I'd forgotten all about them.

matt_n-2

MrB123 wrote:

Just look at how many Deda Zero 100 stems you find on pro bikes and there is your answer.

Yep was going to post the same, about the best bang for buck, normally get them on offer for about £30-35.

philbar72

got a cinelli, 3t, and zipp stem for my various runarounds. no difference except the zipp one looks more bling and the cinelli one is 10mil longer.

kingdav

The weenies bang on about kalloy, are they any good?

wotnoshoeseh

w00dster wrote:

Now bars on the other hand......I do want a light set of aero bars. Only for the bling factor, I know the aero element is snake oil etc. I just think they look good.

So then you cover them up (well 80-90% of them) with bar wrap???

trivial_poursuivant

w00dster wrote:

Now bars on the other hand......I do want a light set of aero bars. Only for the bling factor, I know the aero element is snake oil etc. I just think they look good.

3T Aeronova Pro are Aero , look
Cool but absurdly expensive for what they are.

Pituophis

MrB123 wrote:

Just look at how many Deda Zero 100 stems you find on pro bikes and there is your answer.

I have a Deda Zero 100 on my "nicer" bike (though I had no idea any pro's used them - did pay a lot more for it compared with the estimate a few posts further up!!! :oops: ) and a £25 Deda one on my winter bike.
I can't tell the difference to be honest. :?

Matthewfalle

Trivial poursuivant wrote:

w00dster wrote:

Now bars on the other hand......I do want a light set of aero bars. Only for the bling factor, I know the aero element is snake oil etc. I just think they look good.

3T Aeronova Pro are Aero , look
Cool but absurdly expensive for what they are.

Problem is, all this schizzle is absurdly expensive - have just been looking for some aero bars and have now lost the will due to pricing.

Aero is the new aviation which was the new maritime.

Imagine how much aviation grade Para/SAS/Commando aero bars would be .......

trivial_poursuivant

Matthewfalle wrote:

Trivial poursuivant wrote:

w00dster wrote:

Now bars on the other hand......I do want a light set of aero bars. Only for the bling factor, I know the aero element is snake oil etc. I just think they look good.

3T Aeronova Pro are Aero , look
Cool but absurdly expensive for what they are.

Problem is, all this schizzle is absurdly expensive - have just been looking for some aero bars and have now lost the will due to pricing.

Aero is the new aviation which was the new maritime.

Imagine how much aviation grade Para/SAS/Commando aero bars would be .......

Stealth black or MTP?

w00dster

Those Aeronova's do look good, and 100 grams lighter than current bars. There is less bar tape needed for the aero bars so another weight saving.....Plus my bar tape is a bit grubby now, what other reason do I need to upgrade to bling?!

Decent price here....

https://www.athleteshop.co.uk/3t-aerono ... -black-red

Had been contemplating the Vision Metron 4d, matches the wheels. But the Aeronova is £100 cheaper and does look nicer in the Stealth.

trivial_poursuivant

w00dster wrote:

Those Aeronova's do look good, and 100 grams lighter than current bars. There is less bar tape needed for the aero bars so another weight saving.....Plus my bar tape is a bit grubby now, what other reason do I need to upgrade to bling?!

Decent price here....

https://www.athleteshop.co.uk/3t-aerono ... -black-red

Had been contemplating the Vision Metron 4d, matches the wheels. But the Aeronova is £100 cheaper and does look nicer in the Stealth.

You could also just buy a pair of chinese copies on ebay for 30 quid. Mate of mine has some on his bike. 2 years not an issue and that includes 1 crash where his shifter got trashed. Bars still fine. (If you’re willing to take the risk of course)

w00dster

Apologies for hijacking the thread.....
My current bike with pedals is just over 8kgs, I'm playing around with it making it a bit lighter.

Plan is to replace the bars and then the groupset ready for spring. I want to replace the cranks anyway, 105 and been used throughout the winter so looking tired with the 105 rubbed off from my overshoes.

Put this on the bike last week, surprisingly comfortable, but I'm still nervous every time I go over a bump in the road....

https://www.trekbikes.com/gb/en_GB/equi ... e/p/14235/

w00dster

Without any justification what so ever I have a knagging voice telling me not to buy Chinese bars. I know they are likely to be as well made and could be made by the same people for all I know.
I can't justify it or explain it rationally. I know I'm probably wasting money and being a fool.

Matthewfalle

w00dster wrote:

Apologies for hijacking the thread.....
My current bike with pedals is just over 8kgs, I'm playing around with it making it a bit lighter.

Plan is to replace the bars and then the groupset ready for spring. I want to replace the cranks anyway, 105 and been used throughout the winter so looking tired with the 105 rubbed off from my overshoes.

Put this on the bike last week, surprisingly comfortable, but I'm still nervous every time I go over a bump in the road....

https://www.trekbikes.com/gb/en_GB/equi ... e/p/14235/

please for the love of all things holy do not say that you even paid near that price? even 50% off its still too expensive.

I paid 70 for a selle italia full carbon zero (down from 399) and 25 for a chinese full carbon job that is the same as that trek one.

by the way no issues at all with the chinese saddle: 90grammes, comfy, very recommended.

Matthewfalle

w00dster wrote:

Without any justification what so ever I have a knagging voice telling me not to buy Chinese bars. I know they are likely to be as well made and could be made by the same people for all I know.
I can't justify it or explain it rationally. I know I'm probably wasting money and being a fool.

same here.. sure from a decent seller sure they will be fine but something nags .....

fenix

w00dster wrote:

Apologies for hijacking the thread.....
My current bike with pedals is just over 8kgs, I'm playing around with it making it a bit lighter.

Plan is to replace the bars and then the groupset ready for spring. I want to replace the cranks anyway, 105 and been used throughout the winter so looking tired with the 105 rubbed off from my overshoes.

Put this on the bike last week, surprisingly comfortable, but I'm still nervous every time I go over a bump in the road....

https://www.trekbikes.com/gb/en_GB/equi ... e/p/14235/

Dear god....

Haven't we shown that aero is god at the moment rather than lightweight ? And give me a comfy saddle over a light one any day.

You're really not gonna save anything worthwhile on handlebars. What groupset are you going for ?

bungle73

As stated before, the Brand X stems sold by CRC have to be the best value stems going. So cheap that I've ended up with two: bought one to replace the short stem on the bike, and then bought another one when I decided that I wanted an even longer one.

w00dster wrote:

Without any justification what so ever I have a knagging voice telling me not to buy Chinese bars. I know they are likely to be as well made and could be made by the same people for all I know.
I can't justify it or explain it rationally. I know I'm probably wasting money and being a fool.

If you value your life the last thing you want to do is spend money on some no name Chinese carbon bar that you know nothing about. There is a high chance that it will snap unexpectedly on you (plenty of stories online about this), which is the last thing you want while bombing down a high speed descent.

trivial_poursuivant

Bungle73 wrote:

As stated before, the Brand X stems sold by CRC have to be the best value stems going. So cheap that I've ended up with two: bought one to replace the short stem on the bike, and then bought another one when I decided that I wanted an even longer one.

w00dster wrote:

Without any justification what so ever I have a knagging voice telling me not to buy Chinese bars. I know they are likely to be as well made and could be made by the same people for all I know.
I can't justify it or explain it rationally. I know I'm probably wasting money and being a fool.

If you value your life the last thing you want to do is spend money on some no name Chinese carbon bar that you know nothing about. There is a high chance that it will snap unexpectedly on you (plenty of stories online about this), which is the last thing you want while bombing down a high speed descent.

Plenty of examples of named kit snapping. Most recently being a Trek Emonda snapped clean in half! So brand naming is no guarantee.

bungle73

Trivial poursuivant wrote:

Bungle73 wrote:

As stated before, the Brand X stems sold by CRC have to be the best value stems going. So cheap that I've ended up with two: bought one to replace the short stem on the bike, and then bought another one when I decided that I wanted an even longer one.

w00dster wrote:

Without any justification what so ever I have a knagging voice telling me not to buy Chinese bars. I know they are likely to be as well made and could be made by the same people for all I know.
I can't justify it or explain it rationally. I know I'm probably wasting money and being a fool.

If you value your life the last thing you want to do is spend money on some no name Chinese carbon bar that you know nothing about. There is a high chance that it will snap unexpectedly on you (plenty of stories online about this), which is the last thing you want while bombing down a high speed descent.

Plenty of examples of named kit snapping. Most recently being a Trek Emonda snapped clean in half! So brand naming is no guarantee.

But it took some kind of impact first though, right? I'm talking about bars just snapping spontaniously, because they were poorly made.

If you buy from a reputable brand you know that it will have been manufactured to certain standards, and will comply with the relevant safety regulations. You will also have comeback if it fails and causes an injury. Buying an unknown bar from China and you have no idea what you're getting. If you really must buy something from China then you really need to do the research first, so you know if what you are getting is any good.

trivial_poursuivant

Bungle73 wrote:

Trivial poursuivant wrote:

Bungle73 wrote:

As stated before, the Brand X stems sold by CRC have to be the best value stems going. So cheap that I've ended up with two: bought one to replace the short stem on the bike, and then bought another one when I decided that I wanted an even longer one.

w00dster wrote:

Without any justification what so ever I have a knagging voice telling me not to buy Chinese bars. I know they are likely to be as well made and could be made by the same people for all I know.
I can't justify it or explain it rationally. I know I'm probably wasting money and being a fool.

If you value your life the last thing you want to do is spend money on some no name Chinese carbon bar that you know nothing about. There is a high chance that it will snap unexpectedly on you (plenty of stories online about this), which is the last thing you want while bombing down a high speed descent.

Plenty of examples of named kit snapping. Most recently being a Trek Emonda snapped clean in half! So brand naming is no guarantee.

But it took some kind of impact first though, right? I'm talking about bars just snapping spontaniously, because they were poorly made.

If you buy from a reputable brand you know that it will have been manufactured to certain standards, and will comply with the relevant safety regulations. You will also have comeback if it fails and causes an injury. Buying an unknown bar from China and you have no idea what you're getting. If you really must buy something from China then you really need to do the research first, so you know if what you are getting is any good.

I’m not condoning them. I’d never use them, I’m just saying I’ve seen people with genuine parts fail and also know personally a rider who has been using chinese bars for 2 years no issue even with a crash which was enough to smash up his shifter but the bars are sound. A genuine brand may have a better chance of being ok but carbon by it’s very nature can fail regardless of its maker.