Stem Testing Round 1, 19 Stems

Back by popular demand, the general all-things Road forum!

Moderator: robbosmans

wpccrunner
in the industry
Posts: 429
Joined: Fri Dec 07, 2012 8:34 pm
Location: CO

by wpccrunner

the test shows that the Vibe is clearly a super stiff stem. It just suffers in the S:W ratio because of the extra mass it has.

Kittel's stem is a modified Pro Vibe stem (maybe the PLT Stem with modified steerer clamp diameter) made specifically for Giant the 1-1/4" steerer with a more standard 4 bolt face plate, as opposed to the puzzle system on the standard vibe.

User avatar
maverick_1
Posts: 742
Joined: Tue Sep 11, 2007 4:20 pm
Location: Tokyo

by maverick_1

@madcow,

Would like to suggest a test on Ritchey C260 "Superlogic" full carbon stem.

Image

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



martinko
Posts: 355
Joined: Fri Dec 06, 2013 9:08 am
Location: Slovakia

by martinko

@LouisN, thanks. No way I am going to toss it because of the test. :) But it was interesting to learn something about it. There is also nice sum up about Pro Vibe on before the test results.

r_mutt
Posts: 412
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2008 6:33 pm

by r_mutt

I'm surprised the Deda 0-100 and Trentacinque 35 were not tested.

Marin
Posts: 4035
Joined: Wed Jan 22, 2014 11:48 am
Location: Vienna Austria

by Marin

The Kalloy Uno 7 would also be an interesting candidate, it is so popular here that it has its own thread. I wouldn't be surprised if it tested very similar to the New Ultimate (since it looks a lot like it), it would just smash it in a stiffness/weight/price ranking :-)

User avatar
743power
Shop Wrench
Posts: 744
Joined: Sat Nov 29, 2008 6:15 am
Location: Colorado

by 743power

Interesting note about the syntace f119 not being offered in 110mm as I have three of them as well as a few 105mm 's. ;)
"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction."

User avatar
velonista
Posts: 42
Joined: Sun Jan 05, 2014 9:47 am

by velonista

madcow wrote:...If anyone has suggestions for other stems they'd like to see tested in round 2 please feel free to mention them...

This sounds like the perfect opportunity to prove - with (ostensibly) scientific objectivity - whether or not all the scare-mongering about so-called "low quality" Chinese replica carbon stems has any scientifically-proven basis.

Is there any reason why your tests don't include a single "knock-off" Chinese carbon stem? Of course, there is no inherent anti-bias against them on the tester's part! And there's certainly no conflict of interest in regard to any undisclosed relationship between an authorized dealer and the makers of some of the name-brand stems on test! Perish the thought! Right?

In my opinion, any test claiming to be 100% unbiased would be remiss if they didn't include any "placebos" in their test.

I vote for including in the next round some replica Chinese carbon stems for side-by-side comparisons to their "high-quality" name-brand counterparts.

I'll even volunteer my services to help you source some of the reverse-engineered stems:


And so as not to offend any of the goody-two-shoes Junior G-Men on the Homeland Security's IPR-Enforcement Task Force lurking amongst us:


Oh! I almost forgot about handlebars:


User avatar
Frankie - B
Admin - In the industry
Posts: 6573
Joined: Mon Jun 02, 2003 8:17 am
Location: Drenthe, Holland

by Frankie - B

Great test! thanks Jason.
'Tape was made to wrap your GF's gifts, NOT hold a freakin tire on.'
If you want to see 'meh' content of me and my bike you can follow my life in pictures here!

djtodd
Posts: 30
Joined: Fri Nov 16, 2012 4:09 pm

by djtodd

Food for thought, the time and energy spent on this is greatly appreciated.

User avatar
F45
Posts: 1077
Joined: Wed Jun 08, 2011 6:08 am

by F45

Lighter aluminum stems are more flexible than heavier ones. Nothing new there.

They deflect up to 5mm in your test. How is that data useful to us? Is 5mm of flex something we should care about? Does this show durability to be a concern with the lighter stems?

Bogan
Posts: 301
Joined: Tue Feb 11, 2014 11:47 pm
Location: Boganville, Australia

by Bogan

Makes me feel better about the ENVE stem I just purchased.
MAMIL? Never. O.F.I.L. yeh! (Old F**ker in Lycra)

Marin
Posts: 4035
Joined: Wed Jan 22, 2014 11:48 am
Location: Vienna Austria

by Marin

F45 wrote:They deflect up to 5mm in your test. How is that data useful to us? Is 5mm of flex something we should care about? Does this show durability to be a concern with the lighter stems?


You decide! :D

User avatar
ultimobici
in the industry
Posts: 4460
Joined: Sun Nov 21, 2004 2:45 pm
Location: Trento, Italia
Contact:

by ultimobici

velonista wrote:
madcow wrote:...If anyone has suggestions for other stems they'd like to see tested in round 2 please feel free to mention them...

This sounds like the perfect opportunity to prove - with (ostensibly) scientific objectivity - whether or not all the scare-mongering about so-called "low quality" Chinese replica carbon stems has any scientifically-proven basis.

Is there any reason why your tests don't include a single "knock-off" Chinese carbon stem? Of course, there is no inherent anti-bias against them on the tester's part! And there's certainly no conflict of interest in regard to any undisclosed relationship between an authorized dealer and the makers of some of the name-brand stems on test! Perish the thought! Right?

In my opinion, any test claiming to be 100% unbiased would be remiss if they didn't include any "placebos" in their test.

I vote for including in the next round some replica Chinese carbon stems for side-by-side comparisons to their "high-quality" name-brand counterparts.

I'll even volunteer my services to help you source some of the reverse-engineered stems:


And so as not to offend any of the goody-two-shoes Junior G-Men on the Homeland Security's IPR-Enforcement Task Force lurking amongst us:


Oh! I almost forgot about handlebars:


Simple really. Reverse Engineered is not what they are. Fake or knock-off, take your pick. Testing them would undermine their position as a legitimate dealer. Can you imagine the effect of an authorised dealer including fake versions of their supplier's product?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

User avatar
velonista
Posts: 42
Joined: Sun Jan 05, 2014 9:47 am

by velonista

ultimobici wrote:...Fake or knock-off, take your pick...

I pick "placebo". Because - like their pharmaceutical counterparts - they defy scientific explanation, but there's no denying they work just as effectively as anything you care to compare them to.

ultimobici wrote:...Can you imagine the effect of an authorised dealer including fake versions of their supplier's product?...

I guess you missed this:
velonista wrote:...
And so as not to offend any of the goody-two-shoes Junior G-Men on the Homeland Security's IPR-Enforcement Task Force lurking amongst us:

...

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



kulivontot
Posts: 1163
Joined: Sun May 16, 2010 7:28 pm

by kulivontot

velonista wrote:

Is there any reason why your tests don't include a single "knock-off" Chinese carbon stem?



I'm guessing it's because fair wheel bikes doesn't stock or sell them? FWB is a store not Tour magazine. They really don't have any obligation to test every single item on the planet, especially if it encourages you to purchase a product from another vendor.

Having said that, I am disappointed there's no testing of Ritchey wcs 4 axis alloy version to see if the god awful faceplate design of the c260 has any merit on actually improving stiffness.

Post Reply