Weight Weenies

Gotta put in another vote for New Ultimate, took off some 70g from my old USE Race stem. It's a little flexier, but that's very little. Nowhere near what I expected and I would say on par with Syntace F99 as far as I can tell. My only slight concern is that the hex bolt heads (takes 3mm allen key) are a bit big for the tool. Even with a spanking new ParkTool. Strangely I don't have that concern with a New Ultimate seatpost but it goes for all six stem bolts... Tried several allen keys too.

Not really a problem unless one undo the stem often, or uses worn out tools, that might easily round off the bolt head.

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

www.starbike.com

I'd pick between the PRO Vibe 7, Easton EA90, or Ritchey WCS c260 based upon your preference of 0,6,10 deg

I think you want the Pro Mark Cavendish Star Series Bar & Stem.

I doubt it will help you get up a hill any quicker but it will be stiffer and they look cool.

fwiw the Thomson x2 has to be the stiffest stem I've ridden. It's a boat anchor, but it's the best looking stem that is -17° (also available in -10°)

sedluk wrote:I think you want the Pro Mark Cavendish Star Series Bar & Stem.

I doubt it will help you get up a hill any quicker but it will be stiffer and they look cool.

That was going to be my advice, something the sprinters use as those guys must put some real flex through their cockpits.

quattrings wrote:fwiw the Thomson x2 has to be the stiffest stem I've ridden. It's a boat anchor, but it's the best looking stem that is -17° (also available in -10°)

This one and the Enve Stem are pretty darn stiff.
I like the look of the Thomsons more, but I think the Enves yield a better ride quality due to their dampening characteristics.

I hear good things about the new Deda 35's
worth checking out.

http://www.dedaelementi.com/index.php?p ... 90&lang=en

Or Syntace F109….

If you like Classic bend bars and want a stiff setup, get the Pro Vibe Carbon round drop (or the aluminum if you don't care about a bit of extra weight). Those are very stiff and well made.

Pair it with either a Pro Vibe 7s stem or a 3T ARX pro (the white stripe looks great with the Pro bar's graphics) stem. That setup is rock solid.

+1 on the Pro Vibe 7S stem.

I use it with a Ritchey WCS Curve alloy bar (compact, Ritchey makes a WCS traditional bend alloy bar also). Very solid.

Louis

DMF wrote:.... My only slight concern is that the hex bolt heads (takes 3mm allen key) are a bit big for the tool. Even with a spanking new ParkTool. Strangely I don't have that concern with a New Ultimate seatpost but it goes for all six stem bolts... Tried several allen keys too.
....

Try an 1/8" allen. 1/8"= 3.175mm

I'm going to be fitting a Zipp Service Course SL in Beyond Black in a couple of weeks, it's about 127gm so on a par with my FSA. But that's going to be a stop gap until I get a another stem next year that I'll be pretty excited about once it goes into production.

3T ARX LTD?

Love it...

Fork/steerer, wheel and frame flex may be your problem.

Pro riders are a bad reference since they use whatever their mechanic puts on their bike. Their bikes are trade tools, not passions.

I like my Deda Newton setup. I definitely feel steerer flex more than bar/stem flex. I'm also now using a Ritchey Pro 4axis and a 3T rotundo Pro on another bike. Feels rock solid. If you went with the WCS 4axis the total weight would be pretty respectable for aluminium and will definitely leave your frame, fork and wheels as weak points in the stiffness game (assuming you've gone for 42cm bars, otherwise get narrower bars for sprinting. Also assuming you're using <120mm stem).

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

www.starbike.com

I just went through this whole process for an ongoing build. I am 90kg, not as young as I used to be but still a decent sprinter, crit rider.

I had it down to 3 options,
The Deda 35 set with Alu bars. I have big hands and like the drop and bend on these.
The Ritchey C260 superlogic which is probably my favorite stem in theory (despite what someone said earlier is full carbon) and matching superlogic bars which aren't out yet.
In the end I went with the Zipp SC SL beyond black stem and Vukasprints because I am building a foil and wanted to complete the aero theme while still building a stiff front end.

I ride the 3T Arx Team stem and ergonovas and find them to be fairly stiff though I do feel the bars flex a little on the ends (which is good), I find they aren't bad when I move my hands up into the drops for the sprint. Super comfy bars overall though.

Someone put an excellent post earlier about the width of bars and depth of drop making more difference for stiffness, but I will add that I find the leverage difference when I go from 42 to 44 to be significant. Similar when I go to a longer stem the leverage seems to help. It may flex more but I feel like it lets me transfer more power to from the upper body to the wheels with the increased leverage. I am not sure how much the fact that I am 6'3" has to do with that. May be part of why the pros often run such long stems (other than there ability to maintain positions I can only dream of)