I recently purchased a brand new Extralite Road stem and just took delivery of it yesterday. Gorgeous piece of kit! However, I was confused—every photo I've ever seen seems to show the stem consisting of Torx bolts. The version I received is outfitted with hex bolts instead. Even the instructions that it came with specified Torx.

Upon further investigation by emailing Extralite, I found out this is an old version of the stem from 2009/2010 that used the older hex style bolts. The part about the newer instructions with older stem still confuses me...but is there any reason to return this and buy the new version?

Extralite wants nearly 50 CAD for the 6 replacement bolts, which is a bit steep. With proper care will the hex bolts be ok, or are there major issues with the old style that I should be concerned about? It seems they have made some changes to the clamp as well, but I don't know what those differences are.

I wish companies and online stores did a better job of making their versioning more apparent, I probably would have bought the stem somewhere else had I known.

The new torx bolts make stripping the very small bolts much harder...
use lots of Ti prep, lots of carbon paste and only 80 % of the max torque setting for the bolts..
I have the newer model and only run 2.5nm of torque on those bolts.
The older bolt kits are really easy to round out so be careful.

Good luck

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http://fairwheelbikes.com/cycling-blog/ ... ee-z5.html

I have both versions and haven't stripped either! However, like Suger said less is more when tightening the bolts. Cheers, Pete

I've posted on the Extralite Road Stem OC before. As you report, the enclosed printed instruction sheet sometimes differs from the box contents (torx vs. hex) and the torque recommendations vary between the instructions and the on-line specs. I had some slipping with the torx bolts on Zipp Contour SL bars (even with carbon paste) and used the higher torque recommendations given to me by e-mail from Extralite. I've had no problems since that time. I'm wondering if, due to cost issues, Extralite reverted from torx to hex bolts. In any event, they might be able to give you a satisfactory explanation for the various discrepancies. Perhaps its worth asking about.

From what I gather, Extralite has made the switch to Torx bolts and hasn't gone back. The store I ordered from (CyclingTechnology.com) was nice enough to order me the new Torx bolts free of charge which was awesome of them! I plan to use those and follow the instructions on the supplied sheet and see how I fare.

Another question about this stem:

Is this stem unusually difficult to get on the steerer tube? I was just doing a quick mockup of my bike with frame and fork the other day and even with the bolts completely removed, the fit between the stem and my Enve 2.0 steerer is really tight, I basically have to press relatively hard to get it to slide on. Could be the steerer too I suppose, just never experienced it. I stopped after only getting the clamp half way on and figured I'd wait until It was built up and the steerer tube was shortened.

I had used an extralite stem w/ both the enve 2.0 and the 1.0 and I found it to be very tight on both (which also meant less chance of slippage). Still worked just fine.

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Speedplay is the devil.

if your enve fork has the compression plug in it, it may be slightly expanding the steerer tube at the top. try installing the stem with the compression plug removed.
or it could be something else.

Thanks, this is good to know its just some freak tolerance issue that I am experiencing.

Expander plug isn't in, this was just trying to slide the stem on to "mock up" the bike without tightening down anything.

I'm sure it will all work out fine

The extralite bolts are M5 15mm?

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Planet-X Nanolight HM - 6.19kg

I once owned this stem. Beautiful and saved grams but did give me some headaches. As already noted in this thread, Zipp bars slipped unless torqued above spec (properly fitted with paste). Result was stripped bolt heads after a few loosening/retightening of bolts. As you mention, I also had fitment challenges with Edge forks and had to sand down the steerer tube to get the stem to properly fit. Finally, if you are a sprinter, I would not classify this stem as stiff. All that said, stem is a gorgeous piece of kit, I just would not recommend it for a race bike application especially if one is a sprinter.

Strange.

I have this stem on a set of zipp bars and it holds perfectly, tightened to just below spec. I also had no issue fitting it on a enve fork, it is a perfect fit.

Maybe a batch of poor tolerancing on extralite's end?

+1 I have this stem with a Zipp SL bar and Addict fork. Works perfectly for me, though I'm no sprinter... but also no light weight

GJ

How would you compare the stiffness of this stem to the others.
I'm changing the frame from 1 1/4" to 1 1/8", currently using ritchey 4axis, 120mm.

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Cervelo R5 VWD 5637g/12.43lb
Cannyon Ultimate slx 5592g/12.33lb
Pronghorn XC SW Race 8284g/18.26lb

I'm no sprinter, but I am a big guy. Used to run an alloy 4-Axis and haven't noticed any stiffness difference with the change to Extralite. Saying that, I am talking about 100mm (for both) so there may be more of an issue with longer lengths.

Cheers

GJ

No stiffness issues here either but I am a pretty light guy.

To expand on my initial post, of the steerer stem interface is tight during install and you feel like you have to force is on, wiping down both surfaces with alcohol and sliding on while wet helped tremendously.

Stem has been great, quiet and stiff. No complaints and one of my favorite pieces of kit.