Weight Weenies

The 3T ARX Team is my favourite stem and I've just bought my third. All are 110mm, 6 degrees. The latest one is one of the new "stealth" black ones, and it is quite distinctly 2mm shorter than the other two. And yes, I've made comparisons from different sides / angles, the difference is consistent. It's enough so that you can see it quite easily if you place the stems next to each other. I find it hard to believe that this magnitude of difference could just be due to individual variation due to manufacturing tolerances. 1mm perhaps, but not two.

I thought that was quite weird. You expect a stem length to be exact, such that the distance from the center of the steerer tube (exactly half way down the clamping area) to the center of the bars is exactly as specified. My very rough guess to explain this is that in the earlier stems they didn't allow for the gap between the faceplate and the rest of the stem when the bars were installed, so the stem was actually 2mm too long, and now they have rectified this. I can't think why else they would shorten the stem by 2mm, with all that would involve in terms of new molds or whatever.

Of course it doesn't make any practical difference, I just thought it was strange.

It certainly hasn't helped the weight unfortunately, or at least not for my example which is 130g.

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hmmmm, I just bought a 100mm -17 deg stem that actually measures 110mm.....

maybe they need to start using rulers.....?

You're not measuring from the top, are you? Because of the angle, it will measure more than specified from the top and less than specified from the bottom, and on a stem with a large angle like 17 degrees this will be particularly pronounced.

Try measuring it from the top and also from the bottom and then taking the average.

I noticed the same — 2mm shorter and 132g on my scale. Its only ~10g heavier than I thought it'd be, but still this is WWs.

Check the face plate. I believe the newer black ones have face plates that are about 2mm thicker where the bolts pass through.

I can't see any difference, although the faceplate wouldn't affect the position of the bars in any case. Can't see any difference on the other side either - it seems that the distance to the surface that contacts the bars is genuinely 2mm less.

However the new black stem has quite thick washers underneath the bolt heads, these are new. But this wouldn't change the bar position either.

Some pic's would be

It's not uncommon for stem manufacturers' settings and tolerances to result in inconsistent stem dimensions. Maybe they're made in different factories.

I have a few ARX Team stems (older version), and among these there are two stated '12cm' stems where one is 3-4mm longer than the other.

That would be rich not able to meet the specified weight is one, but not be able to meet specified lenght ?, (;

Re: 17 deg 3T stems

It's been well documented that 3T ARX -17 deg stems measure about 0.6-1cm longer than they are marked (depending on length). They have been that way since first hitting the market... and yes, this is by measuring them the "correct" way of c-c along the side.

Most of the -6 deg stems I've seen are true to size, but I've got a couple of the new stealth ones at home (in addition to some regular Team and Pro models) so I will take a look at them this evening.

I have seen the same with Ritchey stems a couple of years ago. Several mm of difference between stems of same (printed) length and angle.

Also measured the stem on my rental Cannondale SS Evo a couple of weeks and although it said 100mm it certainly seemed to be 115mm to me.

Tinea Pedis wrote:Some pic's would be

You can just about see the difference here I think:

Briscoelab wrote:Re: 17 deg 3T stems
It's been well documented that 3T ARX -17 deg stems measure about 0.6-1cm longer than they are marked (depending on length). They have been that way since first hitting the market... and yes, this is by measuring them the "correct" way of c-c along the side.

That's incredible - what is the manufacturer playing at? And here was me thinking that a 2mm inaccuracy was pretty shoddy.

I always wonder how the law stands on these things. If a stem is sold as 110mm and it's 117m, presumably you have grounds to return it as unfit for purpose. 5mm (for me at least) can make a significant difference to setup.

I was just reading about the Enve zero offset seatposts actually having an offset of 5mm, although they are described as zero offset in all descriptions, including on the manufacturer's website.

Makes you wonder about frame geometry etc - how do you know that a seat post angle described as 74 degrees isn't going to be 73 degrees?

In relation to the -17° stems, are they not measured along the horizontal rather than the hypotenuse?
For example a stem marked as 100mm and -17° will measure 105mm along it's length with a 31mm drop

Look at the bright side: Practically there're now half sizes available.
Now you can get 110, 112, 120, 122 (while old stocks last)

I see no problem whatsoever, 2mm is nothing. Less than 0.4% of total saddle to handlebar distance.

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ave wrote:I see no problem whatsoever, 2mm is nothing. Less than 0.4% of total saddle to handlebar distance.

Yes I agree, 2mm doesn't matter but 5mm does. Just.

You can actually change the reach by almost 1 cm just by fiddling with the position of the levers on the bars and the angle of the bars, but you risk making the reach to the levers from the drops more difficult with some setups.

I like to replicate the reach from saddle to hoods to within 5mm on different bikes just so that they feel the same.

I still think it's important for manufacturers to produce components to within spec. Things add up - if your stem is 2mm too long and your top tube is also 3mm longer than stated, that's 5mm.