Let's talk stems

[Bigtallfatbloke]

.. I need a shorter stem on my Galaxy...I can live with the origional but I am still a little stretched so I'll go for a shorter one. I wanted to get an aluminium stem , basically just a shorter version of what i have already, however I can only find black/carbon stems . Ok so forget the asthetics and run with the black ones I have finally decided. But there are so many and they vary so much in price...I haven't a clue where to start...which to get, what is best, which ones suck etc???

This is for a tourer bike so it needs to be strong enough to pull up on th ebars on a loaded bike going up some big hills sometimes...I dont need a carbon stem snapping on me. Also my bars are wide in diameter compared to a race bike I suspect.

I saw these for example:
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/c/Cycle/7/Stems_-_Standard/

Short of sticking a pin in the page at random I have no idea which to get..any suggestions? Ta.

 

[kyuss]

You won't get much stronger or stiffer than Thomson, and the Elite for standard bars is available in silver though it looks like Wiggle are out of stock. I have an X2 for oversize bars to match my Elite seatpost and they are the two bike parts I will never get rid off. Beautiful bits of kit, with a price tag to match unfortunately.

 

[domtyler]

I've never heard of a snapped stem before. Ever.

You definitely don't need to pay the premium for a lightweight carbon one though so just go for a standard quality alloy one. Although if I hated my bike as much as you clearly do your Galaxy I would be getting rid of it and buying something I loved.

 

[mondobongo]

I second the Thomson recommendation its good reliable kit that looks very nice as well.

 

[Bigtallfatbloke]

I took up Mp's advice and her eis the answer:

Your steerer is 1 1/8 as Dawes don’t put downhill MTB headsets in their tourers and the headstock in the photo doesn’t appear big enough to take one. So what you need is more likely a standard road stem with 26mm clamp (not xl or OS) and 1 1/8” steerer. Length is up to you but I would think no less than 90mm. The Thomson road Elite while expensive is probably the job for a number of reasons very strong very light and the only stem the right colour unfortunately I can’t get availability until the morning. If we can’t get that one then there are any number of black road stems that will fit and they will all cope, BBB and Cinelli will get you your best value for money. Ignore Deda, DMR, FSA and Powerplay. Upgrading your bars to oversize would give you a wider range of stems and stiffer bars. Stems by Hope, and Thomson have the strength and rigidity you are after and both MTB and road oversize bars are 31.8mm.





Regards

Now all I have to do is figure out which stems on this page fit the criteria:
http://www.dotbike.com/stems.aspx?A=3&TRACK=DAC

 

[Mr Pig]

I've never heard of a snapped stem before. Ever. You definitely don't need to pay the premium for a lightweight carbon one though so just go for a standard quality alloy one.

Totally second that. I think stems are one area where people who are mug enough get ripped off something stupid. I bought a short stem for my son's bike a few weeks ago, £17 out of my local bike shop, and for the life of me I can't see how one costing five times the price could be massively better. It's machined from a single block of alloy and as Dom says, I've never heard of a stem snapping.

I used to run a long, thin stem on my bike. It was a cheapo stem and took lots of abuse, a couple of crashes etc and it's still fine. I'd buy a cheap stem that looks ok, unless you've got more money that sense.

 

[Bigtallfatbloke]

Ok...so given th eabove suggestions I have been looking at these:

This in a 90
http://www.dotbike.com/ProductsP3340.aspx?A=3&TRACK=DDI

This in an 80
http://www.dotbike.com/ProductsP363.aspx?A=3&TRACK=DDI

This in an 80
http://www.dotbike.com/ProductsP363.aspx?A=3&TRACK=DPL

I am unsure which is best suited.

 

[Mr Pig]

I am unsure which is best suited.

It's tricky when you don't know exactly where you'll prefer the bars being. I just sat on the bike and guessed where I wanted the bars, then took a chance on a stem to suit. It worked out fine. If you've got bars with a rise in them you can move those about too to give you extra adjustment.

Just a word on over-size bars. My new MTB is the first bike I've had with over-size bars, whether the extra strength in needed is debatable but one downside is not. Because you have a very long tapered area between the shifters/brakes and the stem you have very little room for attaching accessories like computers,lights etc and the two areas you can mount stuff are two different diameters. Just something to think about if you've got a lot of bits bolted to your bars.